A swash-buckling romp through the ‘discovery’ of South America, a tour of the world’s agricultural systems and a tour de force about rebuilding soils and thereby sequestering carbon with biochar, the ‘coral reef’ effect for the soil. Do not be dissuaded by the title, this is a piece of literature as much as it’s an environmental exploration, charting the rise and fall of civilisations by their agricultures and presenting the latest data on biochar and its properties, all in a digestible and interesting form. If you suffer from climate change ‘the end is nigh’ depression, this my friend is your Prozac!