Under a Metal Sky: A Journey Through Minerals, Greed, and Wonder

Discover the wonders and perils of the earth’s precious metals--what they have offered us as humans, and how they’ve forever changed our relationship with the world around us

The ground beneath our feet is full of riches: the ocher that allowed prehistoric humans to paint on cave walls; the tin that drove the early Industrial Revolution; radium, the source of Marie Curie’s wonder; and lithium, the essential mineral of modern life found in our mobile phones and laptops. Each of these minerals has a story to tell, and each has its place in the broader story of human history.

Under a Metal Sky takes us on a journey across the peat-rich Dutch lowlands, through Prague and Bohemia, and on to the gold-rich mountains of Georgia. Along the way, Philip Marsden uncovers the strange and colorful histories of alchemy, scientific revolution, industrialization, and technological innovation, peopled by figures like the Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II, Goethe, Marie Curie, and William Blake. But alongside wonder and inspiration, there has also been plunder and heedless exploitation, the consequences of which have set us on a path toward our own extinction.

Beautifully written and wildly mind-expanding, Under a Metal Sky seamlessly blends travel writing, cultural history, and geology. Who knew the history of rocks could be such a page-turner?

PHILIP MARSDEN is the award-winning author of a number of works of travel writing, fiction and nonfiction, including The Bronski House, The Spirit-Wrestlers and The Levelling Sea, and for Granta: Rising Ground and The Summer Isles. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and his work has been translated into fifteen languages. He lives in Cornwall, England on an old farm beside a tidal creek and much of his time is now taken up trying to restore its biodiversity.