"From silver spoons to silver bullets, silver permeates our everyday culture and language. For millennia we have used it to buy what we need, adorn our bodies and trumpet our social status. Silver vanquishes our insecurities, as well as vampires and werewolves. Once valued primarily for its beauty and rarity, silver is now also exploited for its chemistry; while it used to lubricate markets, bolster dowries and pay armies, now it permeates our electronics, textiles and medical devices. Silver was formed through the supernovae of stars, and its history continues to be marked by cataclysm. Through currency and trade, it brought the continents of the Americas, Europe and Asia closer together, then, through war and trade imbalance, it destabilized empires. Great technological virtuosity was required in order to discover, extract and refine the precious metal, and ingenuity was needed to restore the landscapes that silver mining had despoiled. Throughout its history silver has inspired greed and ruination, yet it also cleanses water and wounds. Once used as a mirror, it reflects our most human needs and desires. Featuring glistening illustrations of silver in nature and art, jewellery, film, advertising and popular culture, this is a superb overview of a metal that is both precious and useful, with a rich and eventful history."--Page 2 of cover.

Lindsay Shen is the Director of Art Collections at Chapman University in California. She is the author of Knowledge is Pleasure.