{"product_id":"a-perfect-red-empire-espionage-and-the-quest-for-the-color-of-desire","title":"A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"You'll finish [Greenfield's] book with new respect for color, especially for red. With \u003cem\u003eA Perfect Red\u003c\/em\u003e, she does for it what Mark Kurlansky in\u003cem\u003e Salt\u003c\/em\u003e did for that common commodity.\"--\u003cem\u003eHouston Chronicle\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterweaving mystery, empire, and adventure, Amy Butler Greenfield's masterful popular history offers a window onto a world far different from our own: a world in which the color red was rare and precious--a source of wealth and power for those who could unlock its secrets. And in this world nothing was more prized than cochineal, a red dye that produced the brightest, strongest red the Old World had ever seen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Perfect Red\u003c\/em\u003e recounts the story of this legendary red dye, from its cultivation by the ancient Mexicans and discovery by 16th-century Spanish conquistadors to the European pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies who joined in the chase to unlock its secrets, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. It evokes with style and verve this history of a grand obsession, of intrigue, empire, and adventure in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51984321511655,"sku":"9780060522766","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0449\/4075\/5096\/files\/imageloader_8ba043c1-4ba9-428a-a9fd-f20c4c502d12.jpg?v=1776316571","url":"https:\/\/arvidabookco.com\/products\/a-perfect-red-empire-espionage-and-the-quest-for-the-color-of-desire","provider":"Arvida Book Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}