Life on land could not exist without soil. Almost everything we need can be traced to the soil: food, fibre, medicines - even oxygen produced by plants. What would we be without it? Certainly not a planet worthy of the name Earth.
There are already plenty of books about agriculture, ecology or how to grow tomatoes. This book is about the other stuff. Like...
- how soil evidence can nail a murderer
- the ingredients that make a Test cricket pitch
- how the soil affects the taste of your favourite wine
- the soil microbes that could be the next wonder drug
- tips for digging a POW camp escape tunnel (disclaimer: don't try it at home) or mounting an invasion of Normandy (ditto)
- how to be ecofriendly when you're dead
In the unputdownable Grounded, soil scientist Alisa Bryce gives you the dirt on all this—and much, much more.
Alisa Bryce is a soil scientist with a BSc in agriculture from the University of Sydney and post-graduate degree in geography from Cambridge University. She likes digging holes, analysing soil, playing with soil, writing about soil, admiring road cuttings and browsing foreign supermarkets.
