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Under a Metal Sky: A Journey Through Minerals, Greed and Wonder

By (author) Philip Marsden

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normal price: R 682.95

Price: R 647.95

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The discovery of minerals beneath our feet has transformed our species. Ochre first prompted humans to express themselves in art; tin and copper helped instigate the Bronze Age and later the Industrial Revolution; silver kick-started the engines of global trade. Each of these substances generated a leap forward in technology, each one opened the imagination a little further - and each one brought with it a cache of unexpected dangers. Under A Metal Sky begins and ends in Philip Marsden's homeland of Cornwall, one of the world's great geological hotspots.Travelling eastwards into Europe, he examines how the extraction of peat propelled the Netherlands to world prominence but also imperilled its very existence. Continuing on up the Rhine by barge, into the heart of the continent, he uncovers more stories of potent and tempting resources, from iron-rich meteorites to radium and mercury, and the gold-bearing mountains of Georgia. At the same time he explores precious seams of ideas, from science to alchemy, mysticism to ecology - and those questing souls who pursued them, likeParacelsus, the Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II, Goethe,William Blake and Marie Curie. Rich with revelations, Under A Metal Sky traces the dazzling achievements and dark consequences of our ability to extract what we want from the earth, and presents a fascinating new perspective on European history and on our troubled relationship with the natural world.

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The Ballerina and the Bull: Anarchist Utopias in the Age of Finance

Johanna Isaacson
Paperback / softback
288 pages
was: R 306.95
now: R 275.95
This title will take longer to obtain, and should be delivered in 6-8 weeks

Our moment has seen the resurgence of an anarchist sensibility, from the uprisings in Seattle in 1999 to the Occupy movement of 2011.

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Fifteen Dogs

AndrÃ© Alexis
Paperback / softback
176 pages
was: R 280.95
now: R 252.95
Available from overseas. Dispatched in aprox 4-8 weeks as local supplier is out of stock

A pack of dogs are granted the power of human thought - but what will it do to them? A surprising and insightful look at the beauty and perils of consciousness.

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Bonsai Success in Southern Africa

Carl Morrow
Paperback / softback
160 pages
was: R 320.95
now: R 288.95
Stock is usually dispatched in 6-12 days from date of order

In this uniquely Southern African book, Carl Morrow and Keith Kirsten guide readers step by step into the magical realms of bonsai as a hobby, horticultural practice and art form.

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