"Epic, shocking, and deeply reported, The Elements of Power tells the definitive story of the great power struggle for control over the supply of battery metals-essential for decarbonization of our economies-and the terrible, bloody human cost of this badly misunderstood industry that is crucial to the production of every iPhone, electric vehicle, and many other devices we depend on Congo is rich. Swaths of the war-torn African country lack basic infrastructure, and its people are officially among the poorest in the world, after many decades of colonial occupation. But hidden beneath the soil are vast quantities of cobalt, lithium, copper, tin, tantalum, tungsten, and other treasures. Recently, this veritable periodic table of resources has become extremely valuable-priceless even. This is because these metals are essential for the global "energy transition"-the plan for wealthy, developed nations to wean themselves off fossil fuels by shifting to sustainable forms of energy, such as solar and wind. At great cost, the electrification of the world's economy has begun. China and the United States, the world's two great powers, are vying for influence across the globe, and China has a considerable head start, having snatched up global energy resources for decades and investing prodigious sums in electric vehicle development. But in our rush towards green energy, we have become reliant on batteries made from resources unearthed continents away and willfully blind to the terrible political, environmental, and social consequences for the people of Congo and beyond. If Congo possesses such riches, why are children there routinely descending deep into treacherous mines to dig with the most rudimentary of tools, if not their bare hands? Who must pay the price for progress? In The Elements of Power, prize-winning reporter Nicholas Niarchos reveals how the scramble to control these metals and their production is upending world order, just as the global race to drill for oil shaped the twentieth century. Tracing the advent of the lithium-ion battery, and following the supply chain for its production all the way from the mines in Congo, to the factories in China, via the Silicon Valley boardrooms where the decisions that echo across continents are made, Niarchos brings the story home back to us, the American consumers, and the devices we use and hold in our hands every day. He reveals the true devastating consequences of our best intentions, and looks to an uncertain future"-- Provided by publisher