cover image Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History

Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History

Eric Chaline. Firefly, $29.95 (224p) ISBN 978-1-55407-984-1

Chaline continues the theme of his recent book, Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History, in this compilation of anecdotal entries on the use of minerals throughout the world and through time. Obviously influential minerals like coal, gold, petroleum, and uranium are dutifully featured, while chapters covering minerals of apparently lesser import%E2%80%94talc, alabaster, and jade among them%E2%80%94read more like filler to hit the titular 50. Some entries use minerals as little more than impetus for discussions of tangential topics, as when Chaline hops from obsidian to a discourse on Mesoamerican society. Elsewhere, the author makes sweeping statements that require more elucidation if readers are to be convinced of a mineral's role in altering history; a caption in a chapter discussing sulfur, for example, benignly declares that "Sulfuric acid was used by jilted lovers in revenge attacks." The brief sections are consistently interesting, and plenty of supplemental illustrations and photos make this a handsome volume, but the title is mostly hyperbole%E2%80%94chapters should be taken with a grain of NaCl. Chaline's effort is best-suited to curious kids and casual mineralogists. Photos & illus. (July)