Barbed Wire: A Political History

Description

No less than the internal combustion engine, the transistor, or the silicon chip, barbed wire is a quintessentially modern invention, a product that has influenced the lives of millions of people across the globe since its invention in the late nineteenth century. Now in paperback, Barbed Wire: A Political History demonstrates that the invention of barbed wire was a major breakthrough with far-reaching consequences. Cheap and mass-produced, barbed wire accomplished what no other product did before it, or has since done more effectively: the control of vast amounts of open space. looks unflinchingly at a central and fascinating strand of modern life.

[Razac] proves himself the poet of barbed wire....An important, accessible and even beautiful study of this deadly instrument. FROM THE DEVIL'S ROPE TO NO MAN'S LAND, "A VITAL WORK OF CULTURAL CRITICISM" "Razac writes with a cool precision that matches the sharp sting of his subject." "The Christian Science Monitor" "A fascinating read. . . . No one who reads "Barbed Wire" will look at this stuff the same way again." "Salon" "[Razac] proves himself the poet of barbed wire. . . . An important, accessible and even beautiful study of this deadly instrument." "St. Petersburg Times""