Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization

Name: Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
Price: 28.67 USD
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Rating: 4.7 (517 reviews)

4.7 of 5 Stars: Economics - Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization

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Book Synopsis: Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. These fundamental materials have created empires, razed civilizations, and fed our ingenuity and greed for thousands of years. Without them, our modern world would not exist, and the battle to control them will determine our future. • Finalist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award

The fiber-optic cables that weave the World Wide Web, the copper veins of our electric grids, the silicon chips and lithium batteries that power our phones and cars: though it can feel like we now live in a weightless world of information—what Ed Conway calls “the ethereal world”—our twenty-first-century lives are still very much rooted in the material.

In fact, we dug more stuff out of the earth in 2017 than in all of human history before 1950. For every ton of fossil fuels, we extract six tons of other materials, from sand to stone to wood to metal. And in Material World, Conway embarks on an epic journey across continents, cultures, and epochs to reveal the underpinnings of modern life on Earth—traveling 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.

Material World is a celebration of the humans and the human networks, the miraculous processes and the little-known companies, that combine to turn raw materials into things of wonder. This is the story of human civilization from an entirely new perspective: the ground up.

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Discover the untold story of our modern civilization in the critically acclaimed book, Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization. Delve into the fascinating journey of sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium - the building blocks of our world. From creating empires to fueling our ingenuity, these materials have been at the center of human history for thousands of years.

Are you curious about the hidden role these materials play in our daily lives? Look no further than Material World. This finalist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award will take you on a captivating adventure across continents and through time. Explore the fiber-optic cables powering the World Wide Web, the copper veins that keep our electric grids running, and the lithium batteries that drive our phones and cars.

Material World unveils the astonishing facts behind our material-dependent society. Did you know that in 2017, we extracted more resources from the earth than at any point in history? Our reliance on materials is still fundamental, with six tons extracted for every ton of fossil fuel. Join author Ed Conway as he ventures to the deepest mines of Europe, high-tech chip factories in Taiwan, and the mysterious origins of lithium in eerie green pools.

Immerse yourself in the incredible human stories that intertwine with the production of raw materials. Material World celebrates the complex networks, remarkable processes, and lesser-known companies that transform these materials into wonders of modern technology. Gain a fresh perspective on human civilization, where the story is told from the ground up.

Don't miss out on this eye-opening exploration of the forces shaping our world. Experience Material World today and discover the hidden connections that bind us all. To learn more about this captivating book, click here.

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