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Green: The History of a Color

by Michel Pastoureau
Princeton Univ. 2014. 240p. tr. from French by Jody Gladding. photos. notes. bibliog. ISBN 9780691159362. $35. FINE ARTS
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Green with envy? Greenback? Babar green? What does the color green mean to you? Continuing the saga of the history of colors (previous titles include Blue and Black), Pastoureau, a historian at the Sorbonne, chronicles the color green as told through the social and culture history of western Europe. Readers journey through this bipolar color's varied meanings, such as life, luck, destiny, happiness, and money, as well as its flip side of the devil, poison, witches, treachery, and betrayal, which depended on the period, society, and technology being used to create the color. While the book focuses on western European cultures, Islam is briefly mentioned. One wonders if a global history might have made for a better book.
VERDICT A charming study, filled with numerous photos and illustrations. This book will be of great interest to those fascinated by history, culture, and design.
Reviewed by Melissa Aho, Univ. of Minnesota Bio-Medical Lib., Minneapolis , Nov 01, 2014
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