The scientific factual details discussed in the earlier chapters are very helpful and pristine . Although the historical use of alum seemed a little out of place, the rest of the contemporary politics/aluminium mining-usage especially of the Greenland part was very engaging. I am kind of disappointed with how it turned out on the middle parts (From 'mobile metal' to 'hydro metal nexus'), it was more of a rant and not systematic enough with the previous discussions. 'The durability dilemma' and 'politics behind planned obsolescence' were insightful, especially with the example of Apple, one of the biggest tech giants. I also liked that the author included the Environmental degradation of various African countries because of the unscientific and rapid extraction of several metals.

I appreciated Dr. Ali’s objectivity and realism. He neither sloughed off the issues nor did go the other way and declare doomsday. The explanations of the science are clear and mostly easily understood, however a better background in chemistry would have helped me appreciate the book more. On the downside, the writing was too literary and not conversational enough. The flowcharts were very complex and I ended up skipping over them. I feel that this book was not well-suited to a casual reader like me, but would be a goldmine (bauxite mine?) for people who work in related areas, especially those in environmentalism. Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for the digital review copy.