"High Ground," the latest novel by humorist John Lazarus, is a sweeping look at the impact of the international sand trade that is, at once, a plea for action and a cynical, riotous examination of human delusion and climate despair. From penetrating foundation to towering spire, sand forms the skeleton of modern civilization, and yet as the story unfolds fractures appear, in smothered Mozambican lagoons, lacerated Wisconsin hillsides and beyond.