Vince Beiser—Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Power Metal

POWER METAL:
THE RACE FOR THE RESOURCES
THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE
Vince Beiser
Riverhead, November 19, 2024, $32
ISBN-13: 978-0593541708

Beiser reports:

I bought my first electric car several years ago, thinking that switching from fossil fuels would leave me free from environmental sin. But being a journalist, I got curious about where the raw materials came from to build my car.

I soon learned that not only the electric car I was so proud of, but also the digital devices I use every day and the renewable energy I was counting on to power them, are together spawning massive environmental damage, political upheaval, mayhem, and murder. To get the metals required to build cell phones, electric cars, and wind turbines, rainforests are being cut to the ground. Rivers are being poisoned. Children are being put to work in mines. Warlords are getting rich. And untold numbers of people are getting killed.

Vince Beiser
Photo by Kaile Shilling

I realized that we are facing a paradox: We must do everything we can to stave off the catastrophes of climate change, but in doing so, we are creating a whole other set of catastrophes. This book is an attempt to make clear the extent of that damage, the many ways in which it might get worse—and how we can do better.

My agent, who sold my last book, sold this one to the same editor at the same publishing house, so that was pretty straightforward. I spent nearly two years researching and reporting from the field. Highlights include off-roading through the remote Atacama desert in Chile with Indigenous activists; getting kicked out of the biggest garbage dump in west Africa; and scrounging through back alley dumpsters with a metal scavenger in Canada.

I paid for the travel from my advance, by spinning off magazine articles, and with grants from the Pulitzer Center and some Canadian agencies. Maybe the best advice I have for other authors is to put serious thought into how you can make some extra money out of your reporting, since your advance is unlikely to sustain you. There are lots of grants out there for various types of writing, but you really have to look for them.

Contact info:

Vince Beiser, https://vincebeiser.com/
Book: Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future
Publicist: Bianca Flores, bflores@penguinrandomhouse.com
Agent: Lisa Bankoff, lisa@bankoffcollaborative.com

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Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book, or had done differently.

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Vince Beiser.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.