Fifty Minerals That Changed the Course of History - Couverture souple

Chaline, Eric

 
9781770855878: Fifty Minerals That Changed the Course of History
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 1770855874 ISBN 13 : 9781770855878
Editeur : Firefly Books, 2017

Synopsis

"The brief sections are consistently interesting, and plenty of supplemental illustrations and photos make this a handsome volume... best-suited to curious kids and casual mineralogists." --Publishers Weekly

"A beautiful book, nicely bound and richly illustrated... written in an easy to read, casual style." --Science Books and Films

Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History is a beautifully presented guide to the minerals that have had the greatest impact on human civilization. These are the materials used from the Stone Age to the First and Second Industrial Revolutions to the Nuclear Age and include metals, ores, alloys, salts, rocks, sodium, mercury, steel and uranium. The book includes minerals used as currency, as jewelry and as lay and religious ornamentation when combined with gem minerals like diamonds, amber, coral, and jade.

Examples of the fifty minerals are:

  • Diamonds: Did a necklace ordered by Louis XV precipitate the French Revolution?
  • Sulphur: The biblical brimstone now used in organic farming.
  • Clay: The oldest ceramic object is not a cooking pot or drinking bowl, but a statuette.
  • Arsenic: Was Napoleon murdered while imprisoned on the island of St. Helena?
  • Coal: The Romans invented the first central heating system.
  • Saltpeter: China's fourth "Great Invention" was perhaps not so great after all.
  • Salt: Once used as currency, we give it little thought today.
  • Jade: The Chinese fabric of "pajamas for eternity."

    • Ubiquitous or rare, the minerals described in Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History have been fundamental to human progress, for good or evil. Many are familiar -- the aluminum can we drink from, the car we drive, the jewelry we wear. They can be poisons, medicines or weapons, but wherever found and however used, their importance can be easily overlooked. This attractive reference gives us fascinating insight into our undeniable dependence on minerals.

    Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

    À propos de l?auteur

    Eric Chaline is the author of Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History, as well as numerous titles on philosophy and history.

    Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

    Éditeur
    Firefly Books
    Date d'édition
    2017
    Langue
    anglais
    ISBN 10 
    1770855874
    ISBN 13 
    9781770855878
    Reliure
    Broché
    Nombre de pages
    224
    Coordonnées du fabricant
    non disponible
    Personne responsable
    non disponible