Empire of Cotton: A Global History: Pulitzer Prize finalist; cotton caused modern capitalism

The cotton industry truly changed our country into what it is today. It triggered the rise of modern capitalism, the ongoing racial tensions and biases, and the continuing wealth inequality. Cotton also helped make the US into the global economic superpower that it is today. Beckert does a great job of delving into this complex industry, it's history and continuous impacts today. From NYT: "If sugar was the defining commodity of the 18th century and oil of the 20th, then surely cotton was king in the 19th century. In this sweeping, ambitious and disturbing survey, Beckert takes us through every phase of a global industry that has relied on millions of miserably treated slaves, sharecroppers and millworkers to turn out its product. The industrialization of cotton rested on violence, Beckert tells us, and its story is that of the development of the modern world itself. Even today, he reports, an industry that is always looking for cheaper labor is engaged in a “giant race to the bottom.”