Dirt

The Erosion of Civilizations

By: David R. Montgomery

Narrated by: Tim Lundeen

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 audiobook finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that 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 wind 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 traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the 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 natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.

Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

©2012 David R. Montgomery (P)2024 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

Will forever change the way I farm.

Here is not only a history of civilizations’ soils, but also a manual for how to feed the earth’s present and future. Just the right blend of science, history, humor, and practical down-to-earth (as it were) advice for how to garden on your farm/garden/urban flower pot in a way that respects the tiny sliver of usable dirt that supports all our lives and dreams.

The narration is measured, articulate, and well paced to absorbing concepts which might be new and sometimes confusing to non-scientists.

Required reading

Follow the money? No! Follow the soil! Required reading for all historians, regulators, investors, politicians. Another example of how short term thinking, profit making and theocracies lead to decline of civilizations and war. Hurray for the organic farmers, the soil scientists, the lovers of nature and everyone striving for a smaller footprint of man.

Crucial Information

This book delivers some of if not the most important information of our time. History is important. And If we can’t learn from our ecological mistakes as a society, then we face a long hard road ahead.

Good history book

I enjoyed the review of the Science mixed in with the history. I will be reading his other books now.

Important and fascinating

I come from a farm, so I know the soil is important. but I didn't know how fragile and precarious our situation was now. this book needs to be on everyone's list tomorrow.