The empire of cotton was, from the beginning, a fulcrum of constant global struggle between slaves and planters, merchants and statesmen, workers and factory owners. Sven Beckert makes clear how these forces ushered in the world of modern capitalism, including the vast wealth and disturbing inequalities that are with us today.

In a remarkably brief period, European entrepreneurs and powerful politicians recast the world’s most significant manufacturing industry, combining imperial expansion and slave labor with new machines and wage workers to make and remake global capitalism. 

Sven Beckert is the Laird Bell Professor of American History at Harvard University. Holding a PhD from Columbia University, he has written widely on the economic, social, and political history of capitalism. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including from Harvard Business School, the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, and the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. He was also a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (November 10, 2015)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 640 pages / black and white
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0375713965
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.19 x 1.24 x 7.98 inches