Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium — these foundational materials are literally what the modern world is built on. Without sand for glass, say goodbye to our fiber optic internet. No copper means no conductive wiring. And a world without lithium is a world without rechargeable batteries. For the final installment of Hitting the Books for 2023, we're bringing you an excerpt from the fantastic Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway. A finalist for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year award, Material World walks readers through the seismic impacts these six substances have had on human civilization throughout history, using a masterful mix of narrative storytelling and clear-eyed technical explanation. In the excerpt below, Conway discusses how the lithium ion battery technology that is currently powering the EV revolution came into existence. Thanks very much for reading Hitting the Books this year, we'll be back with more of the best excerpts from new and upcoming technology titles in post-CES January, 2024! Penguin Random House Excerpted from Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway. Published by Knopf. Copyright © 2023 by Ed Conway. All rights reserved. A Better Battery The first engineer to use lithium in a battery was none other than Thomas Edison. Having mastered the manufacture of concrete by focusing religiously on improving the recipe and... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2023-12-24 15:30:10 UTC ]
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In looking for 'solutions and people who make a positive difference,' Frankfurt this year is assembling speakers on challenge and change. The post Frankfurter Buchmesse Announces Centerpiece Event for ‘Create Your Revolution’ Campaign appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-08-16 10:43:08 UTC ]
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“The Catcher in the Rye” and other Salinger novels are coming out in digital formats, and the writer’s son plans to release more from his archives. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-08-11 09:00:01 UTC ]
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New Scottish indie press Haunt has passed a Kickstarter target for its first publication, an anthology of diverse gothic fiction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-09 01:04:16 UTC ]
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As we enter the fourth industrial revolution, book publishing and manufacturing are being affected by automation, data exchange, artificial intelligence, and more. This webinar will explore what it means for publishers and manufacturers, what industry leaders are already doing, and how they plan... Continue reading at Publishing Executive
[ Publishing Executive | 2019-08-05 15:22:41 UTC ]
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A new Scottish literary magazine from Golden Hare Books manager Julie Danskin and writer Heather Parry has sailed past its Kickstarter target. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-04 14:37:35 UTC ]
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Conversation rooted in leftist literature served as the foundation for the 2019 Socialism Conference, held from July 4 through July 7 in Chicago. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-07-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The 'Create Your Revolution' campaign is this year's cooperative effort for Frankfurter Buchmesse with the United Nations. The post UN Sustainable Development Goals: Frankfurter Buchmesse’s ‘Create Your Revolution’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-07-02 13:20:25 UTC ]
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Riots and parades have made LGBTQ people visible. But a new anthology of writings from before, during, and after Stonewall shows the inward changes as more essential. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2019-06-26 14:29:00 UTC ]
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Eighteen years ago, 'X-Men' taught audiences that comic books could live onscreen, as vast and rewarding as they were in their original form. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2019-06-07 14:43:31 UTC ]
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Haymarket Books will publish an anthology of fiction, poetry, and literary essays in 2020 after a successful Kickstarter campaign enabled its editor to pay the permission fees required to reprint iconic writings about abortion. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Ruth Reichl, former editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine — previously a food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times — released her newest memoir, “Save Me The Plums,” earlier this year, telling a “tale of the end of American magazine media as we knew it.” The book is also many... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The increasing popularity of podcasts has seen a number of new entrants: Alex Reads of Mostly Lit shares seven recommendations for the year ahead. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2019-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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When Sean Parker crossed California's beach access police over his wedding in Big Sur, the tech billionaire agreed to create a coastal access app for the people. The app launches Thursday after an unusual collaboration between two very different, but very California, worlds. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The battery boom is coming to China, California and basically everywhere else — and it will be even bigger than previously thought. The global energy-storage market will surge to a cumulative 942 gigawatts by 2040, according to a new forecast from Bloomberg NEF published Tuesday, and that growth... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The publisher grew registered users by 40 percent to 600,000 last year using machine learning and A/B testing. The post How Swiss news publisher NZZ built a flexible paywall using machine learning appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Family is the first big editorial initiative by The Atlantic, now majority owned by Laurene Powell Jobs, since the publisher announced a staff expansion. The post The Atlantic’s new family section is built for the post-news feed era appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2018-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The head of publisher Hachette has claimed ebooks are a failure – but as an author and a reader, they’ve completely changed my lifeI was a relatively late convert to the e-reader, getting my Kindle five years ago when it became clear that reading 600-pages of A Suitable Boy while breastfeeding... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author and founder of the BuyMeOnce website Tara Button was a shopaholic until she fell in love with a Le Creuset pot. Now disposable is a dirty wordForget retail therapy. It’s so yesterday. Avoiding frequent visits to the shops is a better way to serenity, claims a book published this week,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2018-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Looking to add a new fundraising facet to its crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter is launching Drip, a subscription service that will allow fans to provide recurring financial support directly to their favorite creators. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If the idea of sitting through a personal finance course or reading personal finance book makes your eyes glaze over, then Lillian Karabaic may have a solution for you. It involves cats. It involves indie comic book illustrators. It involves Ziggy Starbudget (her David Bowie-themed alter... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2017-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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