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

The ground beneath our feet is full of riches: the ochre that allowed prehistoric humans to paint on the cave walls; the tin that drove the early Industrial Revolution; aerolite, the stony meteorite that is both worshiped and traded; radium, the source of Marie Curie’s wonder and the small cult of travelers who continue to seek out radium hotels for healing; and the essential mineral of modern life – the lithium in our mobile phones and laptops. Each of these minerals has a story to tell; each has opened our imaginations a little further, brought with it unexpected dangers, and each one has its place in the broader story of human history. Beautifully written and mind-expanding,

About the author

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, 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.

Product details

• Authors: Philip Marsden
• Publisher: Counterpoint
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 04.11.2025
• EAN: 9781640097445
• ISBN: 978-1-64009-744-5
• No. of pages: 352
• Dimensions: 162 mm x 236 mm x 30 mm
• Subjects: Travel > Travelogues, traveller's tales; Europe, European History, TRAVEL / Essays & Travelogues, HISTORY / Europe / General, NATURE / Rocks & Minerals, Travel writing, Rocks, minerals & fossils, Rocks, minerals and fossils: general interest