Material World

A bold new story of human progress, told through six materials that built our world and will transform our future. For fans of Tim Marshall, Lewis Dartnell, Jared Diamond and Yuval Harari.

The Sunday Times Bestseller and Radio 4 Book of the Week

An Economist, Financial Times, Times and New Statesman Book of the Year
Shortlisted for the FT Business Book of the Year Award and the British Academy Book Prize, longlisted for the Wainwright Conservation Writing Prize

'Compelling' – Tim Marshall
'Lively, rich and exciting' – Peter Frankopan
'Vitally important' – Tim Harford

Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future.

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 these six crucial materials completely for granted.

In Material World, Ed Conway travels the globe to uncover a secret world we rarely see. 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.