<P>In this wide-ranging interdisciplinary work, the authors draw on history, anthropology, and materials engineering to present a comprehensive and ambitious examination of the multifaceted roles of iron and steel throughout history and the current and future challenges faced by the steel industry.</P><P>Ohjoon Kwon, Joo Choi, and Hae-Geon Lee provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the history of iron and steel and their impact on human society from a materials engineering perspective. They begin by describing the characteristics of iron and steel and the history of human use of and interaction with these metals by compiling the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand iron¿s unique properties and metallurgical phenomena. Following this, they explain the influence of steel on human society and culture, focusing on Industrial Revolution and warfare. They also give examples that are rarely discussed elsewhere, such as developments in Asia or iron¿s influence on thought an