Book Talk at the Library of Virginia
Thursday, March 20, 2008
_The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire_
by Joe Jackson
Time: Noon–1 PM
FREE EVENT
Award-winning journalist and author Joe Jackson will discuss and sign _The
Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire_. In
1876, Englishman Henry Wickham smuggled seventy thousand rubber seeds
out of the rainforests of Brazil, seeds that were planted around the world in
England’s colonial outposts. Wickham’s actions gave rise to the great rubber
boom of the early 20th century—an explosion of entrepreneurial and scientific
industry that changed the world. The story of how Wickham acquired those
seeds—a sought-after prize for which many suffered and died—is the stuff of
legend. _The Thief at the End of the World: Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of
Empire_ is a thrilling true story of Wickham’s reckless courage, ambition, and
bio-piracy, all of which defined the nature of Great Britain’s colonial adventure
in South America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Joe Jackson is the author of Leavenworth Trail, which was a finalist for the
2002 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. Jackson was also a finalist for the
Library of Virginia Literary Award in 2005 for his novel How I Left the Great
State of Tennessee and Went on to Better Things. He worked for twelve
years as an investigative reporter for the Virginian-Pilot, covering criminal
justice and death row.
Read the review of _The Thief at the End of the World_ in TIME Magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1623143_1718678_17
18676,00.html
The Library of Virginia is located at 800 East Broad Street in downtown
Richmond. A limited amount of free parking is available under the building.
www.lva.virginia.gov
804.692.3500
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