[The title of this book review is from a song on the deluxe release of the 2010 album "The Union”, a collaboration between Elton John and Leon Russell. Listen to the track from which this lyric line was taken here.]

We’ve been back down state again this week. Mom is feeling much better - her bout of bronchitis really laid her low for a couple of weeks but she has recovered her voice and seems more herself now. She is still in the nursing home at least through the end of this month but we’re hoping to have her in an assisted living facility soon (she’s third on a waiting list). Much of what we’ve been up to this week is cleaning out her apartment and putting things into storage while we await the move into assisted living.

In the downtime, of which there hasn’t been as much as usual, I’ve had three books going this week, one of which is covered in this week’s review.

The other two books are a true crime audiobook with a Hollywood twist, and Jonathon Alter’s 2020 biography of President Jimmy Carter, much of whose legacy the current administration seems to be trying it’s damnedest to tear down. I am hoping to have both of those reviewed before I head out on the Camino Primitivo, as I told you about last week.

So now, on to the book review —

Who thinks a lot about rope? Well, sailors do. So, it makes sense that this deep dive into the history of rope is written by a lifelong sailor. Tim Queeney has written for the magazine Ocean Navigator for years and has also taught celestial, coastal and radar navigation as an instructor for the Ocean Navigator School of Seamanship. Rope is a key tool for sailors, but it’s also a tool with many other uses, many of which Queeney explores in this book.

This book interested me because, as I’ve often said in my book reviews, I love books that cover the history of science, and this book is within the general ballpark. While not as scientific a topic as usually motivates me to read such a book, tools and tool use are also interests - one of the reasons I recently reviewed a book on axe murders.

Realistically though, rope is such a basic thing that just seems like it’s probably been around forever. So, it’s not something most people would think of as a subject for a book. But it’s that history and basic usefulness that make this book interesting. It took someone like Queeney who has spent a lot of time with this tool to really be motivated to do the research and put a book like this together.

If you are a casual user of rope, like me, you may find this book a bit uneven, as the chapters are arranged by the different uses rope has been put to. But McQueeney keeps his story pretty much in chronological order so that you get a sense not only of how rope has been used over time but also how the rope we use has itself changed. From sisal and “manila” (a plant fiber found only in the Philippines) to nylon and steel; technology has been applied to rope to further increase its usefulness. Today there are many types or rope suitable for many different purposes.

This book is the latest to take an everyday object and do a deep dive into its history. Part of a book trend called “microhistories”, (which might also focus on a specific topic, like the history of swimming, or of getting drunk) these books have become a genre of their own. Bookriot has a 2013 review of “10 Books About Everyday Stuff”, a “50 Must-Read Microhistories” list from 2018, and another list of “Peculiar Microhistories” from 2023, which helps illustrate how this category of books has grown in popularity.

For the sailor in your life, for someone who tinkers with tools, and for folks who like to learn the history behind common everyday objects this book would be a good beach read for the long Labor Day weekend.

RATING: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐

RATING COMMENTS: The story of rope, a microhistory on the many uses of the common everyday object written by a lifelong sailor.

WHERE I GOT MY COPY: I read an advanced copy from NetGalley and the publisher St Martin’s Press.