Michael Welland

I'm an independent geologist, based in London. One of the great things about geology is the way in which it takes you to wonderful, mysterious, and far-flung corners of our spectacular planet, and during my travels I have had the privilege of visiting many of them. My first book -'Sand: A Journey Through Science and the Imagination'- reflects my life as a geologist and the wonders of a fascinating material. Sand is an unsung hero - it opens windows on our world and beyond, journeys and stories, that are described in the book. What I most hope for is that the reader will be as surprised as I was at the amazing diversity of topics that this humble material can lead you to. The second book - 'The Desert: Lands of Lost Borders' - comes from my travels and my fascination with the beauty and challenges of arid lands. We, as outsiders, have an utterly different view of the desert from the insiders for whom it is home, and this has led to misconceptions and conflicts that continue today as we struggle to understand the value and future of a critical earth ecosystem. I hope that this book, too, will be as full of surprises for the reader as it was for me. I also keep a blog - see http://www.throughthesandglass.typepad.com/ And there are short video clips of me talking about sand at http://www.meettheauthor.co.uk/bookbites/1888.html and talking about The Desert at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL1Fxc9h9kQ