Jean-Claude Daumas. Les territoires de la laine: Histoire de l'industrie lainiere en France au XIXe siecle. Villeneuve D'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 2004. 419 pp. ISBN 2-85939-812-0, {euro}26.00.

Based on his doctoral dissertation, Jean-Claude Daumas’sbook on the economics of nineteenth-century wool manufactureis a sound, workmanlike, and well-organized exposition. Withmany books already detailing various sectors of the industry,from the sheep’s back to the consumer’s closet,the question arises why another synthetic study was needed.Daumas’s rationale is that while the general contoursof the industry are well known, the variegated nature of individualwool centers has been glossed over. Like the industrial