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Soil

By: Matthew Evans
Narrated by: Matthew Evans
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Publisher's Summary

Perfect for fans of Wilding by Isabella Tree. 

What we do to the soil, we do to ourselves. 

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.

Isn't it time we stopped treating the ground beneath our feet like dirt?

©2021 Matthew Evans (P)2021 W F Howes

Critic Reviews

"A love letter to Mother Earth and entertaining must-read that goes to the heart of our survival." (Charles Massy, author of Call of the Reed Warbler)

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I got very excited about my soil

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.

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5 people found this helpful

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Good knowledge of soil. Bad knowledge of Autism

Full disclosure, I am only two chapters in. His knowledge of soil is fascinating and I feel like it is such an important topic.
But as an Autistic woman I cannot recommend this book. Two chapters and already two Autistiphobic comments. Bit of a slap in the face to be honest. A healthy gut will have no impact on Autism (sure it great for an Autistic person to have a health gut but that is true for everyone!). Chemicals in a pregnant person's blood will not have any impact on whether or not the child is Autistic.
Autism is not a disease. It is a neurology. Autistic people have always and will always be here. Stop treating us like something undesirable and scary

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Start here.

Enjoyable and informative, if terrifying so.
Having made my way through Call of the Reed Warbler, Matthew's style of narrative is probably better for those wishing to begin their comprehension of soil and it's critical influence on all our lives. Start here, then Charles Massey. Respect to both.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The terrestrial equivalent of "Gut" by Julia Ender

This is an engaging read for any audience and I highly reccomend it 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.

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Wonderful break down about soil

This is wonderful for Australian audiences because it looks at what is happening for our soil and how we can improve the soil.
I love how positive and informative this book is: so simply for anyone to improve their backyard soil to farmers improving their soil.

I am going to be doing many adjustments to improve my overall soil for the garden and the yard.

Great for beginners on wanting to make a difference in their backyard for veggies and yard.

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A Game Changer!

Loved this! Very thought provoking and I will be closely scrutinising my gardening and grazing practices as a result. I’ll definitely be listening to this again . . . and again!

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I didn’t realise how important soil is!

This book does a fantastic job of explaining the importance of healthy soil and how to create it nurture it and sustain it into our future. To grow nutrient rich food that we need to thrive. Highly recommend this read to people wanting to improve their veggie garden and their health.

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lots of great insights

the book was read with enthusiasm and introduced a large number of new concepts and information. I have worked in the ecological field for forty years and was delighted to address some concepts . I held for years. The drawback was that the reading was repetitive in places and sometimes self indulgently emotional. We need to communicate this message a little more authoratively.

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So informative

Lots of valuable information on soil, food, health and the environment- am looking at my veggie bed in a new light

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OMG Dirt is interesting, who would have known.

who would have known dirt a.k.a "Soil" could be so interesting. you should give it a try, a really good read

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.