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Vince Beiser

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Vince Beiser

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May 2018


Vince Beiser is an award-winning journalist based in Los Angeles. His first book, "The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization" was a finalist for a PEN/E.O. Wilson Award and a California Book Award. “Stunning,” says NPR; “impassioned and alarming,” says the Washington Post.

Vince has reported from over 100 countries, states, provinces, emirates, kingdoms, occupied territories, liberated areas, no man’s lands and disaster zones. He has exposed conditions in California’s harshest prisons, trained with troops bound for Iraq, ridden with the first responders to disasters in Haiti and Nepal and hunted down other stories from around the world for publications including Wired, The Atlantic, Harper’s,The Guardian, Mo
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Vince Beiser Constantly learning. My research takes me to new places every day, one rabbit hole at a time!
Vince Beiser Casting about for my next book topic, while also tentatively exploring the realms of film and TV. Some of my magazine articles are being adapted for t…moreCasting about for my next book topic, while also tentatively exploring the realms of film and TV. Some of my magazine articles are being adapted for the screen, and that's something I'd like to get more involved with.(less)
Average rating: 4.05 · 2,970 ratings · 485 reviews · 3 distinct worksSimilar authors
The World in a Grain: The S...

4.05 avg rating — 2,263 ratings — published 2018
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Power Metal: The Race for t...

4.05 avg rating — 706 ratings — published 2024 — 8 editions
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I metalli del potere: La co...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Related News

Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers’ Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly...
48 likes · 10 comments
Dearborn: Stories
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Vince’s Recent Updates

Power Metal by Vince Beiser
" Hey, thanks for such a thoughtful review! I'm flattered to have my book compared to Material World and Wasteland, both of which were excellent. I'll h ...more "
Power Metal by Vince Beiser
" Thanks so much K.L.! You seem like a very discerning reader. "
Power Metal by Vince Beiser
" Thanks Katie! "
Power Metal by Vince Beiser
" Thanks for the review, Enid. Power Metall does indeed overlap some with Pitfall, which is also a very fine book. If you get motivated to return to Pow ...more "
Power Metal by Vince Beiser
" Thanks Benjamin. Much appreciated, especially from someone familiar with those other fine books that you mentioned that overlap some with my own. Can ...more "
Power Metal by Vince Beiser
"The metals we use in all the glorious digital technology we enjoy, and which are necessary for the renewable energy technology we need to make a real transition away from fossil fuels, are themselves at the heart of tremendous environmental damage, p" Read more of this review »
Power Metal by Vince Beiser
"I admit I approached Power Metal as a "homework" read - an opportunity to learn more about something I should know as a climate nerd, something more important than interesting.

I expected a deep dive on mining, a survey of the environmental and labor" Read more of this review »
Vince Beiser and 47 other people liked a Goodreads News & Interviews post: The Goodreads Editors’ Picks for New November Reading
“ Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers’ Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly that—selections based on the data about the books that Goodreads members are placing on their Want t...” Read more of this blog post »
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Wasteland by Oliver Franklin-Wallis
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Quotes by Vince Beiser  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Concrete is an invention as transformative as fire or electricity. It has changed where and how billions of people live, work, and move around. Concrete is the skeleton of the modern world, the scaffold on which so much else is built. It gives us the power to dam enormous rivers, erect buildings of Olympian height, and travel to all but the remotest corners of the world with an ease that would astonish our ancestors. Measured by the number of lives it touches, concrete is easily the most important man-made material ever invented.”
Vince Beiser, The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization

“Though the supply might seem endless, usable sand is a finite resource like any other.”
Vince Beiser, The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization

“The same process is happening all over California and in many other places. The distances sand is hauled are increasing as quarries close to the big cities become depleted or are forced to close. About 80 percent of aggregates are hauled by truck; the rest goes by rail or barge. California officials estimate that if the average hauling distance for sand and gravel increases from twenty-five miles to fifty, trucks will burn through nearly 50 million more gallons of diesel fuel every year in the state alone, spewing more than half a million additional tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.7 Not to mention all the extra traffic and wear and tear on highways.”
Vince Beiser, The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization

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