Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization
Ed Conway
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. more
512 pages, Hardcover
First published Knopf
4.56
Rating
1292
Ratings
156
Reviews
Ed Conway
3 books 38 followers
Author writes under the name Edmund Conway as wellCommunity reviews
Probably the best book that I have read this year, talks about the importance of six minerals, how we extract them and how desperately countries are dependent on each other for basic raw materials. more
Ed Conway's Material World is his term for a world most of us no longer inhabit, of which we are not even really conscious, a contrast to our 'ethereal world' of services industries, finance and media:Perhaps you live there too: it is a rather lovely place, a world of ideas In the ethereal world we sell services and management and administration; we build apps and websites; we transfer money from one column to another; we trade mostly in thoughts and advice, in haircuts and food delivery. If mountains are being torn down on the other side of the planet, it hardly seems especially relevant here in the ethereal world. When I flew out to Nevada to film that mountain being exploded I was really looking to film a visual metaphor, to turn the physical into something ethereal: a news report that would help people understand an idea like trade flows that bit better. Standing at the edge of the pit there, though, it occurred to me that my perspective had been dangerously shallow. All of a sudden I realised I was staring out from the brink of one world and into another: the Material World. more
Material World offers a good overview of the topic of modern commodities, their interlinkedness, and critical aspects of their processes. While nowhere near as comprehensive as it could have been, the writing is still easy to read and understand, though there a few questions on last-mile accuracy. The big issue is that not only is the writing itself a bit surface level, the exploration itself can end up being so as well. The deep dives into particular examples offer tantalising glimpses of important areas that could have been explored further to round the book out, but the choice of 6 commodities makes it a bit fast paced for the subject. A very useful entry into the specifics commodities and gives an excellent guide into pointed questions for further exploration. more
An enjoyable, informative, and, for those of us who live primarily in the ‘ethereal’ world, possibly an important book. It spells out just how totally (and increasingly) dependent we are on all the stuff we dig or suck out of the ground. The writer shares his wonder at the human ingenuity involved in the extraction and processing of minerals, and his concerns about the associated environmental costs. Lots of history, lots of industrial detail and lots of food for thought. He concentrates on six materials: sand (i. more
A must-read - something I don't say lightly - to understand the modern world. Perhaps best summed up as "Capitalism, eh. Mental. "This is a properly fascinating balance of macro and micro scale revelations about the more practical, physical side of how the world works - and what that means for everything and everyone on the planet. Huge amounts here were totally new to me, and much of it shocking - from the sheer complexity of production processes and supply chains, to the fragility of our current ways of living. more
Fascinating, lively, vitally important and, furthermore, hopeful. Everyone should read it - especially politicians and environmental campaigners. And Ed Conway should be knighted for writing it. more
The book sounded promising. But the author meanders all over the place, loves the sound of his own voice, and takes forever to say anything meaningful. Pretentious twaddle. I'm setting this aside for now. The book opens with the author visiting a big, low-grade Nevada gold mine. more
This is a fascinating book that reminds us how we, now more than ever, are dependent on raw materials mined from the earth for sustaining our modern way of life. The author concentrates on six essential raw materials: sand, salt, iron and steel, copper, crude oil and gas, and lithium. Each material gets a brief historic overview and a travelogue around the world describing the complex web of supply chains from mining to refining to manufacturing processes to final products. Some examples:Sand provides the silicon, with which solar panels are manufactured. Sand also provides the silicon, with which silicon wafers are manufactured, from which semi conductors are manufactured, with which computer chips are produced. more
A fascinating, cross-disciplinary look at how six raw earth materials (sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium) have been mined, refined, extracted, utilized, and exploited over the course of human history. Conway traveled extensively while researching this book, and he incorporates historical research alongside modern research on the deleterious environmental and socioeconomic impacts of many current extraction and mining practices. Further reading:The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed CivilizationLithium: A Doctor, a Drug, and a BreakthroughThe Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean (for more discussion about deep sea mining). more
This book was a lot of things: a love letter to manufacturing, a call to mindfulness about material use, and also quite simply a mindf*** because you learn answers to questions you wouldn't even think to ask. more
This book contains facts and figures which astonished me about the stuff used to make or power things we rely upon every day such as our food, vehicles or mobile phones. It's written in the style of Sunday newspaper journalism with stories of companies and individuals and histories of the development of industries and products. There are interesting accounts of the author's visits to critical sites like copper mines and high- tech manufacturing sites. It's global in scope inevitably but, coming from a British author it has enough local material to sustain interest in Britain readers. Shot throughout the book is the issue of the climate and environmental emergency and the urgent question of the survival of our global interconnected civilization, or even human life in general. more
Phenomenal, should be mandatory reading for anyone interacting with investing, politics and general resource allocation. more
“Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization” is a fascinating and enlightening exploration of the hidden history and impact of sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium on human civilization. Ed Conway, the author and narrator of the audiobook, takes us on a journey across continents, cultures, and epochs to reveal how these seemingly simple 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. Conway is an engaging and eloquent storyteller, who combines rigorous research, vivid anecdotes, and personal insights to bring the material world to life. He shows us how sand is the foundation of our digital age, how salt shaped the course of history and human biology, how iron forged the industrial revolution and the modern warfare, how copper enabled the electrification and communication of the world, how oil fueled the rise and fall of nations and the environmental crisis, and how lithium powers our portable devices and the green energy transition. more
Es Conway's "Material World" is a novel that ambitiously attempts to explore the complexities and nuances of our modern, materialistic society. While the theme is undoubtedly pertinent and resonant in today's world, the book, unfortunately, struggles to deliver its message effectively. One of the primary issues with "Material World" is its pacing and narrative structure. The story meanders through various subplots and characters, making it difficult for the reader to remain engaged or fully comprehend the central theme. This lack of focus not only dilutes the impact of the story but also leaves many narrative threads unresolved or inadequately explored. more
One of those books that in itself does not seem to bring much new groundbreaking information. But it does shine a light on the important stuff, on what this world is actually made of, and how it works on the basical material level. By narrating it all so well, it suddenly becomes an instant classic for the era of decarbonization. And yet, I can easily imagine, in a couple of years, it will not seem that interesting anymore, once the important insights slowly drip through to the general public. It might become common knowledge that none of us can continue living the way we do without tons of sand, for instance. more
Must read. Well written and fascinating subject. Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil & lithium. Amazing to learn how critical these materials are to everything we eat and use today. How important they have been historically and will be in the future. more
Rating: 9/10Duration: 11 daysGenuinely mindblowing to read about how 6 materials - salt, sand, iron, copper, oil, and lithium - silently make the world go round. It's even more mindblowing when you realize that all 6 of these materials are intricately connected. The book is dense with information (as to be expected with a subject of this magnitude), but Conway makes the read enjoyable nonetheless. I enjoyed the geopolitics and historical tidbits more than learning about the manufacturing of each material (those parts kind of bored me). I kind of hope that Netflix turns this book into a docu-series with Conway narrating because I genuinely think that it would do well. more
Jack of all trades, master of … all. Phenomenal in every respect — not only does it chronicle how we source, transform, and use some of the most important components of modern living, but the book frames everything in terms of energy, chemistry, technology, engineering, geopolitics, trade, and economics. The author has a sharp wit and dry sense of humor, too, which enhances the portions where he recounts a visit to a salt mine, or a refinery, or anywhere else we extract these critical materials. Highly, highly recommended. more
This book got a lot deeper / more technical than your run-of-the-mill pop book, while still remaining accessible - getting into a lot more interesting detail on the mining, refining, and product applications for the highlighted materials than I was expecting. It’s always a little sobering to understand how much of modern society is dependent on extreme material extraction (which comes with steep environmental tolls), with wildly complex global supply chains. I thought the materials selected (sand / salt / steel / copper / oil / lithium) were all interesting - sand and salt probably were the ones I found the most new/interesting, and lithium was a bit rushed (understandable given the newness). Overall a good read to better understand the physical economy. more
This book is packed with information. I learned a lot and can see the world a little more broadly now. I read it from the library and then bought a copy to reread in the future. I’d love to read an updated version in 2050 when so many companies are targeting a net zero future. more
This is an excellent book covering 6 of the most essential materials we have. For those who don’t like very technical books, Conway does a great job of explaining complex processes in simple terms. This is one of the main reasons I couldn’t put it down. While I love reading technical science books, Conway has a way of not making you think too much but also learn essential info. I recommend this to everyone. more
Excellent. A global tour of the oft overlooked physical processes and substances that combine to create the foundations of our modern economy. more
This is a staggering book because it makes you see the world in a very different way. It may appear a dry subject, and I was initially slightly disappointed that only these six materials were covered. That's a lot of pages to devote to each. But the real genius of this book is how each material dovetails with the others and the order they are presented is crucial. There's a clear narrative and it's about the future just as much as it's about the past. more
Haven't quite finished 2023 but the goodreads awards reminded me that this was far and away my favourite non-fiction book of the year and astonishing it wasnt nominated. Epic in scale it tells the stories of the essential elements of our global economy and the things that make our every day lives amazing. Even Coal, much maligned, plays an essential role in this, and may still tor many years as an essential ingredient in steel, if not being used for powering our cities. This books makes connections between the every day and the speculative lithium project in Argentina or the iron ore of Australias pilbara. This, much like Tim Marshalls books on geopolitics, is right up my alley. more
This is a surprisingly easy read, despite the book having so much factual information, statistics, depressing stories about mining, and pessimistic prognostications. The author has researched extensively and seems to know what he's talking about; and has travelled extensively to the world's various mines, lakes, refineries, ports, experimental labs etc to give vivid first-hand descriptions of the gargantuan scale of human activity that has led us to our present position. Each section of the book covers one of the six materials regarded (by the author) as the most important in this development, starting with sand, and ending with lithium. You get to know about different types of sand, how it is used and transported around the world, including quite a detailed account of the journey quartzite makes from being blasted out of the ground near Santiago de Compostela, Spain, to being purified to 99. 99999999% purity silicon at Burghausen in Germany to becoming crystal boules at Portland, Oregon to being cut into wafers at Tainan, Taiwan and then, using 100-million dollar machines made by the Dutch company ASML, actually making the 'chips' used in electronic devices worldwide. more
"Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization" by Edmund Conway: A Thought-Provoking Exploration of the Building Blocks of Our WorldEdmund Conway's "Material World" is a compelling and thought-provoking examination of the fundamental raw materials that underpin our modern civilization. In a world where the supply and demand for resources are critical to global economies, this book sheds light on the importance of six key materials: concrete, steel, oil, gold, food, and water. Conway's writing style is both accessible and informative, making complex topics like resource economics and geopolitics approachable to a wide audience. Conway carefully dissects each material, explaining its historical significance and its impact on contemporary society. One of the book's strengths lies in its ability to connect these materials to broader societal and environmental issues. more
Great book. Glad I picked this as the first book to read in the new year. Read a lot of reviews of this book and saw it on a lot of "best books of the year" lists. I'm often disappointed when picking something to read off of one of these generic lists. Not this time, as I agree with all those positive sentiments; it did not disappoint. more
Mit seinem Buch "Material World" schickt Ed Conway seine Leser auf eine ebenso informative wie faszinierende Zeitreise durch Erdzeitalter und Technikgeschichte. Darüber hinaus philosophiert er über die Eingriffe des Menschen in Ökosysteme, über die Herausforderungen des Klimawandels und das Gut oder Böse neuer Technologien - kurzum, ein gewaltiger Rundumschlaf. Dass es ihm dabei gelingt, Platitüden zu vermeiden oder ins allzu Allgemeine abzugleiten, ist ihm hoch anzurechnen. Conway gibt zu - er ist ein Mensch der immateriellen Welt, einer, der Technologien und Materialien unserer Alltagsgeräte ganz selbstverständlich nutzt, ohne mit deren Herstellung zu tun zu haben. Anders als viele andere hat er aber offensichtlich gründlich darüber nachgedacht - das Ergebnis ist dieses Buch. more
ED CONWAY - MATERIAL WORLD 9. 5/10Book 6 of 2024. In the captivating exploration of our world's fundamental elements, Ed Conway unravels the profound significance of six materials that have shaped human history and will continue to mold our future. "Material World" expertly delves into the transformative power of sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium, elucidating their pivotal roles in propelling us from the Dark Ages to our contemporary era. Conway's narrative skillfully highlights the often overlooked but indispensable nature of these substances. more