Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories Of The Marvellous Materials That Shape Our

Among other things, science is supposed to make our world less strange. This is exactly what this book does. It explains many allegedly strange phenomena related to various materials in a clear and "user-friendly" language.

This is, without a doubt, the most interesting, relevant, informative and enjoyable book I have read in years. The author grabs the reader's attention and makes them hunger for a greater understanding of the material "stuff" that populates our daily lives. I strongly recommend this book.I especially recommend it for high school and college students who are trying to decide whether a career in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) is right for them. If they have any curiosity at all, they will gobble this book up. If only all scientists and engineers could write this well!

Fascinating read, at times very personal. Dr. Miodownik has a way of weaving a variety of information coming from sometimes surprising sources, in a throughly readable, witty, and often humorous way. Great science writing! Recommended - no wonder it wan the award.

Delightfully witty yet complete explanations for the "stuff" that makes up the materials that surround us. Gets down inside the fascinating molecular make-up of every day things. Understandable to everyday people.

Some very interesting stories and history in this book. It did keep me reading

This book is fantastic. I would recommend it to anyone who live on planet Earth. He takes seemingly incomprehensible topics and makes them not only easy to understand, but a marvel to behold. An awesome book.

Interest book. I learned a few things in an entertaining manner. Would have loved it to have been a bit longer.

Who knew you could burn a diamond? Or that it would turn into graphite? Traverses history, molecular construction and society in its survey of everyday items. The real bonuses when you come across chapters that pose questions you'd never contemplated before. What chemical process turns concrete from a liquid to hard rock? How come chocolate melts in your mouth? Perhaps some better illustrations or photos could have enhanced the presentation but ... I wanted more.

I watched the accompanying series when it came out a few years ago and I found the programs engaging and highly interesting. Then I spotted this book and figured I'd get a more in depth look as its a book and not constrained by the time allowed for a TV program.But, you don't. If you've seen the program then you've pretty much read the book.This is not to say the book is bad at all because its not. Its well written, covers a lot of ground and the subjects covered could be dry and boring but they are not due to the enthusiasm of the author.The other thing I note - which of course is self evident if you are reading a book about technology - is that already some stuff is out of date or nearly so. Particularly - and rather prophetically - the author takes us through some of the science of replacement body parts in particular joint replacements. He points out that the new all titanium joints may well last as long as the human they are fitted to and therefore a real bonus over the joints with polypropylene surfaces - but that no-one is sure what the effects of titanium against titanium with particle wear occurring. Well, recently its become clear that these all titanium joints have caused some serious medical issues with the wear causing metals entering the body.So, I'd recommend this book if you have not seen the series. But, I'm writing this in 2018 - six years after it was written and already its beginning to show its age.

Whether you are a materials aficionado, or have no previous knowledge of materials science and are just interested in what all our 'stuff' is actually manufactured from, this excellent book deserves a place on your shelf.Miodownik is an accomplished materials engineer, but moreover he is a man whose passion for his craft is clearly evident in his writing - there are fewer things more satisfying to read than this.This book offers a fascinating insight into some of the materials of our modern world for everyone. There are no headache inducing formulae here, just scientific principles and some well thought out analogies. It's not just a long tribute to steel or aluminium, either (although that magnificent material steel does get its deserved chapter). You'll learn just why chocolate is so amazing to eat, and how scientists used exotic gels to capture space dust.My engineering background didn't stop me finding this book hugely enjoyable. What it covered that I already knew, I was happy to learn again from Miodownik - his writing style is elegant, succinct and makes this book a page turner.Recommend to all who want to know more about what makes up our man-made world. You won't look at your kitchen in the same way again. For me, it is second to J.E Gordon's books, but only just. First class writing.

This book is brilliant, it uses language that should be accessible to all, and explains what can be pretty complex topics in a way that make it both interesting and engaging.Even if you have just a passing interest in what stuff is made of and what makes up the stuff that makes up the stuff, you'll enjoy this.And if you're not interested in what makes up all the stuff, you should read it too, cos then you will be..

I heard The author do a podcast and was fascinated. So wanted to read his book and continued to be intrigued and fascinated about the stuff we take for granted. It is a challenging read. We bought our 11 year old grandson a microscope for his birthday. I decided to buy this book for him and his 12 year old brother I was so impressed with it. It did say that there would be words in it which they might not know so to have a dictionary close by when reading it. After all I also needed a dictionary at times. But it is not a bad fault to enlarge our vocabulary and broaden our minds challenging the reader to look at everything about them in a new way. The author's use of story telling and illustrations enhanced the reading experience. I enjoyed the book very much and am not an academic or a scientist it is a book for anyone with an enquiring mind.

I loved this book straight from the first couple of pages, Marks enthusiasm captivated me right from the off. Materials that surround us are undoubtedly by most, taken for granted, the author encourages the reader to look a little deeper and discover an new and exciting perspective, I would recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in the world that surrounds them, very much looking forward to reading his next book on liquids.