Gene Dattel has produced a superb study of King Cotton’s reign over the United States of America. Though exceptionally well-versed in the economic history of cotton production, he never loses sight of the human suffering caused by slavery and its consequences. He also gives a first-class account of the politics of cotton. From the Constitution to the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement, each of the key PRESS/EVENTS in the history of the United States looks quite different when you understand the (usually maligned) role King Cotton played.