Soil: The incredible story of what keeps the earth, and us, healthy
- Downloads：7255
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-22 16:21:00
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Matthew Evans
- ISBN：1911668196
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Soil is the unlikely story of our most maligned resource as swashbuckling hero。 A saga of bombs， ice ages and civilisations falling。 Of ancient hunger， modern sicknesses and gastronomic delight。 It features poison gas， climate collapse and a mind-blowing explanation of how rain is formed。
For too long， we've not only neglected the land beneath us， we've squandered and debased it， by over-clearing， over-grazing and over-ploughing。 But if we want our food to nourish us， and to ensure our planet's long-term health， we need to understand how soil works - how it's made， how it's lost， and how it can be repaired。
In this ode to the thin veneer of Earth that gifts us life， commentator and farmer Matthew Evans shows us that what we do in our backyards， on our farms， and what we put on our dinner tables really matters， and can be a source of hope。
For too long， we've not only neglected the land beneath us， we've squandered and debased it， by over-clearing， over-grazing and over-ploughing。 But if we want our food to nourish us， and to ensure our planet's long-term health， we need to understand how soil works - how it's made， how it's lost， and how it can be repaired。
In this ode to the thin veneer of Earth that gifts us life， commentator and farmer Matthew Evans shows us that what we do in our backyards， on our farms， and what we put on our dinner tables really matters， and can be a source of hope。
Reviews
LC
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Main takeaway - get your head and hands into soil。
Laura Aston
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This is an engaging read for any audience and I highly reccomendit for any passionate eaters， growers and the sustainability conscious。 I found it enlightening， often alarming and empowering。 Full of science， yet disguised in a very accessible read。I liken it to Julia Ender's "Gut"。 It is the terrestrial equivalent of a simple biome explainer， with the makings of a best selling book。 This is an engaging read for any audience and I highly reccomendit for any passionate eaters， growers and the sustainability conscious。 I found it enlightening， often alarming and empowering。 Full of science， yet disguised in a very accessible read。I liken it to Julia Ender's "Gut"。 It is the terrestrial equivalent of a simple biome explainer， with the makings of a best selling book。 。。。more
Stephen
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SUMMARY - Soil is living to a truly incredible extent。 The book will take you to alpha centuri and back （on the back of tiny worms）， but just mind the conflict-of-interest bleating in defence of animal farming。A wonderful book - up to a point。 There is plentiful science in this book that is made accessible to a lay reader （like me）， and which makes the case for living soil。 The weight of evidence is often sobering， but the embedded historical lessons especially on the enhanced biodiversity and r SUMMARY - Soil is living to a truly incredible extent。 The book will take you to alpha centuri and back （on the back of tiny worms）， but just mind the conflict-of-interest bleating in defence of animal farming。A wonderful book - up to a point。 There is plentiful science in this book that is made accessible to a lay reader （like me）， and which makes the case for living soil。 The weight of evidence is often sobering， but the embedded historical lessons especially on the enhanced biodiversity and richness of the dark earths associated with faming civilisation is also inspiring。My issue is perhaps partly tribal， as a vegetarian （leaning vegan） who is trying to eat fewer animal products Evans is a livestock farmer and his skewering of plant-based diets towards the end seemed at least partly partisan。 That another scientific author extrapolated overly-grandiose claims for the impact of plant based diets vis-a-vis other causes （transport， fossil fuels etc。。。） is admissible。 That this misstep can be used to downgrade the case for plant-based diets seems to purposefully avoid a larger body of evidence on ecological degredation caused by husbanded ruminants of the sort Evans himself farms。 It felt a bit rich that he jibed at Monbiot on factory-based proteins while not himself taking on board Monbiot's environmental case against sheepwrecking of our landscapes。Overall， though， this was as I say a wonderful book。 I would encourage anyone to read it who wants to know more about the rootedness of our foot in the earth beneath our feet。 。。。more
Alistair
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I heard Evans interviewed on the wireless and found him knowledgeable and engaging so I got his book。 Factually this book fascinates。 It is conveniently broke up into bite size sections。 Needed as it it is a slow read。 There are many good lessons and practices that we can all learn from Evans。 In summary they are: nitrogen is bad， worms， compost and charcoal are good。 If you want to understand where we stand and grow， then this is the book for you。 Arguably， Evans convinced me that our next cris I heard Evans interviewed on the wireless and found him knowledgeable and engaging so I got his book。 Factually this book fascinates。 It is conveniently broke up into bite size sections。 Needed as it it is a slow read。 There are many good lessons and practices that we can all learn from Evans。 In summary they are: nitrogen is bad， worms， compost and charcoal are good。 If you want to understand where we stand and grow， then this is the book for you。 Arguably， Evans convinced me that our next crisis will be soil after climate change。 。。。more
Philippa
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One of the best and most inspiring books I've read all year。 There's quite a bit in there that I know already， but the author's highly engaging style makes it a pleasure to read; he imparts knowledge enthusiastically yet humbly。 There's so much that's truly amazing about soil - did you know that soil bacteria play a role in the formation of rain？！ And have you heard of glomalin， a mysterious substance created by soil fungi， and which holds about a third to a quarter of the world's soil carbon？ L One of the best and most inspiring books I've read all year。 There's quite a bit in there that I know already， but the author's highly engaging style makes it a pleasure to read; he imparts knowledge enthusiastically yet humbly。 There's so much that's truly amazing about soil - did you know that soil bacteria play a role in the formation of rain？！ And have you heard of glomalin， a mysterious substance created by soil fungi， and which holds about a third to a quarter of the world's soil carbon？ Let's help create more of it， so we can sink more carbon into the soil！ How？ It's only formed in healthy soils - such as in organic farms and in the wilderness。 Informative， inspiring， and hopeful。 。。。more
Rosemary
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Five stars for popularising the topic， but the narrative cohesion could have been improved。 I felt the book lost traction halfway， but ended very well when Matthew Evans finally got practical。Highlights:The "4 per 1000" initiative launched by France in 2015 was new to me: the idea that "An annual growth rate of 0。4% in the soil carbon stocks， or 4‰ per year， in the first 30-40 cm of soil， would significantly reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere related to human activities。" Matthew Eva Five stars for popularising the topic， but the narrative cohesion could have been improved。 I felt the book lost traction halfway， but ended very well when Matthew Evans finally got practical。Highlights:The "4 per 1000" initiative launched by France in 2015 was new to me: the idea that "An annual growth rate of 0。4% in the soil carbon stocks， or 4‰ per year， in the first 30-40 cm of soil， would significantly reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere related to human activities。" Matthew Evans goes further， stating that "virtually the entire global increase in carbon emissions for each year could be offset" via this initiative。The five principles of regenerative agriculture:1。 Keep the soil covered （no bare earth）。2。 Minimise soil disturbance （don't dig）。3。 Aim for diversity （in plants and animals）。4。 Make sure you have living plants all year round。5。 Integrate livestock。There is a good index at the back， but if you are looking for the footnotes you won't find them - they are online at https://www。murdochbooks。com。au/brows。。。 These were temporarily unavailable at the time of writing - clearly a poor editorial choice not to print them with the book。 。。。more
Ashley Bartlett
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Interesting to learn all about what soil is， what makes good soil， what makes bad soil。 How good soil can help， including how it affects climate change （hint， can be a major contributor）。 Some useful tidbits of things I can try as a home gardener， but no call to action or simple steps to follow。 It's not that kind of book。 Interesting to learn all about what soil is， what makes good soil， what makes bad soil。 How good soil can help， including how it affects climate change （hint， can be a major contributor）。 Some useful tidbits of things I can try as a home gardener， but no call to action or simple steps to follow。 It's not that kind of book。 。。。more
Shakya Jemison
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Informative， interesting and the science was easy to follow， As a farmer I know the importance of god soil and treat it with the love and respect it deserves。 My soil feeds me and my family， keeps my land fertile， cool and retains the must needed water in the ground。 It does all this by helping my plants and trees to grow。 The cycle of life from soil to what it grows and returns to the earth is fascinating。
Deryn
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Matthew Evans is an entertaining writer。 He has discovered many interesting facts and presents them in a series of stories so the book is easy to read。 While it discusses how humans are wasting our resources the book is not 'preachy'。 It has many uplifting facts that will change the way you look at 'dirt'。 If you want to hear more he is interviewed on the All The Dirt Podcast （episode 149）。 Highly recommended。 I loved his book called 'On Eating Meat' too！ Matthew Evans is an entertaining writer。 He has discovered many interesting facts and presents them in a series of stories so the book is easy to read。 While it discusses how humans are wasting our resources the book is not 'preachy'。 It has many uplifting facts that will change the way you look at 'dirt'。 If you want to hear more he is interviewed on the All The Dirt Podcast （episode 149）。 Highly recommended。 I loved his book called 'On Eating Meat' too！ 。。。more
Barbsss
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Such a thought provoking book， I’m now ready to throw seeds out and about to promote diversity in my garden。 Well worth reading if you have an interest on our natural world。
Alexx Stuart
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I loved this book by Matthew Evans。 In a time where we all seem quite polarized on the food debates of what to eat for health， for climate， what the future of food is， something we'd do well to learn more about is the history of agriculture as it pertains to the health and destruction of the health of soil， as well as what magic can be found beneath our feet and how getting to know it better will be one of the best ways to unify us all， regardless of our food beliefs。 No soil， no life。 I recomme I loved this book by Matthew Evans。 In a time where we all seem quite polarized on the food debates of what to eat for health， for climate， what the future of food is， something we'd do well to learn more about is the history of agriculture as it pertains to the health and destruction of the health of soil， as well as what magic can be found beneath our feet and how getting to know it better will be one of the best ways to unify us all， regardless of our food beliefs。 No soil， no life。 I recommend it very much。 。。。more
Philip Mann
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