There have been many single subject books, but wellands is a masterpiece of readability. The medal honors the years most distinguished natural history. From individual grains to desert dunes, from the bottom of the sea to the landscapes of mars, and from billions of years. Unlike many single topic books, sand follows a trajectory, moving from the microscopic to the macroscopic, from the individual grain to going beyond our planet and our present. Welland s sand has the potential to be one of those great books that illuminate some aspect of the natural world that we take for granted. Sand is a timely meditation on things both large and small that simultaneously opens the door to the oldest geology and our most recent history. Sand becomes increasingly scarce and expensive dezeen. Rainforests, our flagships of biodiversity, are known to contain sixteen phyla.
Few of us are lucky enough to know sand as well as michael welland, but with this book, we can begin to learn. Michael welland is a geologist who has worked around the world in the energy industry. Geoscientist magazine andrew goudie geologist michael wellands the desert. Welland mixes in science, art, architecture, and literature. He traces a grain of sand on a quintessential adventure, from mountain to sea down via a river. Michael welland is a geologist who has a passion for sand. Sand by michael welland university of california press. Welland ponders sand s strict definition based on particle size and multifarious. Jan 06, 2009 michael welland is a geologist who has worked around the world in the energy industry. Im traveling right now looking at rocks so ive scheduled a few posts from my archives. Michael welland offers a popular, imaginative, and scientific evocation of sand as the creator of the world we experience and seek to understand. A journey through science and the imagination michael welland libri in altre lingue.
A journey through science and the imagination, he has given public lectures and radio broadcasts in the united states and europe and writes a blog on all topics sandy. Science news 20090228 there have been many single subject books, but welland s is a masterpiece of readability. From individual grains to desert dunes, from the bottom of the sea to the land. Told by a geologist with a novelists sense of language and narrative, sand examines the sciencesand forensics, the physics of granular materials, sedimentology, paleontology and archaeology, planetary explorationand at the same time explores the. In this luminous, kinetic, revelatory account, we do indeed find the world in a grain of sand. Michael welland about the author author of the awardwinning book sand. Sand by michael welland overdrive rakuten overdrive. From sand dunes being able to sing, to an earthquake that created its own sand rose. Describes the geological history of sand, examining the science behind the material as well as the human context of sand and how it has played important roles in history, commerce, and imagination. The neverending story by michael welland nook book. The desert by michael welland overdrive rakuten overdrive.
Wellands exhaustively comprehensive book about sand is endlessly fascinating. The spaces in between sand grains are home to twentytwo. Quotes by michael welland analysis of termite hills has become a highly successful means of prospecting for mineral deposits, since the termites are sampling the geology at some depth. Sand tells a neverending story voice of america english. Bagnolds libyan sands is one of the best books on desert exploration around, but i always consciously avoided taking on his better known physics of blown sand, assuming it. Michael welland is a geologist with more than forty years experience in teaching and the international energy industry around the world, including sojourns in many of the planets great arid regions. As you can tell, he is a careful and thoughtful writer. When i purchased this book, the incredulous cashier asked, is this really about sand. Sand, in fact, is all around usit has made possible our computers, buildings and windows, toothpaste, cosmetics, and paper, and it has played dramatic roles in human history, commerce, and imagination.
Michael welland author of sand meet your next favorite book. Apr 27, 2012 sand by michael welland, 9780520265974, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Jan 28, 2010 this post is the second of two posts devoted to the book sand. The neverending story by michael welland goodreads. Jan 15, 2009 michael welland offers a popular, imaginative, and scientific evocation of sand as the creator of the world we experience and seek to understand. Sand ebook by michael welland 9780520942004 rakuten kobo. He is a fellow of the geological societies of america and london and the royal society for the arts and commerce. Michael welland has received the 2010 john burroughs medal for his book sand. Science news 20090228 there have been many single subject books, but wellands is a masterpiece of readability.
Join facebook to connect with michael welland and others you may know. Today, i have the pleasure of participating in michael welland s blog book tour for the paperback edition of his book, sand. Depending on which biologist you speak to, between thirtysix and forty total phyla are recognized on our planet. With the dust jacket removed, theres no reason for me not to recommend this book to anyone with a technical, scientific, or geological interests. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Sand by michael welland ebook university of california press. But, at the same time, because im a sandlover or an arenophile as welland calls us i read this book not only for the enjoyment of the. When the idea of a post was suggested, i naturally hastened to my page 99, curious. Michael wellands writing is the love child of a story book and an encyclopedia all about sand. Today, welland notes, sand touches nearly every life as an ingredient in products as diverse as concrete and glass, cosmetics and shampoos, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs.
Welland michael sand 1st edition 1st printing ebay. A journey through science and the imagination, he has given public lectures and radio broadcasts in the united states and europe and writes a blog on. Sand welland anybody who believes that sand is composed of uniform, rounded grains of quartz whose main use is to make cement and glass will not have read michael wellands recent book, entitled simply, sand. Besides being both a medium and a tool in natures everchanging sculptures, sand has served as an inspiration to poets and authors, and its imagery is embedded in math and. Its art and history, spirit and silence, conflict and courage, the people who live in. Welland ponders sands strict definition based on particle size and multifarious. Welland was born in 1946, son of dennis welland, professor of american literature and later pro vice chancellor of the university of. Wellands sand has the potential to be one of those great books that illuminate some aspect of the natural world that we take for granted. The neverending story university of california press, 2009. We may not run out of it, but it will become increasingly scarce and expensive, according to british geologist michael welland, whose 2009 book sand explores a material widely considered to be.
Michael was also kind enough to respond to a few questions i posed to him about his book, sand. This post is the second of two posts devoted to the book sand. Feb 28, 2009 today, welland notes, sand touches nearly every life as an ingredient in products as diverse as concrete and glass, cosmetics and shampoos, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs. Lovers of deserts will love this book and will also learn much from it. And, in case you just happened in to this site, i am participating in michael wellands blog book tour. Oct 11, 2017 we may not run out of it, but it will become increasingly scarce and expensive, according to british geologist michael welland, whose 2009 book sand explores a material widely considered to be. John burroughs 2010 medal for distinguished natural history. In the book welland sets out to answer the questions. Sand welland anybody who believes that sand is composed of uniform, rounded grains of quartz whose main use is to make cement and glass will not have read michael welland s recent book, entitled simply, sand. He has the credentials, he is a geologist, and he has a fascination with sand, and oddly enough he has a fascinating subject that presents many aspects and angles. An exploration of the ubiquitous granules in all their glory. Apr 14, 2010 welland s book about sand earned him the prestigious john burroughs medal for natural history writing, which was presented earlier this month at new yorks american museum of natural history.
A journey through science and the imagination by welland, michael isbn. The john burroughs association announces the 2010 winner of its annual award, created 84 years ago to honor outstanding natural history writing, a genre perfected by john burroughs. From sand being musical, to the creation of sand dunes never being successfully replicated with a lab this book is full of hidden treasures. Sand by michael welland, 9780520265974, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. From individual grains to desert dunes, from the bottom of the sea to the landscapes of mars, and from billions of years past, this is the extraordinary story of one of natures humblest materials. Welland has touched seemingly all of history, earth and space. Sand is almost always formed through the gradual disintegration of bigger rocks, by the action of ice, water, wind, and time, but, as the geologist michael welland writes, in his book sand. Earth magazine 20090601 an exploration of the ubiquitous granules in all their glory. Lands of lost borders tackles deserts around the world, but for him a desert is much more than sandstorms. Michael welland does mention the tale of fantasia when discussing the world in a grain of sand meme in popular culture, but thats still no excuse. Read sand the neverending story by michael welland available from rakuten kobo.
Sand a journey through science and the imagination us. He shows that truly, one can see a world, both in space and time, in a grain of sand. Just learned that sand has been awarded the 2010 john burroughs medal, the highest literary award for natural history writing. From individual grains to desert dunes, from the bottom of the sea to the landscapes of mars, and from billions of years in the past to the future, this is the extraordinary story of one of natures humblest, most powerful, and most ubiquitous materials. Sand by michael welland, 9780199588183, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Wellands book about sand earned him the prestigious john burroughs medal for natural history writing, which was presented earlier this month at. John burroughs 2010 medal for distinguished natural. Orion 20090501 few of us are lucky enough to know sand as well as michael welland, but with this book, we can begin to learn.
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