The World in a Grain
Book description
A finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
The 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.…
Why read it?
1 author picked The World in a Grain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This book is filled with surprises, starting with the foundational fact that sand is the most consumed natural resource, after air and water. It’s an essential ingredient of the modern world used for roads, to make buildings, to make glass, silicon chips, elastic, and much more. Surprise number two: we’re running out of this seemingly infinite stuff. China alone, I learned, used more cement in 2011-13 than the US did in the entire twentieth century. Today, he writes, “river beds and beaches around the world are being stripped bare of their precious grains. Forests and farms are being torn up.…
From Susan's list on important things hiding in plain sight.
Want books like The World in a Grain?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The World in a Grain.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,183
readers submitted
so far, will you?
