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Product Identifiers
PublisherC. Hurst AND Company (Publishers) The Limited
ISBN-101849045224
ISBN-139781849045223
eBay Product ID (ePID)211797512
Product Key Features
Book TitleSong of the Shirt : the High Price of Cheap Garments, from Blackburn to Bangladesh
Number of Pages288 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicIndustries / General, Globalization, Industries / Fashion & Textile Industry, Labor, Public Policy / Economic Policy, Workplace Culture
Publication Year2015
IllustratorYes
GenrePolitical Science, Business & Economics
AuthorJeremy Seabrook
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.9 in
Item Weight13.7 Oz
Item Length8.5 in
Item Width5.5 in
Additional Product Features
LCCN2015-487382
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Edition23
Reviews"The sweat and blood of Bangladeshi garment workers is woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. Seabrook, as he always has, delivers a brilliantly written jeremiad with an urgent moral message"-- Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums"Few writers are at once as lyrical or as precise about the living conditions of peasants and indigents. Seabrook's clear-eyed accounts of the immiseration as well as the dreams of young Bangladeshis are informed by extended conversations with scholars and activists, as well as historical research. ... What makes The Song of the Shirt especially important is its historical consciousness. ... Seabrook draws out the social, economic and imaginative parallels that connected, across decades and continents, Europe's and Asia's poor. ... Seabrook has established himself as perhaps Britain's finest anatomist of class, deindustrialization, migration and the spiritual consequences of neoliberalism. The Song of the Shirt may well be his masterpiece." -- The Guardian "What distinguishes this book is its deep historical consciousness...stitches together history, folklore and hundreds of encounters with individual Bangladeshis to give a thorough picture of the structural injustices that have led to the present situation." -- The New Statesman "At once illuminating, deeply absorbing, and sobering, this is an ode to the 'rags of humanity' -- the laborers, young and old -- who sometimes perish in order to create our fashionably casual clothes. It's written by one who's long been intimate with this part of the world and its anonymous dwellers, and who has responded always with passion and eloquence."-- Amit Chaudhuri, author of Calcutta: Two Years in the City"In this short yet compelling book, Seabrook skillfully weaves together tales of peasants with stories of weavers, moving back and forth between the village and the city, water and land, lush green fields and the ramshackle appearance of South Asia's urban patches, even the poetic and the idioms of history. He is versed in historical sources but not burdened by them; and only someone with the sensibility of a poet can ruminate on the strange interplay of fire and water that has shaped the contours of the lives of his subjects. ... Seabrook has accomplished the enviable task of rendering naked the social processes which have helped to clothe the world and disguise some unpalatable truths about the treacherousness of what is usually celebrated as entrepreneurial capitalism." -- The Indian Express "Jeremy Seabrook puts together stitch by stitch, thread by thread, a stark picture of garment manufacturing in Bangladesh. ... Seabrook places his riveting narrative in historical context --making the link with the fires that abound in present-day Dhaka's treacherous factories and the pauperization of 18th century Dhaka weavers because of brutal colonial policies. ... A searing anger pervades Seabrook's text. Every industrial 'accident' in 19th century England and 21st century Bangladesh is brought out of the archives. Stitched into this narrative, one gets the larger picture of disdain and disregard for the lives of the working poor." -- Outlook India, "The sweat and blood of Bangladeshi garment workers is woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. Seabrook, as he always has, delivers a brilliantly written jeremiad with an urgent moral message"-- Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums"Few writers are at once as lyrical or as precise about the living conditions of peasants and indigents. Seabrook's clear-eyed accounts of the immiseration as well as the dreams of young Bangladeshis are informed by extended conversations with scholars and activists, as well as historical research. 'e¦ What makes The Song of the Shirt especially important is its historical consciousness. 'e¦ Seabrook draws out the social, economic and imaginative parallels that connected, across decades and continents, Europe's and Asia's poor. 'e¦ Seabrook has established himself as perhaps Britain's finest anatomist of class, deindustrialization, migration and the spiritual consequences of neoliberalism. The Song of the Shirt may well be his masterpiece." -- The Guardian "What distinguishes this book is its deep historical consciousness...stitches together history, folklore and hundreds of encounters with individual Bangladeshis to give a thorough picture of the structural injustices that have led to the present situation." -- The New Statesman "At once illuminating, deeply absorbing, and sobering, this is an ode to the 'rags of humanity' -- the laborers, young and old -- who sometimes perish in order to create our fashionably casual clothes. It's written by one who's long been intimate with this part of the world and its anonymous dwellers, and who has responded always with passion and eloquence."-- Amit Chaudhuri, author of Calcutta: Two Years in the City"In this short yet compelling book, Seabrook skillfully weaves together tales of peasants with stories of weavers, moving back and forth between the village and the city, water and land, lush green fields and the ramshackle appearance of South Asia's urban patches, even the poetic and the idioms of history. He is versed in historical sources but not burdened by them; and only someone with the sensibility of a poet can ruminate on the strange interplay of fire and water that has shaped the contours of the lives of his subjects. 'e¦ Seabrook has accomplished the enviable task of rendering naked the social processes which have helped to clothe the world and disguise some unpalatable truths about the treacherousness of what is usually celebrated as entrepreneurial capitalism." -- The Indian Express "Jeremy Seabrook puts together stitch by stitch, thread by thread, a stark picture of garment manufacturing in Bangladesh. 'e¦ Seabrook places his riveting narrative in historical context --making the link with the fires that abound in present-day Dhaka's treacherous factories and the pauperization of 18th century Dhaka weavers because of brutal colonial policies. 'e¦ A searing anger pervades Seabrook's text. Every industrial 'accident' in 19th century England and 21st century Bangladesh is brought out of the archives. Stitched into this narrative, one gets the larger picture of disdain and disregard for the lives of the working poor." -- Outlook India, "The sweat and blood of Bangladeshi garment workers is woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. Seabrook, as he always has, delivers a brilliantly written jeremiad with an urgent moral message"-- Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums "Few writers are at once as lyrical or as precise about the living conditions of peasants and indigents. Seabrook's clear-eyed accounts of the immiseration as well as the dreams of young Bangladeshis are informed by extended conversations with scholars and activists, as well as historical research. EL What makes The Song of the Shirt especially important is its historical consciousness. EL Seabrook draws out the social, economic and imaginative parallels that connected, across decades and continents, Europe's and Asia's poor. EL Seabrook has established himself as perhaps Britain's finest anatomist of class, deindustrialization, migration and the spiritual consequences of neoliberalism. The Song of the Shirt may well be his masterpiece." -- The Guardian "At once illuminating, deeply absorbing, and sobering, this is an ode to the 'rags of humanity' -- the laborers, young and old -- who sometimes perish in order to create our fashionably casual clothes. It's written by one who's long been intimate with this part of the world and its anonymous dwellers, and who has responded always with passion and eloquence."-- Amit Chaudhuri, author of Calcutta: Two Years in the City "In this short yet compelling book, Seabrook skillfully weaves together tales of peasants with stories of weavers, moving back and forth between the village and the city, water and land, lush green fields and the ramshackle appearance of South Asia's urban patches, even the poetic and the idioms of history. He is versed in historical sources but not burdened by them; and only someone with the sensibility of a poet can ruminate on the strange interplay of fire and water that has shaped the contours of the lives of his subjects. EL Seabrook has accomplished the enviable task of rendering naked the social processes which have helped to clothe the world and disguise some unpalatable truths about the treacherousness of what is usually celebrated as entrepreneurial capitalism." -- The Indian Express "Jeremy Seabrook puts together stitch by stitch, thread by thread, a stark picture of garment manufacturing in Bangladesh. EL Seabrook places his riveting narrative in historical context --making the link with the fires that abound in present-day Dhaka's treacherous factories and the pauperization of 18th century Dhaka weavers because of brutal colonial policies. EL A searing anger pervades Seabrook's text. Every industrial 'accident' in 19th century England and 21st century Bangladesh is brought out of the archives. Stitched into this narrative, one gets the larger picture of disdain and disregard for the lives of the working poor." -- Outlook India, "The sweat and blood of Bangladeshi garment workers is woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. Seabrook, as he always has, delivers a brilliantly written jeremiad with an urgent moral message"-- Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums "Few writers are at once as lyrical or as precise about the living conditions of peasants and indigents. Seabrook's clear-eyed accounts of the immiseration as well as the dreams of young Bangladeshis are informed by extended conversations with scholars and activists, as well as historical research. EL What makes The Song of the Shirt especially important is its historical consciousness. EL Seabrook draws out the social, economic and imaginative parallels that connected, across decades and continents, Europe's and Asia's poor. EL Seabrook has established himself as perhaps Britain's finest anatomist of class, deindustrialization, migration and the spiritual consequences of neoliberalism. The Song of the Shirt may well be his masterpiece." -- The Guardian "What distinguishes this book is its deep historical consciousness...stitches together history, folklore and hundreds of encounters with individual Bangladeshis to give a thorough picture of the structural injustices that have led to the present situation." -- The New Statesman "At once illuminating, deeply absorbing, and sobering, this is an ode to the 'rags of humanity' -- the laborers, young and old -- who sometimes perish in order to create our fashionably casual clothes. It's written by one who's long been intimate with this part of the world and its anonymous dwellers, and who has responded always with passion and eloquence."-- Amit Chaudhuri, author of Calcutta: Two Years in the City "In this short yet compelling book, Seabrook skillfully weaves together tales of peasants with stories of weavers, moving back and forth between the village and the city, water and land, lush green fields and the ramshackle appearance of South Asia's urban patches, even the poetic and the idioms of history. He is versed in historical sources but not burdened by them; and only someone with the sensibility of a poet can ruminate on the strange interplay of fire and water that has shaped the contours of the lives of his subjects. EL Seabrook has accomplished the enviable task of rendering naked the social processes which have helped to clothe the world and disguise some unpalatable truths about the treacherousness of what is usually celebrated as entrepreneurial capitalism." -- The Indian Express "Jeremy Seabrook puts together stitch by stitch, thread by thread, a stark picture of garment manufacturing in Bangladesh. EL Seabrook places his riveting narrative in historical context --making the link with the fires that abound in present-day Dhaka's treacherous factories and the pauperization of 18th century Dhaka weavers because of brutal colonial policies. EL A searing anger pervades Seabrook's text. Every industrial 'accident' in 19th century England and 21st century Bangladesh is brought out of the archives. Stitched into this narrative, one gets the larger picture of disdain and disregard for the lives of the working poor." -- Outlook India
Dewey Decimal338.47687095492
Table Of ContentPart I: Fire 1. Dhaka: a temporary settlement 2. fire 3. fear of fire 4. the fabric of water 5. factories: a hardening tide of concrete 6. 'useful factory hands' 7. unrest 8. the factory owners and their reasons 9. ghostly reconstitution of old imperial hierarchies 10. a modest demonstration 11. the battleground of Savar 12. the spectre of Senghenydd, 1913 Part II: Barisal 13. a melting, melancholy place 14. Amanathganj: submergence and eviction 15. death of a freedom fighter 16. rumours of freedom 17. middle class in a city of starvelings 18. sinking ship in emerald waters 19. hungry, thieving river 20. the path of migrants 21. a factory in the suburbs 1 22. the new gumashtas 23. urbanization without industry Part III: Dhaka 24. the world's 'least liveable' city 25. a history interwoven with textile 26. the fall of Dacca 27. spinning women 28. after the weavers 29. a city in decline 30. a city for psychoanalysts Part IV: Murshidabad 31. a city neglected and unpeopled 32. a haunted culture 33. a shell of departed grandeur Part V: Kolkata 34. the rise of two Calcuttas 35. bhadralok and chotolok 36. the jute mills 37. a dying city? 38. Kolkata and Dhaka: divergent Bengals Part VI: Industrialism 39. free trade and protectionism in Britain 40. imperialism began at 'home' 41. Manchester: under a pall of smoke 42. Bengal and Lancashire: prosperity and ruin 43. the shifting dunes of humanity 44. nabobs and new nawabs 45. two nations 46. first- and second-hand industrialism 47. teaspoons of legal humanitarianism 48. Bombay mills: boom and bust 49. re-industrializing Bangladesh 50. the un-industrializing of Lancashire 51. the pleasure factories 52. turning and turning in the widening gyre
SynopsisOh, Men, with Sisters dear! Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives! It is not linen you re wearing out, But human creatures lives! Stitch stitch stitch, In poverty, hunger and dirt, Sewing at once, with a double thread, A Shroud as well as a Shirt. --from The Song of the Shirt by Thomas Hood (1843) Labour in Bangladesh flows like its rivers -- in excess of what is required. Often, both take a huge toll. Labour that costs $1.66 an hour in China and 52 cents in India can be had for a song in Bangladesh -- 18 cents. It is mostly women and children working in fragile, flammable buildings who bring in 70 per cent of the country s foreign exchange. Bangladesh today does not clothe the nakedness of the world, but provides it with limitless cheap garments -- through Primark, Walmart, Benetton, Gap. In elegiac prose, Jeremy Seabrook dwells upon the disproportionate sacrifices demanded by the manufacture of such throwaway items as baseball caps. He shows us how Bengal and Lancashire offer mirror images of impoverishment and affluence. In the eighteenth century, the people of Bengal were dispossessed of ancient skills and the workers of Lancashire forced into labour settlements.In a ghostly replay of traffic in the other direction, the decline of the British textile industry coincided with Bangladesh becoming one of the world s major clothing exporters. With capital becoming more protean than ever, it wouldn t be long before the global imperium readies to shift its sites of exploitation in its nomadic cultivation of profit., Oh, Men, with Sisters dear! Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives! It is not linen you're wearing out, But human creatures' lives! Stitch - stitch - stitch, In poverty, hunger and dirt, Sewing at once, with a double thread, A Shroud as well as a Shirt. -from "The Song of the Shirt " by Thomas Hood (1843) In April 2013 Rana Plaza, an unremarkable eight-story commercial block in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1,129 people and injuring over 2,000. Most of them were low paid textile workers who had been ordered to return to their cramped workshops the day after ominous cracks were discovered in the building's concrete structure. Rana Plaza's destruction revealed a stark tragedy in the making: of men (in fact mostly women and children) toiling in fragile, flammable buildings who provide the world with limitless cheap garments - through Walmart, Benetton and Gap - and bring in 70% of Bangladesh's foreign exchange. In elegiac prose, Jeremy Seabrook investigates the disproportionate sacrifices demanded by the manufacture of such throwaway items as baseball caps and sweatshirts. He also traces the intertwined histories of workers in what is now Bangladesh, and Lancashire. Two hundred years ago the former were dispossessed of ancient skills and their counterparts in Lancashire forced into labour settlements; in a ghostly replay of traffic in the other direction, the decline of Britain's textile industry coincided with Bangladesh becoming one of the world's major clothing exporters. The two examples offer mirror images of impoverishment and affluence. With capital becoming more protean than ever, it won't be long before global business, in its nomadic cultivation of profit, relocates mass textile manufacture to an even cheaper source of labour than Bangladesh, with all too predictable consequences for those involved., Oh, Men, with Sisters dear Oh, Men, with Mothers and Wives It is not linen you're wearing out, But human creatures' lives Stitch - stitch - stitch, In poverty, hunger and dirt, Sewing at once, with a double thread, A Shroud as well as a Shirt.-from "The Song of the Shirt" by Thomas Hood (1843) In April 2013 Rana Plaza, an unremarkable eight-story commercial block in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, collapsed, killing 1,129 people and injuring over 2,000. Most of them were low paid textile workers who had been ordered to return to their cramped workshops the day after ominous cracks were discovered in the building's concrete structure. Rana Plaza's destruction revealed a stark tragedy in the making: of men (in fact mostly women and children) toiling in fragile, flammable buildings who provide the world with limitless cheap garments - through Walmart, Benetton and Gap - and bring in 70% of Bangladesh's foreign exchange. In elegiac prose, Jeremy Seabrook investigates the disproportionate sacrifices demanded by the manufacture of such throwaway items as baseball caps and sweatshirts. He also traces the intertwined histories of workers in what is now Bangladesh, and Lancashire. Two hundred years ago the former were dispossessed of ancient skills and their counterparts in Lancashire forced into labour settlements; in a ghostly replay of traffic in the other direction, the decline of Britain's textile industry coincided with Bangladesh becoming one of the world's major clothing exporters. The two examples offer mirror images of impoverishment and affluence. With capital becoming more protean than ever, it won't be long before global business, in its nomadic cultivation of profit, relocates mass textile manufacture to an even cheaper source of labour than Bangladesh, with all too predictable consequences for those involved.
LC Classification NumberHD9940
