Where do Panama hats come from? This may seem like a simple question, but the answer led Tom Miller on a journey of considerable time and effort. Critically acclaimed author Miller reveals the making and marketing of one Panama hat, from the straw fields of Ecuador’s coastal lowland to a hat shop in Southern California. Along the way, the hat becomes a literary device allowing Miller to give us his impressions from the tributaries of the Amazon to the mountainsides of the Andes. As only he can, Miller introduces us to straw cutters, weavers, middlemen, exporters, and everyone in between. A Panama Hat Trail is at once a study in global economics and a lively travelogue.