The book describes, with the help of photographs and diagrams, the part played by metals in human life, industry and civilization, covering those as common as iron and as rare as praseodymium.

The book is first in English language highlighting the memoirs of a world renowned powder metallurgist .The author who is widely travelled , has had intimate interactions with eminent materials scientists and technologists for many many years. Many are no more alive and the book gives a rare chance to know not only their scientific achievements , but also the social aspects of the interaction. It is written in a narrative style. In some cases many interesting episodes have been highlighted , which otherwise would have remained obscure. In all 36 Indian and 47 overseas persons of eminence are covered in the book. In addition numerous persons have been mentioned in the side line.

These thirty original essays form a landmark contribution to the history of metallurgy: together they present the first systematic survey of the beginning of the use of metals and alloys throughout the world. What distinguishes the book as a whole is the orientation of the writers toward seeing the objects they uncover in human-historical terms, reminding us that at all stages in history and in every part of the world, cultural change and advances in the use of metals are often closely intertwined. The articles are arranged in roughly chronological-geographical order; some are specific studies of sites, objects, and processes; others examine more general aspects of archaeometallurgy within a general field that has come to be called "archaeometry"; and still others are interpretive and reflective essays on human history and cultural change (a particularly fine example of this approach is Heather Lechtman's essay on Central Andean metalworking). Archaeologists, historians, metallurgists, chemists, and geologists cover topics as diverse as iron trade in northern Scandinavia, the fabrication of gold foil in Japan, copper mining in eastern India, prehistoric metallurgy in Thailand, iron bloomery in Africa, early copper smelting in Palestine, and Chinese techniques for casting old belt plaques. And in his Foreword, Cyril Stanley Smith proposes structural metaphors that describe the historical reworkings of human society in terms of the transformations of materials. Robert Maddin is Honorary Curator of Archaeological Sciences, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. The Beginning of the Use of Metals and Alloyswas derived from the second international conference on the subject, held in Zhengzhou, China in 1986.

An eye-opening adventure deep inside the everyday materials that surround us, from concrete and steel to denim and chocolate, packed with surprising stories and fascinating science.

A vast literature exists dealing with trace metals and a number of outstanding monographs deal with the biological, biochemical, or clinical effects of a specific trace metal or trace metals in general. However, newer aspects of trace metal research, i.e. the developmental aspects and generic implications, have not been systematically discussed in any existing texts. The present two volumes will summarize the present status of research in these areas and serve as milestones for future development in these areas of trace metal research.