Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future
£17.34£22.00 (-21%)
**Shortlisted for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award**
A FINANCIAL TIMES and NEW STATESMAN Book of the Year
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
‘A compelling narrative of the human story’ TIM MARSHALL, author of Prisoners of Geography
‘Lively, rich and exciting… full of surprises’ PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads
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Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future.
These are the six most crucial substances in human history. They took us from the Dark Ages to the present day. They power our computers and phones, build our homes and offices, and create life-saving medicines. But most of us take them completely for granted.
In Material World, Ed Conway travels the globe – from the sweltering depths of the deepest mine in Europe, to spotless silicon chip factories in Taiwan, to the eerie green pools where lithium originates – to uncover a secret world we rarely see. Revealing the true marvel of these substances, he follows the mind-boggling journeys, miraculous processes and little-known companies that turn the raw materials we all need into products of astonishing complexity.
As we wrestle with climate change, energy crises and the threat of new global conflict, Conway shows why these substances matter more than ever before, and how the hidden battle to control them will shape our geopolitical future. This is the story of civilisation – our ambitions and glory, innovations and appetites – from a new perspective: literally from the ground up.
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by A. M. Wilson
The book deals with six main materials, sand, salt, iron, ,copper, oil and lithium. Each chapter details how the substance is mined, processed and used in the world. It is an utterly absorbing read and shows how dependent the world is on these basic materials . It is well researched and easy to read . Shows how the chain of trade between countries is so vital for everyone as our day to day lives rely on the by products of these materials . Thoroughly recommend this book . To those who parade the signs…Just stop oil…..I suggest they read this book.
by Wayward
This opus is a fascinating journey through of the creation of our stuff… I am equally fascinated and terrified thinking about about how much needs to be burned, harvested, drilled, dug up, mined, extracted, trudged, rendered and synthesized to enable us to live a life that our grandparents (let alone our ancestors) couldn’t have even dreamed of.
No conversation about the economy or environment can be honestly had without consideration of the material world and the inevitable global interdependence which results.
by A. M. Wilson
What a fantastic piece of researched journalism on how the world actually works. Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. Who thinks about them? This is essential reading for anyone interested in making a better future – from governments to corporations to NGOs and on to startups and the next generation. I found something to bookmark and absorb virtually on every page, but maybe would have added carbon as the seventh material? Either way, it’s easily the best non-fiction work I’ve read for decades. Well done! It’s a must read.
by Ms Viv
Interesting to better understand how the new materials will be required to allow there move into the Electric age
by deebell
As an engineer, I considered myself to be pretty much in touch with the Material World. But this book showed me so much more about the interconnectivity and interdependency of all things in this world. Fascinating and very accessible read.
by JessH
This book was a revelation, did you know the modern world cannot function without sand? I had no idea just how vital sand is to the modern tech world, who knew? Not me, and I like to bet, not you either! Just six materials are in this book, and almost every page is a revelation. Did you know there is one hole (one of many) that would swallow the Burj Khalifa with space to spare above it, just to dig up a mineral the new tech world relies on utterly. I had no idea how destructive our new renewable world could potentially be, nor did I know renewables cannot be made without some input of old fashioned coke! Nor did I realise quite how explosive lithium is, no cars allowed on processing site, they walk or use normal bicycles, so as not to blow themselves to kingdom come! Please read this book, you’ll really be very glad you did!
by Susan G.
Very informative. So much information that is so relevant to our world, but that most of us are so completely ignorant of.
The news media (BBC, CNN, etc.) sometimes have articles that touch on the “Material World”, but really they are just sound bites that are intended to grab our attention for a few moments and then are gone. They tell us little of any real value, and probably mislead us as often as inform us. This book on the other hand gives us the much fuller picture, and wow!, its quite a picture.
Anyone who takes even the slightest interest in what is going on in the world should read this book. It gave me a whole different understanding of why there might be tensions over Taiwan, and why currents events in Ukraine might really be happening. And how the “Stop Oil” folks really need to do some homework to broaden their horizons.
I also found the book to be very easy reading.
by Kindle Customer
Easy to read. Rich on detail. Intelligent work.