Our world is built on sand. The concrete foundations of our buildings, the roads on which we drive, the computers that control most of our industry - all require sand in some form or another. It's a common substance, and yet the right kinds of sand are running out. Concrete needs rough grains which lock together and the people who mine this sand are cutthroat and occasionally criminal. The ultra-pure silicates needed for glass (particularly lab glass) computers is the same white sand used in the sand traps on luxury golf courses. Vince Beiser livens what could be a dull subject with interviews with people whose lives have been threatened by sand barons and the story of the first mechanized glass factory.
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