Faux Real Genuine Leather and 200 Years of Inspired Fakes Robert Kanigel "A sound researcher and an engaging writer. . . . Kanigel intelligently takes time to address the philosophical question of the importance of faux versus real."--Publishers Weekly "Fantastic cultural history. Smart and sensual prose. You'll never look at your Manolos the same way again."--Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash "Kanigel's book is an easy and pleasurable read. . . . A tribute to leather's physical and tactile properties and to humankind's ingenuity and persistence in attempting to imitate them."--Design and Culture What makes genuine leather genuine? What makes real things real? In an age of virtual reality, veneers, synthetics, plastics, fakes, and knockoffs, it's hard to know. Over the centuries, men and women have devoted enormous energy to making fake things seem real. As early as the fourteenth century, fabric was treated...