Description

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An awe-inspiring portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and the men and women who seek to uncover its secrets.
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‘Masterful and mesmerizing . . . an irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure writing, and vivid, visceral prose.’ Sy Montgomery, author of Soul of an Octopus
‘Fantastical and forbidding’ Washington Post
‘A fascinating history’ Time
‘Casey’s descriptions of the shimmeringly strange life teeming below the waves capture her wonder and ravishment in prose that morphs into poetry . . . Entralling’ Boston Globe
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For all of human history, the deep ocean has been a source of fear and fascination, an unknowable realm that evokes a singular, compelling question: what’s down there? But now cutting-edge technologies are allowing scientists and explorers to discover this strange and exotic underworld: a place of soaring mountains, smouldering volcanoes and valleys 7,000 feet deeper than Everest is high. A realm long thought to be devoid of life is, in fact, a vibrant new world, home to pink gelatinous predators and shimmering creatures a hundred feet long, creatures that breathe iron and communicate through their skin, ancient animals with glass skeletons and sharks that live for half a millennium.

In The Underworld, Susan Casey traverses the globe, joining scientists and explorers on dives to the deepest places on the planet. She interviews the marine geologists, marine biologists, and oceanographers as they uncover this vast unseen realm. And she discovers the mind-blowing complexity and ecological importance of the abyssal ocean and the quadrillions of creatures who live in its depths.

Publisher Review

Masterful and mesmerizing, Susan Casey’s THE UNDERWORLD is an irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure writing, and vivid, visceral prose. Her book about the ocean’s deeps is both uplifting and profound in the literal sense. I was riveted to every page. — Sy Montgomery, author of THE SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS Casey’s descriptions of the shimmeringly strange life teeming below the waves capture her wonder and ravishment in prose that morphs into poetry . . . enthralling. * Boston Globe * Not just a knowledgeable guide, Ms. Casey is also a memorable wordsmith . . . [Casey’s] book has more than enough deep-sea biology and geology to dazzle. * Wall Street Journal * A fascinating history of mankind’s journeys to the depths of the ocean and the intrepid scientists and adventurers who have devoted their lives to the work . . . Casey’s book satisfies our greatest curiosities about the mysteries of the ocean. * Time * Casey proves to be an exceptional adventurer and chronicler but also a member of a community dedicated to exploration and conservation of our least-understood aquatic wild places. * Los Angeles Times * An awe-inspiring journey. * People * [The Underworld] is a fine tour of the history and challenges of exploring this most fantastical and forbidding of earthen worlds. * Washington Post * [An] entertaining account . . . wondrous . . . Casey excels at conjuring the “marvelous weirdos” that glide through submersibles’ beam. * Scientific American * One of the most accurate and vivid portrayals of a deep-sea dive that I have ever read. * Science Magazine * A thrilling and enlightening exploration of the deepest parts of the world’s oceans, featuring some of the most daring aquanauts using cutting-edge technology to make discoveries that boggle the mind. * The Explorers Journal * Prepare to submerge. Susan Casey is a reporter in a league of her own. She will go anywhere to get her story. This one is full of astounding news, great characters, wondrous explorations, and a full measure of outrage. Deep-sea mining, you will come to understand, must be stopped. — William Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life