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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