I’D LIKE TO THANK MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS for humoring and even sharing in my newfound interest in soil and its place in the world. I am extremely grateful for all my teachers in this realm: The journalistic term source is far too cold a word given the education, time, and generosity of spirit involved in cooperating with a writer who’s learning on the job, and for the sense of partnership that develops. Their words, observations, and insights appear throughout the book and are what made it possible. I’m also grateful to my nephew, Julius Schwartz, who came all the way from Scotland to keep me company on my travels through the northern Great Plains. I want to give special thanks to literary agent Laura Gross, who embraced this book immediately, and to all the people at Chelsea Green Publishing, who have been unfailingly respectful, professional, and enthusiastic through the entire process.