Ed Conway – författare

Brought to you by Penguin.THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERSand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. They built our world, and they will transform our future.These are the six most crucial substances in human history. They took us from the Dark Ages to the present day. They power our computers and phones, build our homes and offices, and create life-saving medicines. But most of us take them completely for granted.In Material World, Ed Conway travels the globe - from the sweltering depths of the deepest mine in Europe, to spotless silicon chip factories in Taiwan, to the eerie green pools where lithium originates - to uncover a secret world we rarely see. Revealing the true marvel of these substances, he follows the mind-boggling journeys, miraculous processes and little-known companies that turn the raw materials we all need into products of astonishing complexity.As we wrestle with climate change, energy crises and the threat of new global conflict, Conway shows why these substances matter more than ever before, and how the hidden battle to control them will shape our geopolitical future. This is the story of civilisation - our ambitions and glory, innovations and appetites - from a new perspective: literally from the ground up.''A compelling narrative of the human story'' TIM MARSHALL, author of Prisoners of Geography''Lively, rich and exciting... full of surprises'' PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads©2023 Ed Conway (P)2023 Penguin Audio

The story of trade is the story of humanity. From the copper in Mesopotamian ploughs to the silicon atoms within the chip inside your smartphone, intricate global trading networks have evolved over millennia to fulfil the distinctly human desire to buy and sell.Today, the volume of trade bestriding the planet is unprecedented. Yet, as fractures in the global order emerge - from an era of globalisation and untrammelled flows of goods and money to a new world of restrictions, intervention and, possibly, war - understanding this fundamental shift to the dominant economic consensus is more important than ever.In TRADE WORLD, bestselling, award-winning author Ed Conway tells this extraordinary story through these three commonplace products - bread, cloth and cars. With a compelling blend of economic history and first-hand access to key figures and institutions, he takes us from policy treaties to ground level to show us the people who make, ship and sometimes smuggle the products we buy on a daily basis.Discover the hidden, shifting trade world behind everything you see around you.

The idea of world leaders gathering in the midst of economic crisis has become all-too familiar. But the summit at Bretton Woods in 1944 was the only time countries from around the world have agreed to overhaul the structure of the international monetary system. And, what''s more, they were successful - it was the closest to perfection the world''s economy has ever been, and arguably the demise of the Bretton Woods system is behind our present woes.

This was no dry economic conference. The delegates spent half the time at each other''s throats, and the other half drinking in the hotel bar. The Russians nearly capsized the entire project. The French threatened to walk out, repeatedly. John Maynard Keynes had a heart attack. His American counterpart was a KGB spy. But this summit could be instrumental in preventing World War Three.

Drawing on a wealth of unpublished accounts, diaries and oral histories, this brilliant book describes the conference in stunning colour and clarity. Bringing to life the characters, events and economics and written with exceptional verve and narrative pace,this is an extraordinarily accomplished work of history from a talented new writer.