Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth"Here is a unique natural history of the soil that sustains us, as well as a memoir of one man's connection to it. An elegant, thoughtful, and playful writer, William Bryant Logan considers dirt in all its aspects, from backyard gardening to the evolution of the planet, from the creation and decomposition of soil to the sweet smell of a properly mixed compost heap." "Logan notices that in the refuse in the bed of a long-unused truck parked in the middle of New York City, a miniature forest emerges - a remarkable demonstration of the principle that wherever there is decay and repose there begins to be soil. He contrasts Thomas Jefferson's and John Adams's attitudes toward agriculture, noting that while Jefferson was the more visionary agrarian, Adams was in fact the more successful farmer, and he includes the latter's recipes for compost. Logan draws the connections between dust storms and dust bunnies, between cosmic dust and the stuff on our windowsills. He tells the story of St. Phocas, the patron saint of gardening, who took care when he was martyred to make sure his body was composted. And he pursues everyone's childhood fantasy of digging a hole to China." "Logan combines science, philosophy, and history with a quirky curiosity about why the universe works the way it does."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Contents
The First Soil ΙΟ | 10 |
The Sand Drowns the Sea the Sea Takes the Sand | 24 |
Fire and Ice | 33 |
Copyright | |
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acid acre Adams agricultural beauty beetle beneath body buried calcium called carbon dioxide cathedral century clay compost corpse creatures crop crust dead deep dig to China digging dirt drop dung dung beetle dust Earth earthworms edge fact farm farmer feet fertile soil fields garden Georgics gopher grass Gregory ground grow hand Hans Jenny heap Heins & LaFarge hole horizon human humus hundred hydrogen inches iron Jefferson Jenny land landfill landscape layer leaves living look magnetic manure means microbes miles million mineral mollisols moon mounds nitrogen nutrients organic matter oxygen particles perhaps Phocas pile pine plants plow polyculture prairie prairie dogs pygmy forest quarry rain river rock roots SAINT PHOCAS salts sand says scarab scientists seed silt smell soil's stone streptomycin surface tectonic plates thing thousand tion trees turned underground Virgil whole worms