Under a Metal Sky - by Philip Marsden (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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?

Review Quotes

A Goodreads Fall Most Anticipated Read

"[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." ―The Guardian

"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." ―The Daily Telegraph

"[A] lyrical meditation on the riches beneath our feet, from ochre and mercury to gold and lithium . . . Like his earlier works--The Crossing Place, The Spirit-Wrestlers and Rising Ground--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, Financial Times

"A love letter to these key resources hidden within rocks and buried beneath the earth . . . Under a Metal Sky is 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." ―New Statesman

"Rock collectors will love this book about minerals." --Andrew Robinson, Nature

"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." --Country Life

"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." ―Literary Review

"Absorbing . . . It is a vast subject, and Marsden has a prospector's eye for finding glitter." ―The Times Literary Supplement

"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." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[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." --Kirkus Reviews

"A luminously rich exploration of the mineral wonderland beneath our feet. Imaginatively travelled and beautiful written." --Colin Thubron

"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

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.