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Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet Hardcover – January 29, 2019

by Will Hunt (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 479 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
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“[A] winningly obsessive history of our relationship with underground places” (The Guardian), from sacred caves and derelict subway stations to nuclear bunkers and ancient underground cities—an exploration of the history, science, architecture, and mythology of the worlds beneath our feet

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR

When Will Hunt was sixteen years old, he discovered an abandoned tunnel that ran beneath his house in Providence, Rhode Island. His first tunnel trips inspired a lifelong fascination with exploring underground worlds, from the derelict subway stations and sewers of New York City to sacred caves, catacombs, tombs, bunkers, and ancient underground cities in more than twenty countries around the world. Underground is both a personal exploration of Hunt’s obsession and a panoramic study of how we are all connected to the underground, how caves and other dark hollows have frightened and enchanted us through the ages.

In a narrative spanning continents and epochs, Hunt follows a cast of subterraneaphiles who have dedicated themselves to investigating underground worlds. He tracks the origins of life with a team of NASA microbiologists a mile beneath the Black Hills, camps out for three days with urban explorers in the catacombs and sewers of Paris, descends with an Aboriginal family into a 35,000-year-old mine in the Australian outback, and glimpses a sacred sculpture molded by Paleolithic artists in the depths of a cave in the Pyrenees.

Each adventure is woven with findings in mythology and anthropology, natural history and neuroscience, literature and philosophy. In elegant and graceful prose, Hunt cures us of our “surface chauvinism,” opening our eyes to the planet’s hidden dimension. He reveals how the subterranean landscape gave shape to our most basic beliefs and guided how we think about ourselves as humans. At bottom, Underground is a meditation on the allure of darkness, the power of mystery, and our eternal desire to connect with what we cannot see.

Praise for Underground

“A mesmerizingly fascinating tale . . . I could not stop reading this beautifully written book.”—Michael Finkel, author of The Stranger in the Woods

“Few books have blown my mind so totally, and so often. In Will Hunt’s nimble hands, excursion becomes inversion, and the darkness turns luminous. There are echoes of Sebald, Calvino, and Herzog in his elegant and enigmatic voice, but also real warmth and humor. . . . An intrepid—but far from fearless—journey, both theoretically and terrestrially.”—Robert Moor, New York Times bestselling author of On Trails
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Random House
  4. Publication date
    January 29, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    5.77 x 0.95 x 8.54 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0812996747
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0812996746
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
479 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book fascinating, entertaining, and insightful. They also say it covers an interesting subject and has an interesting perspective. Readers describe the writing quality as beautiful, expressive, and thoughtful.

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ReadabilityInterestWriting quality
37 customers mention "Readability"37 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fascinating, entertaining, and insightful. They say it's a good book to read to smart children. Readers also appreciate the beautiful prose and infectious sense of wonder.

"...Underground by Will Hunt was fascinating and really well done!..." Read more

"Overall this was an interesting and though provoking book. The challenge I had with this book is that I wasn’t sure what to expect...." Read more

"...This would be a good book to read to smart children, but I need something meatier." Read more

"This is an enchanting book, some of ther "stories" are spell-binding. Quite unexpected...." Read more

29 customers mention "Interest"29 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fascinating, with new information and an interesting perspective. They say it's informative and inspiring. Readers also mention the research is astounding and the author invites them to imagine they're with him on an unusual exploration.

"...Underground by Will Hunt was fascinating and really well done!..." Read more

"Overall this was an interesting and though provoking book. The challenge I had with this book is that I wasn’t sure what to expect...." Read more

"...Quite unexpected. Would certainly recommend, especially for reading to children when they are young to develop a passion for what is below us...." Read more

"...Mr. Hunt's inclusion of extensive research, both literary and personal is astonishing...." Read more

18 customers mention "Writing quality"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality beautiful, expressive, thoughtful, and easy to read. They say it's enlightening, profound, and spiritual in many ways.

"...What I read was so much more! Expertly written with an easy flow of information. I highly recommend reading this book...." Read more

"...I am still reading it! So far, it is really nice! I liked the author's work. Wish I can had the paperback copy of it. The book is really good though!" Read more

"...It’s a blend of science, philosophy, mythology and New Yorker-esque profiles of fascinating characters you’ve never heard of but suddenly want to..." Read more

"Will Hunt's incredibly beautiful prose and infectious sense of wonder carried me from chapter to chapter...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

KarenEvans
5.0 out of 5 stars Do you know what's beneath your feet?
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2019
Verified Purchase
Beneath my feet lies a 300 million-year-old petrified rainforest– the second largest in the world. Pictures of it can be seen here. It’s incredible to imagine that this snowy countryside was once a tropical rainforest and that its remains are now buried deep below where I stand today. Scientific proof of what once was. Do you ever wonder about what used to be? Do you wonder about what can’t be seen.

Will Hunt’s curiosity about the unknown began the summer he turned 16, when he discovered an abandoned train tunnel that ran under his neighborhood. It was this experience that eventually launched his passion for urban exploring- a hobby that allowed him to travel all over the world as he sought out abandoned subway platforms (ghost stations), dodged police officers in foreign countries, and encountered “Mole People”. While in the Catacombs of Paris, he even came across an underground library, La Librairie, where urban explorers left books for others to borrow. Oh, my soul!

I saw that we- all of us, the human species- have always felt a quiet pull from the underground, that we are connected to this realm as we are to our own shadow.

I must say my favorite bit may have been the story about the “Mole Man of Hackney” who decided to dig a wine cellar in his basement and never stopped. He kept burrowing until his home started to collapse. In his words, “I just have a big basement.”

Underground by Will Hunt was fascinating and really well done! If you are a fan of traveling from your couch or, like me, are simply saving your cabbage and working all the side hustles so you can travel in real life, this is the book for you! Hearing about his expeditions energized my sense of adventure and learning the science of the “worlds beneath our feet” caused me to look at things from a whole new perspective. Microbiologists keep finding life deeper and deeper inside the earth and are even discovering pockets of water that are more than a billion years old. In addition, it’s estimated that more than half of the world’s caves are undiscovered! We explore outer space, but there is so much to find here- our oceans and underground landscapes are just as much a mystery.
55 people found this helpful
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Steve Berczuk
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging Story once you find the rhythm
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
Overall this was an interesting and though provoking book. The challenge I had with this book is that I wasn’t sure what to expect. Based on the cover text, I was expecting a discussion of the history with humans’ relationship to the dark unground spaces, with tendrils to mythology, history and science. In the end, there was that, albeit woven into a travel journal, where the mix of journal and background that varies throughout. I found the first chapter a bit slow going, but the book seemed to flow better for me as I progressed.
The history, science and mythology are woven into stories of the authors travels to obscure and not so obscure places, and the personal touch emphasized the connection that these places have to humans, so in the end the person story made for a more engaging read for me when it was in the right balance.

The book has un-captioned photos scattered through out it, which added to a sense of discovery, but at times I wished they were captioned so that I could quickly find out what they were. I was a bit more frustrated that the end notes only sometimes explained the photo rather than simply being a photo credit.

The issues I had with the book are mostly matters of personal preference though. Overall, this is an interesting read; you do need to start it with the right expectations (or even none) for the best experience. While the book was not as compelling as I had hoped, but was a great way to contemplate what the underground means to us, and to the extent it got me thinking philosophically about the contradictions inherent in our obsession with the underground, it was worth the effort for me.
4 people found this helpful
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Fiona Dunoon
5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
Thought I was buying a book that would discuss underground spaces. What I read was so much more! Expertly written with an easy flow of information. I highly recommend reading this book. I am recommending it to ALL my friends.
One person found this helpful
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doglogic
3.0 out of 5 stars Philosophical And Reminiscent, Not Much Science Meat
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2024
Verified Purchase
Almost no actual science, this is mostly stories about this place or those people the author has seen or met. There's lots of mythology and legend and not much in the way of research. Many descriptions of crawling through mud, wandering around lost, or musing at unusual spaces. This would be a good book to read to smart children, but I need something meatier.
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Craig C
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is an enchanting book, some of ther "stories" are spell-binding. Quite unexpected. Would certainly recommend, especially for reading to children when they are young to develop a passion for what is below us. Far too much talk about what is above us, but what is under is a much more revealing of our past.
One person found this helpful
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PRIME Member
5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
Years ago, Carlos Castedena wrote a serious of books about finding one's inner self while subsisting in the desert. But his "enlightenment" was based on the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Will Hunt takes us on a similar, but far superior, journey. There are no mind-altering drugs. No, he immerses himself and us in the worlds of the underground. He examines modern and historic tunnels and caves, catacombs and metros. Mr. Hunt's inclusion of extensive research, both literary and personal is astonishing. I read a lot about archaeology, but have learned more in this page-turning book.
I highly recommend Mr. Hunt's "Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet." For those who may not be interested in the scientific aspect, it reads like a James Patterson detective novel, only way better because it is true.
9 people found this helpful
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Dr. Linda Vegh
4.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting book
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2019
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This is such an interesting book - the history contained under our feet is remarkably brought to life by Will Hunt. I am having issues however with my Kindle Fire loading and opening all the photos. I was fine until the beginning of Chapter 2 - since the photo doesn't load, the text associated with the page is also lost. I hope the author and/or Amazon can correct this problem.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

StephenB
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable book.
Reviewed in Canada on June 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
Videos by the same author are also worth a look.
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