Follow the saga of this remarkable fiber from seed to woven fabric. Learn about past and present day methods of flax cultivation, processing, and spinning, natural and synthetic dyeing, and weaving and finishing linen cloth. 233 color photos and 156 black and white photos and drawings reveal the characteristics of linen and emphasize its practical use.

Showcasing cutting-edge underwater photography from the world's leading marine and nature photographers, The Life & Love of the Sea is a breathtaking visual tour of the ocean's great diversity. Readers will experience land meeting sea with images of dramatic coastlines, barrier reefs, and island chains, as well as the spectacular power of the ocean through a stunning collection of wave photographs. Offering an extensive survey of the ocean's many fascinating inhabitants, Blackwell presents incredible images of everything from whales to manta rays to seals to endless schools of fish to the creatures that reside in the deepest recesses of the ocean floor. The book also makes available bonus footage via a scannable QR code from multi-award- winning underwater cameraman Steven Hathaway.

Learn the fascinating story of the flax to linen process in history, legend, song, crafts, lesson plans, and recipes. With 414 images, this comprehensive book dates back thousands of years, from how flax was cultivated in the Middle East and Europe, its beginnings in America, to its use in the twenty-first century. Guidelines for planting, harvesting, breaking, spinning, weaving, and other processes provided. If you're a collector, flax tools, spinning wheels, and flax-made antique fabrics and linen make great collectibles. Make a rope bed, a linseed oil lamp, and even bake buttermilk biscuits with flaxseed. Discover the many great uses of this plant and the role it played throughout the world. This is a great resource for history buffs, collectors, educators, and planters.

Row by row - maximize your harvest and feed your soil by developing a customized plan for your garden Everyone loves to prepare a meal with ingredients fresh from their own garden. But for most of us, no matter how plentiful our harvest, homegrown produce comprises only a fraction of what we eat. And while many gardening guides will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about individual crops, few tackle the more involved task of helping you maximize the percentage of your diet you grow yourself. Grow a Sustainable Diet will help you develop a comprehensive, customized garden plan to produce the maximum number of calories and nutrients from any available space. Avoid arriving in August buried under a mountain of kale or zucchini (and not much else) by making thoughtful choices at the planning stage, focusing on dietary staples and key nutrients. Learn how to calculate: Which food and cover crops are best for your specific requirements How many seeds and plants of each variety you should sow What and when to plant, harvest and replant for maximum yield. Focusing on permaculture principles, biointensive gardening methods, getting food to the table with minimum fossil fuel input, and growing crops that sustain both you and your soil, this complete guide is a must-read for anyone working toward food self-sufficiency for themselves or their family.

A thorough and original study of the linothorax, the linen armor worn by Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great led one of the most successful armies in history and conquered nearly the entirety of the known world while wearing armor made of cloth. How is that possible? In Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor, Gregory S. Aldrete, Scott Bartell, and Alicia Aldrete provide the answer. An extensive multiyear project in experimental archaeology, this pioneering study presents a thorough investigation of the linothorax, linen armor worn by the Greeks, Macedonians, and other ancient Mediterranean warriors. Because the linothorax was made of cloth, no examples of it have survived. As a result, even though there are dozens of references to the linothorax in ancient literature and nearly a thousand images of it in ancient art, this linen armor remains relatively ignored and misunderstood by scholars. Combining traditional textual and archaeological analysis with hands-on reconstruction and experimentation, the authors unravel the mysteries surrounding the linothorax. They have collected and examined all of the literary, visual, historical, and archaeological evidence for the armor and detail their efforts to replicate the armor using materials and techniques that are as close as possible to those employed in antiquity. By reconstructing actual examples using authentic materials, the authors were able to scientifically assess the true qualities of linen armor for the first time in 1,500 years. The tests reveal that the linothorax provided surprisingly effective protection for ancient warriors, that it had several advantages over bronze armor, and that it even shared qualities with modern-day Kevlar. Previously featured in documentaries on the Discovery Channel and the Canadian History Channel, as well as in U.S. News and World Report, MSNBC Online, and other international venues, this groundbreaking work will be a landmark in the study of ancient warfare.