The world in a grain : the story of sand and how it transformed civilization / Vince Beiser.
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Riverhead Books, [2018]Copyright date: ©2018Description: 294 pages ; 24 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780399576423
- 0399576428
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Main Library | NonFiction | 620.191 B423 | Available | 33111009228400 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Except for water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other - more than oil, more than natural gas. Every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, exists because of 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 Chihuly sculptures to your iPhone, sand shelters us, empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. And we're running out of it.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-284) and index.
The most important solid substance on Earth -- Part I. How sand built the twentieth century's industrialized world -- The skeleton of cities -- Paved with good intentions -- The thing that lets us see everything -- Part II. How sand is building the twenty-first century's globalized, digitized world -- High tech, high purity -- Fracking facilitator -- Miami Beach-less -- Man-made lands -- Desert war -- Concrete conquers the city -- Beyond sand.