Book excerpt: This book concentrates on the social and economic effects that metals have had on community life and on wider historical developments. It gives a fascinating perspective proclaiming that the history of metals is the history of civilization; basing the text on the results of archeometallurgists and materials scientists and looking at the advancement of societies as a direct result of their new-found technology. The author's clear and lucid style prevents the book becoming aridly academic while he maps the course of ancient history through to medieval times and beyond, showing metal to be, ultimately, the key to history.