Stuff Matters (Miodownik) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Materials, Miodownik concludes, are so much more than "blobs of differently colored matter." They are wonders—"self-­healing concrete," a jelly that catches stars. I now know to read up on concrete, a previously unthinkable activity, and I'll never think of Tutankhamen without remembering that he was found wearing a scarab with a piece of natural glass 26 million years old that was probably forged by a meteor that struck the white sands of the Libyan desert. It's possible this science and these stories have been told elsewhere, but like the best chocolatiers, Miodownik gets the blend right
Rose George - New York Times Book Review


Superb storytelling...fascinating...a delightful book on a subject that is relatively rarely written about.
Popular Science


[A] wonderful account of the materials that have made the modern world…Miodownik writes well enough to make even concrete sparkle.
Financial Times


A deftly written, immensely enjoyable little book.
Observer (UK)


[Miodownik] makes even the most everyday seem thrilling.
Sunday Times (UK)


Enthralling...a mission to re-acquaint us with the wonders of the fabric that sustains our lives.
Guardian


(Starred review.) [H]umor helps highlight such facts as we are one of the first generations to not taste our cutlery, due to the properties of stainless steel, or that “the biggest diamond yet discovered... is orbiting a pulsar star”.... Miodownik’s infectious curiosity and explanatory gifts will inspire readers to take a closer look at the materials around them.
Publishers Weekly


University professor Miodownik accomplishes a bit of a miracle here by making a discussion of materials science not only accessible but witty as well.... At a time when science is maligned, first-rate storyteller Miodownik entertains and educates with pop-culture references [and] scholarly asides.... A delight for the curious reader. —Colleen Mondor
Booklist


A compact, intense guided tour through a handful of physical materials...revealing what makes them profoundly affect our lives.... The author writes with enthusiasm, empathy and gratitude [and] helps us understand the complexity of inner structures. Puts the wonder and strangeness back into all the truly magical stuff that comprises our everyday reality.
Kirkus Reviews