Dirt

For thousands of years, the soil beneath our feet has helped us grow crops and build cities. Yet we are running out of soil, and it is not a funny issue, according to this intriguing book. Dirt: An Exciting History of Soil explores the compelling premise that humans are - and have long been - depleting Earth's soil. Once stripped of their protecting flora and exposed to the elements, cultivated soils progressively degrade, slow enough to be overlooked in a single lifetime but quick enough to shorten civilizations' lifespans across generations. Dirt recounts the role of soil usage and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonization, Central America, and the American march westward, using a rich combination of history, archaeology, and geology.