An intimate narrative history of porcelain, structured around five journeys through landscapes where porcelain was dreamed about, fired, refined, collected, and coveted.
Extraordinary new nonfiction, a gripping blend of history and memoir, by the author of the award-winning and bestselling international sensation, The Hare with the Amber Eyes.
In The White Road, bestselling author and artist Edmund de Waal gives us an intimate narrative history of his lifelong obsession with porcelain, or "white gold." A potter who has been working with porcelain for more than forty years, de Waal describes how he set out on five journeys to places where porcelain was dreamed about, refined, collected and coveted-and that would help him understand the clay's mysterious allure. From his studio in London, he starts by travelling to three "white hills"-sites in China, Germany and England that are key to porcelain's creation. But his search eventually takes him around the globe and reveals more than a history of cups and figurines; rather, he is forced to confront some of the darkest moments of twentieth-century history.
Part memoir, part history, part detective story, The White Road chronicles a global obsession with alchemy, art, wealth, craft, and purity. In a sweeping yet intimate style that recalls The Hare with the Amber Eyes, de Waal gives us a singular understanding of "the spectrum of porcelain" and the mapping of desire.
- Mother's Day Reads
- Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Jewish American Heritage Month
- May the 4th Be With You
- Celebrating Cinco de Mayo
- Mental Health Awareness
- A Family Affair: Bridgerton Read Alikes
- Our Librarians Love Steampunk!
- Blake Crouch: Dark Matter and More
- She doesn't even go here!: For fans of Mean Girls
- April Showers Bring May Flowers
- Not Just Another Teen Book- YA for Adults
- Retro Reads - Books from the 1900s
- See all
- Mother's Day Reads
- Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
- Jewish American Heritage Month
- May the 4th Be With You
- Celebrating Cinco de Mayo
- Mental Health Awareness
- Poetry Is Meant To Be Spoken
- A Family Affair: Bridgerton Read Alikes
- Our Librarians Love Steampunk!
- She doesn't even go here!: For fans of Mean Girls
- Page to Screen
- Not Just Another Teen Book- YA for Adults
- Retro Reads - Books from the 1900s
- See all
- #ownvoices / Diverse Books
- Antiracism Resources
- Sheet Music & Song Books
- Bücher auf Deutsch / Books in German
- Civil Service Test Prep
- The Great Courses
- QuickReads Collection
- See all