Overview

Hannah Holmes A mesmerizing expedition around our dusty world Some see dust as dull and useless stuff. But in the hands of author Hannah Holmes, it becomes a dazzling and mysterious force; Dust, we discover, built the planet we walk upon. And it tinkers with the weather and spices the air we breathe. Billions of tons of it rise annually into the air--the dust of deserts and forgotten kings mixing with volcanic ash, sea salt, leaf fragments, scales from butterfly wings, shreds of T-shirts, and fireplace soot. Eventually, though, all this dust must settle. The story of restless dust begins among exploding stars, then treks through the dinosaur beds of the Gobi Desert, drills into Antarctic glaciers, filters living dusts from the wind, and probes the dark underbelly of the living-room couch. Along the way, Holmes introduces a delightful cast of characters--the scientists who study dust. Some investigate its dark side: how it killed off dinosaurs and how its industrial descendents are killing us today. Others sample the shower of Saharan dust that nourishes Caribbean jungles, or venture into the microscopic jungle of the bedroom carpet. Like The Secret Life of Dust, however, all of them unveil the mayhem and magic wrought by little things. Hannah Holmes (Portland, ME) is a science and natural history writer for the Discovery Channel Online. Her freelance work has been widely published, appearing in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Outside, Sierra, National Geographic Traveler, and Escape. Her broadcast work has been featured on Living on Earth and the Discovery Channel Online's Science Live.

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Each day, on average, every square metre of the Earth's surface is visited by a speck of space dust. We breath it, eat it, sleep on it. It all adds up to more than a hundred tons of space dust pelting Earth every day. Space dust tends to be about one tenth the width of a human hair. As with most other dust, even the dust that we can see such as in dust storms off the desert or the soot and smog of the city, we pay scant attention to it. Sometimes this is to our peril. Fortunately for all of us, dust has its champions - dust scientists of various stripes and molds and methods, and science writer Hannah Holmes has brought their work together in a popular, wide-ranging book that is both readable and important. There are all kinds of dust: besides space dust, tons of billions of particles rise into the air every year from deserts, volcanoes, sea salt, plant fragments, insect pieces, car and plane exhaust, domestic heating and cigarettes. There is ancient dust - from dinosaurs and early humans - and there is dangerous dust which triggers breathing difficulties and carries disease. Holmes's reach extends across the fields of geology, astronomy, natural history and human health. Her curiosity moves from Earth to Space and from the Big Bang to the end of the World. There are plenty of amazing facts along the way as well as a light, humorous approach. We are also treated to a few vital paragraphs on dust bunnies which contain everything from Saharan dust to the bones of dinosaurs and bits of modern tire rubber. They also hold poisonous lead, long-banned pesticides, molds, bacteria, smoke particles, dust-mite parts and a fair sample of the convenient chemicals that we use to clean our houses. And don't forget space dust. Contrary to intuition, evidence suggests that dust bunnies, minus the harmful chemicals, may well be responsible for healthier children. This book turns housecleaning into an existential act. As we rush about stirring up dust, we must remember that dust is here to stay. And the dust is also part of us: every atom inside our bodies came from inside the stars. Thus, we ourselves are made of star dust and will one day return to take our place in the shifting patterns of the dust of the Earth and the Universe. (Kirkus UK)

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HANNAH HOLMES is a science and natural history writer whose work has been widely published, appearing in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the New York Times Magazine, Outside, Sierra, National Geographic Traveler, and Escape. Her broadcast work has been featured on ""Living on Earth"" and Discovery Channel Online's ""Science Live.""

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