Book Recommendation: Jens Soentgen: "Dust. Everything About Almost Nothing"

Blurb

The vast universe of tiny particles

When we talk about dust, there is usually one problem: house dust causes allergies, fine dust pollutes city air, aerosols transport dangerous viruses. But the small particles can do much more: dust soils are very fertile, the Amazon rainforest depends on fertilization by Saharan dust, and without dust in the air, it would be much darker on Earth, as it reflects sunlight into the most remote corners. Meteorological phenomena like rain or snow could not exist without tiny particles in the air. The dust expert Jens Soentgen reports cleverly, humorously, and eloquently on the useful impurities that surround us daily - a very special reading pleasure.

Review note from Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 09.11.2022

Reviewer Thomas Groß learns from Jens Soentgen to philosophically locate dust at the border between nothing and something. The Augsburg environmental scientist dedicates himself - with meticulousness and a sense of poetry, as Groß finds - to the micro-particles that can be carried by wind and rain as "nomads of the material world," but also transmit diseases and pollute the environment. The fact that the entertainer Soentgen is repeatedly interrupted by the moralist Soentgen does not bother the reviewer. He gladly follows the author's thoughts, especially about flower and star dust.

Sample chapter

With all due respect – Dust

When I moved from the north to Augsburg, I first had to get used to Bavarian customs. During the topping-out ceremony for the building of the Environmental Science Center, my workplace at the University of Augsburg, even the Bavarian Prime Minister – at the time Edmund Stoiber – came by. He delivered a powerful, or rather: a boastful speech, which was all about Bavaria, Bavaria, and again Bavaria. He announced that even the Bavarian Abitur was the best, and that they wanted to be elite everywhere! Later, he passed by me, tapped my belly with the flat of his hand, and said: "You need to eat more, you are too thin!" Beer was consumed in astonishing quantities, people enjoyed hearty folk music and Märschen, and a police band in the then still green uniform played on. It was a cheerful afternoon.
. . .
Dust usually seems annoying to us, if not even dangerous, and for good reason, because it can penetrate deep into us, cross all boundaries, and often even resist protective measures taken against it; it can cause great harm in our bodies, trigger inflammation processes, cause or worsen illnesses, and is generally problematic. That is why dust research has been largely concerned with the health effects of dust since its beginnings; it asks how it can be reduced or completely eliminated. From this quite legitimate and important perspective, our everyday actions are also largely determined. When we buy a device to deal with dust, it usually has the task of removing it, such as a vacuum cleaner, but also a duster. The dust cloth, …
. . .
Dust is a cultural follower. Wherever people are, dust gathers. But originally, like all cultural followers, dust comes from nature, because dusting also occurs in nature, and without this natural dust, our familiar world would look completely different. The sky above us would be much less varied, indeed, in principle, it would not exist at all. Without dust, there would also be neither the floral splendor of spring nor the harvest blessing of autumn; the evening glow would be missing just as much as the friendly daylight that reaches us even in the shade because it is reflected by countless particles in the atmosphere into hidden corners. Dust is equitable justice.
. . .

Bibliographic data
EUR 15.00 [DE] – EUR 15.50 [AT]
ISBN: 978-3-423-26344-3
Publication date: 19.10.2022
First edition
192 pages
Format: 12.6 x 20.5 cm
Language: German

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