UID:
kobvindex_ZLB34748209
Edition:
Unabridged
ISBN:
9780525626947
Content:
" A finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing AwardThe gripping story of the most important overlooked commodity in the world sand and the crucial role it plays in our lives. After water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other even more than oil. Every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, is made from sand. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from Chartres' stained-glass windows to your iPhone, sand shelters us, empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that makes possible our cities, our science, our lives and our future. And, incredibly, we're running out of it. The World in a Grain is the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the people who mine it, sell it, build with it and sometimes, even kill for it. It's also a provocative examination of the serious human and environmental costs incurred by our dependence on sand, which has received little public attention. Not all sand is created equal: Some of the easiest sand to get to is the least useful. Award-winning journalist Vince Beiser delves deep into this world, taking readers on a journey across the globe, from the United States to remote corners of India, China, and Dubai to explain why sand is so crucial to modern life. Along the way, readers encounter world-changing innovators, island-building entrepreneurs, desert fighters, and murderous sand pirates. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening work, one that is both unexpected and involving, rippling with fascinating detail and filled with surprising characters."
Content:
Biographisches: " Vince Beiser is an award-winning journalist. The World in a Grain , his first book, was a finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award and a California Book Award. His work has appeared in Wired, Harper's, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, and the New York Times, among other publications. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, he lives in Los Angeles." Rezension(2): "〈a href=http://www.audiofilemagazine.com target=_blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/audiofile_logo.jpg alt=AudioFile Magazine border=0 /〉〈/a〉:For those who sweep it off the sidewalk or pour it out of their shoes, sand may not seem like a remarkable substance--until they listen to journalist Beiser's account of its importance in our modern world. With narrator Will Damron's even voice as our guide, Beiser explains how the raw material of glass, concrete, roads, and vacation resorts has encouraged sand mining on a massive and destructive scale. He reports from several U.S. locations and makes stops in China, India (home of a murderous sand mafia), and Palm Jumeirah (an artificial island of sand in Dubai), with Damron handling all of the dialogue without accents or adornment. This may not be one to listen to on the beach. D.B. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine"
Language:
English
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