Rope by Tim Queeney
8/12/25; 336 pages
St. Martin's Press
Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization by Tim Queeney is a very highly recommended in-depth examination of rope and its impact on civilization. For a single topic book, it is amazing and fascinating how much we have depended upon rope over the ages. This is for everyone who enjoys history, sailing, and has spent an inordinate amount of time looking for and using rope in our daily lives.
This is a comprehensive look at how rope was made and used throughout history for tools, weapons, boats, construction, in culture/mythology, fishing, crime and punishment, for tricks and adventures, and in space. There is a special extensive focus on the use of rope for sailing and the significance of sailing for exploration, trade, fishing, etc.
The various materials used to make rope are discussed. Everything from bark, numerous plant fibers, animal hides and hair, etc. to the use of more current metal strands and synthetic fibers have been used to make rope. Queeney, who has knot tying videos available online, also has an interesting section on the importance and use of knots for the obvious, but also past use of knotted cords for messages, record keeping, and calendars.
Rope is very well researched. There is a note at the beginning that the book is AI Free - No AI was used in the research or writing of the book. I appreciated this after reading several cases where AI made up sources. The amount of researched involved in the book is impressive. This can be seen in the extensive Bibliography, which includes books, web articles, journals, and newspapers. There is also an Index and Notes.
