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...