The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade | 
 enlarge | Author: Pietra Rivoli
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 2052
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0470039205
Dewey Decimal Number: 382.45687115
EAN: 9780470039205
ASIN: 0470039205
Publication Date: June 30, 2006
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Praise for THE TRAVELS OF A T-SHIRT IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY "Engrossing . . . (Rivoli) goes wherever the T-shirt goes, and there are surprises around every corner . . . full of memorable characters and vivid scenes."
—Time "An engaging and illuminating saga. . . . Rivoli follows her T-shirt along its route, but that is like saying that Melville follows his whale. . . . Her nuanced and fair-minded approach is all the more powerful for eschewing the pretense of ideological absolutism, and her telescopic look through a single industry has all the makings of an economics classic."
—The New York Times "Rarely is a business book so well written that one would gladly stay up all night to finish it. Pietra Rivoli's The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy is just such a page-turner."
—CIO magazine "Succeeds admirably . . . T-shirts may not have changed the world, but their story is a useful account of how free trade and protectionism certainly have."
—Financial Times "[A] fascinating exploration of the history, economics, and politics of world trade . . . The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy is a thought-provoking yarn that exhibits the ugly, the bad, and the good of globalization, and points to the unintended positive consequences of the clash between proponents and opponents of free trade."
—Star-Telegram (Fort Worth) "Part travelogue, part history, and part economics, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy is ALL storytelling, and in the grand style. A must-read."
—Peter J. Dougherty, Senior Economics Editor, Princeton University Press author of Who's Afraid of Adam Smith? "A readable and evenhanded treatment of the complexities of free trade . . . As Rivoli repeatedly makes clear, there is absolutely nothing free about free trade except the slogan."
—San Francisco Chronicle
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Fantastic, well-written, and eye-opening August 6, 2008
Upon first glance, it might appear that this book details economic aspects of a
single industry, namely that of T-shirts. You'd be mistaken. It instead offers
an insightful look into several different aspects of T-shirt production,
including agriculture, factory working conditions, free trade (and
lack thereof), and concluding with the world-wide used T-shirt market. Each of
these sections could merit a book topic in its own right, but Ms. Rivoli has
wonderfully combined them into a single book ripe for reading.
Learn about the history of cotton production, including the rise of American
production and why it's still on top. (Hint: the American government has more
than a small role, but farm subsidies aren't the major reason.) Learn about the
back-room political dealings that ensure that some of your clothes come from
Bangladesh and Mexico instead of China, even though China could provide them for
less (and why it might be a good idea to keep things that way). Learn about what
happens to a used T-shirt once it's donated to the Salvation Army, and how it
might end up being sold in a Kenyan's clothing stall instead of your local
thrift store.
There is not a dull moment to be found in the book, and in fact seems to get
more interesting as the book wears on. If there is any fault with the book, it
is that the book was published in 2005 which means that the revised textile
trade agreements from 2006 have been left out. A revised edition would be
appreciated. Luckily, that's the only fault I have with the book. Highly
recommended.
Insights into global trade May 10, 2008
This is easy to read and understand, written in an engaging and conversational style, with some important insights into the mysteries of crop subsidies, textile quotas and the fate of donated clothing. It's a great illustration and analysis of globalization in action.
 history of EVERYTHING about your t-shirt, from birth in a Texan cotton field to re-birth in a Tanzanian 2nd-hand clothing market April 21, 2008
Allow me to provide a more descriptive title for this volume: What I did last summer + a history of cotton growing in America + a history of cotton mills around the world + a brief history of Shanghai + a brief history of child labor + a brief history of labor activism + a brief history of workplace safety regulations + a not-at-all-brief history of US textile protectionism + a characterization of the international market for used clothes. Interesting? Often.
In the course of all these histories - occasionally interspersed with a reminder that we are following Rivoli's t-shirt around the world - we jump from England to Japan to Texas to West Africa; we leap back and forth (and back and forth) from century to century. By the middle of the book, I had gotten dizzy and wished it had been a long magazine article.
But in fact, the second half is the most interesting. Rivoli gives a detailed history of textile protectionism in the United States, giving a peek into the dizzying, constantly morphing tariff and quota systems as well as the huge bureaucracy the system supports. And finally, she gives an illuminating description of what happens to the t-shirts after they get donated to the Salvation Army and how they make it to market stalls in East Africa.
Rivoli is an economist and so recognizes that her inherent leaning is toward free trade, but she argues for the value of both sides of the textile battle, both the free traders and the student demonstrators.
The first half of the book feels too long (even though it isn't that long), and Rivoli's strength is in illuminating description rather than careful analysis. But if you get bored, just skip ahead to the next chapter: There's plenty to choose from!
[I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by Eliza Foss, published by Recorded Books. The reading is fine, but Foss's voice is too syrupy sweet and storybookish for 8 CDs (think the voice-over narration from Desperate Housewives).]
Boring and not informative enough March 23, 2008
Worst of both worlds - claims to be anecdotal to get around having to have too much actual information (other than the more boring parts of the history of the American textile industry, but trades in interesting anecdotes for general suppositions and a couple sucess stories.
The last section is very cool and interesting and saves this book from the bin. If you get it, skip to the end.
Informative, delightful, detailed and humane March 15, 2008
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade
This is not just a fun book which you might infer from the title. It is also informative, scholarly with a light touch, and humane - - treating an apparently trivial subject with breadth and depth in exploring the larger consequences of international trade and the tensions between poor and rich countries. Highly recommended.
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