Subterranea: Discovering the Earth's Extraordinary Hidden Depths

Description

'AN ORIGINAL AND TIMELY ODYSSEY INTO OUR MYSTERIOUS UNDERWORLD . . . THRILLING PROOF THAT SCIENCE AND IMAGINATION SHARE THE GROUND BENEATH OUR FEET' Nicholas Crane, presenter of BBC2's Coast and Great British Journeys If you were to peel back the Earth's surface like an orange, then take a sly peek underneath, what extraordinary things would you see? Subterranea is where the world's remaining mysteries are yet to be found. For millennia, across nations and cultures, it has been a hotbed of fantastical stories. It's where humans have kept their most sacred treasures and their darkest secrets. It's where we have found evidence of our past and may, at some point, find an escape route for our uncertain future. But what would we find there today? From the underground cities of Cappadocia to smuggling tunnels on the US-Mexico border, caves full of tiny blind dragons and a seed vault located 1300km inside the Arctic circle, Subterranea demonstrates that the world below our feet is every bit as vivid and evocative as the world we see around us. Lavishly illustrated and replete with maps and photographs of little-explored locations, Subterranea is the unique, untold and utterly unforgettable story of our planet from the inside.

Chris Fitch is a writer, geographer and storyteller. His debut book, Atlas of Untamed Places: An Extraordinary Journey Through Our Wild World, was nominated for a 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award and translated into multiple languages. Formerly senior staff writer for Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, Chris has reported from Australia to Kenya, Arizona to the Galapagos Islands, covering global stories on climate change, ecological urbanism, wildlife conservation, sustainable development, geopolitics, science, culture, travel and more. He is a contributor to international media including Lonely Planet, The Atlantic and Monocle 24. Born in London, he has lived in New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and the Solomon Islands.

An original and timely odyssey into our mysterious underworld ... Thrilling proof that science and imagination share the ground beneath our feet. * Nicholas Crane, presenter of BBC2's Coast and Great British Journeys * An incredible and evocative journey into the most exotic and unknown realms on the planet ... Here is a book that makes you stop and wonder at every page; a deeply engaging guided tour through an eerie world where mankind's old myths and legends seem to acquire a mesmerising reality. * Sinclair McKay * With evocative maps and stunning photography, Subterranea shows that the underground realm is just as captivating as the above-ground world around us. * Daily Mail * Accompanied by stunning photography and illustrative maps, this book is a great way to escape from the outside world by diving into the depths of another. 5 STARS ***** * How It Works magazine * Chris Fitch is fascinated by these fantastical underworlds, and has gone in search of enigmatic cave paintings, eerie plague pits, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the illicit smuggling tunnels snaking between Mexico and the USA. * The Simple Things magazine * Remarkable places ... glorious illustrations. * Wanderlust magazine * With evocative maps and stunning photograpghy, Subterranea shows that the underground realm is just as captivating as the above-ground world around us.' -- Ciara Dossett * Daily Mail *