Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations / Edition 2

US: 9780520272903, 2012. Paperback. Good. Dirt, soil, call it what you want-it'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 t hat sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are-and have long been- using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wi nd 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 trac es the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Gr eece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and t he American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soil-as society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a n atural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent ri se of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolutio n that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.