Good old dirt
Skin of the Earth
Rivers of life
Graveyard of empires
Let them eat colonies
Westward hoe
Dust blow
Dirty business
Islands in time
Life span of civilizations.
Dirt : the erosion of civilizations by David R. Montgomery. ISBN 9780520248700. Published by University of California Press in 2007. Publication and catalogue information, links to buy online and reader comments.