Extraterrestrial Sands

Quartz sand is anywhere and everywhere imaginable on the surface of the Earth. It forms the vast sandy Sahara and Arabian deserts where dunes can reach a staggering 180 meters in height. It makes up the world’s immense sandstone deposits, forms our beaches and is present in most soils around the globe. But where did all the sand come from?

"I have learned more about, and become more fascinated with sand from reading this book than I have from studying beaches for thirty-five years! An amazing story."--Reinhard E. Flick, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego "A masterful, entertaining and accessible treatise on the complex world of common sand."--Bruce M. Pavlik, author of The California Deserts "To do justice to this formidable and glorious subject, you need not only to be in love with it, but also to possess tremendous breadth of knowledge, have the eyes of a poet, scientist and geographer, and be intrepid enough to have seen the deserts of the world at first hand. Fortunately, Michael Welland fits the bill. It is hard to see how this paean to the wonders and mysteries of sand could be bettered."--Philip Ball, author of Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another and Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water "A fascinating and colorfully written book filled with insights and wit about the magical material called sand."--Stephen P. Leatherman (aka Dr Beach), author of America's Best Beaches "Sand has given rise to commentary, both poetic and scientific, from the earliest human times. Michael Welland ably winnows this literature, making the subject of sand his base station for a journey around the whole earth system. An impressive achievement."--Andrew Alden, author/editor of About.com's Guide to Geology "Michael Welland offers a popular, imaginative, and scientific evocation of sand as the creator of the world we experience and seek to understand. Sand is a timely meditation on things both large and small that simultaneously opens the door to the oldest geology and our most recent history."--Joseph Amato, author of Dust: A History of the Small and the Invisible

She’s on the run from a violent past. He solves his problems with a sword. Fleeing a life of abuse, Sheri climbs aboard a mail-order mate spaceship bound for a distant station, but never arrives… Fate intervenes and her trip takes a quick, deadly turn when she crashes on the planet Atera. She’s surrounded by endless sand dunes, dangerous creatures, and alien beings that remind her of Earth lizards. But one particular lizard hardly leaves her thoughts—a sexy, two legged, muscular male bent on protecting and caring for her at all costs. Drazan is a fierce warrior, the strongest Ateran of the Red Sands, he rules his dunes with an iron fist and sharp sword, and is honor bound to face all challengers to his position. During one of these battles something… strange… happens. Fire rains from the skies and a strange black metal box filled with females crashes to the sands. All thoughts of fighting are lost to the allure of these odd humans—especially one deliciously curvy female who stirs his blood. Now he finds himself with dark yearnings, strong need, and a hardness between his legs that he’s never used before. With Sheri consuming his thoughts, Drazan may have forgotten about his last challenge but his opponent’s brother hasn’t. Now he’s determined to see Drazan suffer… even if that means killing Sheri.

Time is cyclical. That is what Alan and Sam discover when they come face to face with a real alien from another planet. When the alien - Anu - shows them around the universe and gives them a history lesson, neither are prepared for the shocking truths that are revealed. Are aliens our Gods? When an apocalyptic catastrophe threatens the planet earth, there may be another relocation to another planet. Anu's about to show them that the universe is limitless and their options are plenty. A thought provoking read which will make you wonder, "what if?"

She doesn’t belong on Atera no matter what the hottie lizardman may say… Nothing in Kalinda’s plans includes crash-landing on a backwards sand planet full of lizard-aliens. But when she spots Warlord Nakan, she’s willing to take a little detour. He’s a sexy, muscular scaled creature that she wouldn’t mind… studying. But no matter how interested she is, and no matter how much he lights her up inside, she’s determined to get off his godforsaken planet. Nakan is busy caring for his tribe and fighting off challengers to his position as Warlord of the Hard Sands. A mate? And an alien human female, at that? No, he has other responsibilities that need his attention. Kalinda of Earth can’t be for him. It does not matter that her curves stir his blood like she’s his true mate. But if Nakan won’t have her, his enemies will. Too bad for them that the Warlord of the Hard Sands doesn’t share. He’ll have to find a way to claim his mate and hold his position, or he’ll lose everything: his woman, his tribe, his territory... and his life.

This revised and updated comprehensive travel guide examines North America's most sacred sites for spiritually attuned explorers. Important archaeological, geological, and historical destinations from coast to coast are exhaustively examined, from the weathered pueblos of the American Southwest and the medicine wheels of western Canada to Graceland and the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr. Histories and cultural contexts are objectively surveyed, along with the latest academic theories and insightful metaphysical ruminations. Detailed maps, drawings, and travel directions are also included.

New York Times Bestseller | Wall Street Journal Bestseller | Publishers Weekly Bestseller | Publishers Marketplace 2020 Buzz Book | Amazon Best Book of the Year | Longlisted for the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award “Provocative and thrilling ... Loeb asks us to think big and to expect the unexpected.” —Alan Lightman, New York Times bestselling author of Einstein’s Dreams and Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Harvard’s top astronomer lays out his controversial theory that our solar system was recently visited by advanced alien technology from a distant star. In late 2017, scientists at a Hawaiian observatory glimpsed an object soaring through our inner solar system, moving so quickly that it could only have come from another star. Avi Loeb, Harvard’s top astronomer, showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit, and left no trail of gas or debris in its wake. There was only one conceivable explanation: the object was a piece of advanced technology created by a distant alien civilization. In Extraterrestrial, Loeb takes readers inside the thrilling story of the first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system. He outlines his controversial theory and its profound implications: for science, for religion, and for the future of our species and our planet. A mind-bending journey through the furthest reaches of science, space-time, and the human imagination, Extraterrestrial challenges readers to aim for the stars—and to think critically about what’s out there, no matter how strange it seems.

An illustrated A-to-Z guide to all things alien. Over 400 entries from more than 100 contributors cover everything from the incidents and witnesses involved to the concepts at stake and experts' personal position statements. Entries range from alien abductions, the Fantasy Prone hypothesis and JAL Flight no 1628, to the Lakenheath-Bentwaters Episode, mind control by aliens and Roswell. The contributors include: Isaac Asimov, Jerome Clark, Erich von Daniken, Peter Davenport, Hilary Evans, Timothy Good, Marvin Kottmeyer, Jenny Randles, Carl Sagan, Whitley Streiber and Jacques Vallee. There are over 300 images, eyewitness drawings and photographs.