Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future
Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, lithium. Six words that might seem mundane, yet between them they account for nearly everything humanity has ever built, powered, or imagined. Ed Conway's book peels back the ordinary surface of these materials to expose a hidden architecture underneath modern life, one that most of us pass over without a second thought. Conway travels widely for this investigation, visiting the places where these substances are extracted, refined, and fought over. What he finds is quietly extraordinary. These are not background details of history; they are its engine. From the close of the Dark Ages to the smartphone in your pocket, each material has played a starring role, and Conway is a confident, engaging guide through their stories. What makes the book particularly sharp is its timing. With climate pressures mounting, energy supplies under strain, and geopolitical tensions rising, the question of who controls these six substances has never carried more weight. Conway argues, convincingly, that the coming decades will be shaped less by ideology or technology than by the raw physical contest over what lies beneath the ground. Shortlisted for the FT Business Book of the Year Award and the British Academy Book Prize, and praised by writers including Tim Harford and Peter Frankopan, this is a book that rewards curiosity. It's accessible without being simplistic, and genuinely thought-provoking without resorting to alarm. If you've ever wondered what the world is actually made of, in every sense, this is a fine place to start.
- Author: Ed Conway
- Publisher: WH Allen
- Genre: Economics
- ISBN: 978-0753559178
- Pages: 512 pages