As the key component in aluminum production, bauxite has become one of the most important minerals of the last one hundred years. To some it brought economic and political advantage, but for many others, its development left a legacy of exploitation. Aluminum Ore explores the history of bauxite in the twentieth century and the global forces that this history represents, from its strategic development in the First World War to its role in the globalization of markets as companies from the northern hemisphere vied for the resources of the south. Featuring essays by scholars from around the world, this wide-ranging collection is a history of one essential mineral and a new perspective on a time of change.