Material World

A high-octane tour through the materials that underlie our civilisation: sand, salt, steel, copper, oil & lithium. So many intriguing side notes that sent me off down rabbit holes (African ghost miners!). Really brings home the mammoth scale, complexity & interconnectedness of these critical industries that we take for granted. But also highlights their fragility, the environmental damage they cause, and the immense difficulty of reforming them to be sustainable.

I think this is probably one of, if not the best non fiction book I've read in recent years.

Incredibly well written, interesting, intricately connected, and mind blowing. This book masterfully combines science, history, and glimpses of the future while at no point being dry or academic.

Some highlights for me: - The great salt hedge of India - Cheshire salt in the modern day - Synthetic petroleum during WWII - Fracking - What is your tomato really made of

I loved how Conway linked each of the materials in the material world together and gave me an overview of our modern tech tree.

I highly recommend. I found the history of the material sciences progress mixed with most modern applications and problems very engaging. Felt a bit more rushed towards the end chapters.

Data ends on 2022, so perhaps an update on lithium would be valuable: after the spike in prices the author mentions, in 2023 lithium prices fell 80% despite the EV car and battery production growing at a high pace. New sites are being brought online.