{"product_id":"under-a-metal-sky-isbn-9781640097445","title":"Under a Metal Sky","description":"\u003cb\u003eDiscover 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\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eUnder a Metal Sky\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeautifully written and wildly mind-expanding, \u003ci\u003eUnder a Metal Sky\u003c\/i\u003e seamlessly blends travel writing, cultural history, and geology. Who knew the history of rocks could be such a page-turner?\u003cb\u003eA Goodreads Fall Most Anticipated Read\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[Marsden's] enthusiasm for the subject is contagious, and he writes with a rock-collector's eye for glittering details. One senses this is a book he has been longing to write for years.\" ―\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Philip Marsden's new book is a wunderkammer, and well worth reading . . . The charm and the genius of this book is in its ability not to pigeonhole itself.\" ―\u003ci\u003eThe Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] lyrical meditation on the riches beneath our feet, from ochre and mercury to gold and lithium . . . Like his earlier works—\u003ci\u003eThe Crossing Place\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Spirit-Wrestlers\u003c\/i\u003e and\u003ci\u003e Rising Ground\u003c\/i\u003e—that trace journeys through Armenia, Russia and Cornwall respectively, the writer and historian explores the ties between landscape and who we are. The narrative blends travel writing with philosophical inquiry, starting and finishing in his home region . . . Marden’s sense of awe is palpable.\" —Anjli Raval, \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A love letter to these key resources hidden within rocks and buried beneath the earth . . . \u003ci\u003eUnder a Metal Sky \u003c\/i\u003eis a gracefully meticulous book, full of lyrical nature writing and didactic memoir. Accompanied by a lively cast of characters—from heavy-metal obsessed miners in Austria to the copper-loving poet William Blake—Marsden takes the reader on a tour of our metallic history.\" ―\u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Fascinating . . . Equally arresting are his reflections, mythological asides and the historical figures whose lives he alloys with the narrative. Not the least of these is a magisterial appreciation of the great writer and fellow rock hunter Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. These engrossing essays on disparate but notable individuals alone are worth the price of admission . . . Immersing himself in these subjects also yields nuggets of insight into the Big Questions, each addressed with humility, all girded by some of the loveliest descriptive writing one will read anywhere . . . Marsden can make 'an endless plain of silica and feldspar grit' on a seabed’s shallows conjure magic, and his latest book positively gleams.\" —Bill Thompson, \u003ci\u003eThe Post and Courier\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Rock collectors will love this book about minerals.\" —Andrew Robinson, \u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Glorious . . . a nuanced work . . . This is a scholarly work rich in history, science and ecology . . . [Marsden] has a gift for fusing the technical facts with his personal travel narrative.\" —\u003ci\u003eCountry Life\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Mind-boggling . . . deeply thoughtful, well-written and illuminating journey through the world of minerals and an exploration of their impact on the life and history of our planet.\" ―\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Absorbing . . . It is a vast subject, and Marsden has a prospector's eye for finding glitter.\" ―\u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"A dazzling account of humanity’s mystical and perilous relationship with rocks, minerals, and metals . . . His passion for geology shines in his accessible explanations and lyrical prose. This is a wonder.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[Marsden] explores metals and metal-bearing matrixes integral to human culture—ochre, tin, peat, bronze, silver, radium, aerolite, mercury, copper, gold, lithium, and soil—and the veins our uses of metals have taken. But just as fascinating are his reflections, mythological asides, and the historical figures whose lives he alloys with the narrative. Chief among Marsden’s essays on disparate but notable individuals is a magisterial appreciation of Goethe . . . An exploration of minerals that gleams with substance and authority.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A luminously rich exploration of the mineral wonderland beneath our feet. Imaginatively travelled and beautiful written.\" —Colin Thubron\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A book of breathtaking wealth and depth, as passionate as it is clear-eyed (and funny). Marsden takes the history of metals and, from it, creates a dazzling history of humanity and our relationship with this planet. It can only be alchemy.\" —Tom Bullough\u003cb\u003ePHILIP MARSDEN\u003c\/b\u003e is the award-winning author of a number of works of travel writing, fiction, and nonfiction, including \u003ci\u003eThe Bronski House\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Spirit-Wrestlers\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e The Levelling Sea\u003c\/i\u003e, and, for \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRising Ground\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Summer Isles.\u003c\/i\u003e 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.","brand":"Counterpoint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233811280101,"sku":"NP9781640097445","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781640097445.jpg?v=1767743206","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/under-a-metal-sky-isbn-9781640097445","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}