50 Most Important Minerals that Changed the Course of History

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 also includes minerals used as currency, as jewelry and as lay and religious ornamentation when combined with gem minerals like diamonds, amber, coral, and jade. Entries are organized by name and considered for their influence in four categories: Industrial, Cultural, Commercial and Scientific. More than 200 elegant drawings, photographs, paintings and excerpts from literature highlight the concise text. 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 n