Stuff Matters cover art

Stuff Matters

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Stuff Matters

By: Mark Miodownik
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A unique and inspiring exploration of human creativity from one of the UK's best known scientists.

Everything is made of something....

From the everyday objects in our homes to the most extraordinary new materials that will shape our future, Stuff Matters reveals the inner workings of the man-made world and the miracles of craft, design, engineering and ingenuity that surround us every day.

From the teacup to the jet engine, the silicon chip to the paper clip, from the ancient technologies of fabrics and ceramic to today's self-healing metals and bionic implants, this is a book to inspire amazement and delight at mankind's creativity.

Mark Miodownik is Professor of Materials and Society at UCL, scientist-in-residence on Dara O Briain's Science Club (BBC2) and presenter of several documentaries, including The Genius of Invention (BBC2). In 2010, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, broadcast on BBC4. He is Director of the UCL Institute of Making, which is home to a materials library containing some of the most wondrous matter on earth, and has collaborated to make interactive events with many museums, such as Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery and Wellcome Collection. In 2014, Stuff Matters won the Royal Society Winton Prize.

©2013 Mark Miodownik (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Engineering Political Science Science Museum
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Elemental cover art
The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments cover art
The History of the Ancient World cover art
Bernoulli's Fallacy cover art
Water cover art
Stardust: The Chemistry of the Universe and You cover art
Cosmos cover art
Oxygen cover art
How the Earth Works cover art
Sticky cover art
Biomimicry cover art
The Wise Book of Whys cover art
222 QI Answers to Your Quite Ingenious Questions cover art
Funny You Should Ask...Again cover art
It's Not Rocket Science cover art

What listeners say about Stuff Matters

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    114
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    103
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    92
  • 4 Stars
    28
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Transformative!

Phenomenal book into the science of materials and their importance to the fabric of human existence.

It has transformed my understanding of and appreciation for everyday objects! I will never look at our material world in the same way again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written, endlessly fascinating

Brilliantly accessible, insightful and inspiring science behind the materials around us. Highly recommended to all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant! Both entertaining and fascinating!!

One of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. Bravo dear Author - really great stuff!!! And very well read by the Narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well written, brilliantly read

Mark Miodownik makes a topic that could easily be very dry, fascinating and engaging. He connects each material discussed to his own entertaining life experiences, whilst not skimping on the chemistry and physics of the matter (at least for someone who is a beginner on these topics). Chapters on concrete, metal, glass, paper, plastics and ceramics were particularly interesting as they are things we use every day and so can relate to (aerogel was cool but lost me a bit).
Daniel Weyman performs the book brilliantly and is the best reader I’ve heard so far on audible (I’ve listened to at least 20 books so far).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating!

Had I tried reading the book myself there's no way I would have been able to concentrate long enough, given the subject matter. The narrator brought it to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating book to read

I really loved the book and the chapters on chocolate and silicate are quite awesome. I recommend every material lover to listen it and it really worth listening 7± hours to the stuff.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good content great performance from the narrator

Good book overall. It is not only focused on material scientific as I expected, there are big sections on the emotional effects of materials and personal stories.

Great narration though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

interesting listen

the author really seems to be able to move from one interesting material to another with ease. concepts are well explained, i lile the personal touch and even if you know a little about materials, this audio book will keep you engaged.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fun and insightful book

As a novice on the topic, this book was a pleasant introduction to material sciences. The audiobook is lighthearted yet informative and well narrated. Reminds me of the work of Carlo Rovelli. Will definitely check out more books from the author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent insight into what makes up the world around us

Such a good book - fascinating and well-told. The subject is bought to life but still dense with information.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!