Dirt

"From this gritty and compelling state-of-our-earth report comes the inescapable truth that we are nothing if not dirty-minded. A brilliant and essential book.--Roger Swain, science editor of Horticulture magazine "The relationship between soils and societies has been crucial for humankind for 10,000 years. David Montgomery brings a geomorphologist's eye and a world-historical vision to the subject, showing why it demands our attention."--J.R. McNeill, author of Something New Under the Sun "In our cyber-charged age, it's easy to forget that all six billion of us stand on the thin skin of the earth. Humanity is agriculture and agriculture is soil, just as it has been for 10,000 years. David Montgomery--a competent digger of dirt and an engaging storyteller--shows how a close look at the soil can reveal a surprising amount about who we are and where we are headed."--Richard Manning, author of Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization

Zusatztext A comprehensive and readable summary of how civilizations have depended on the half-meter of life-generating topsoil that mantles our continents. Informationen zum Autor David R. Montgomery ! Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington! is author of King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon. Klappentext "From this gritty and compelling state-of-our-earth report comes the inescapable truth that we are nothing if not dirty-minded. A brilliant and essential book."Roger Swain, science editor of Horticulture magazine "The relationship between soils and societies has been crucial for humankind for 10,000 years. David Montgomery brings a geomorphologist's eye and a world-historical vision to the subject, showing why it demands our attention."J.R. McNeill, author of Something New Under the Sun In our cyber-charged age, it's easy to forget that all six billion of us stand on the thin skin of the earth. Humanity is agriculture and agriculture is soil, just as it has been for 10,000 years. David Montgomerya competent digger of dirt and an engaging storytellershows how a close look at the soil can reveal a surprising amount about who we are and where we are headed.Richard Manning, author of Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization "How societies fare in the long run depends on how they treat their soils. Simple. Concise. You are your dirt."--Carol Ekarius"Hobby Farms" (02/17/2009) Zusammenfassung Dirt, soil, call it what you wantit's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we areand have long beenusing up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. A rich mix of history, archaeology and geology, Dirt traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soilas society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations. Inhaltsverzeichnis PREFACE TO THE 20I2 EDITION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I GOOD OLD DIRT 2 SKIN OF THE EARTH 3 RIVERS OF LIFE 4 GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES 5 LET THEM EAT COLONIES 6 WESTWARD HOE 7 DUST BLOW 8 DIRTY BUSINESS 9 ISLANDS IN TIME IO LIFE SPAN OF CIVILIZATIONS NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX ...

Autorentext

David R. Montgomery, Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington, is author of King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon.

Zusammenfassung
Dirt, soil, call it what you want - it's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, and our cities. Offering a natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, this book explores the idea that we are - and have long been - using up Earth's soil.

Inhalt
PREFACE TO THE 20I2 EDITION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I  GOOD OLD DIRT
2  SKIN OF THE EARTH
3  RIVERS OF LIFE
4  GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES
5  LET THEM EAT COLONIES
6  WESTWARD HOE
7  DUST BLOW
8  DIRTY BUSINESS
9  ISLANDS IN TIME
IO  LIFE SPAN OF CIVILIZATIONS

NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX