From New York Times bestselling author Susan Casey, an awe-inspiring
portrait of the mysterious world beneath the waves, and the men and
women who seek to uncover its secrets
For all of human history, the deep ocean has been a source of wonder and
terror, an unknown realm that evoked a singular, compelling question:
What's down there? Unable to answer this for centuries, people
believed the deep was a sinister realm of fiendish creatures and deadly
peril. But now, cutting-edge technologies allow scientists and explorers
to dive miles beneath the surface, and we are beginning to understand
this strange and exotic underworld: A place of soaring mountains,
smoldering volcanoes, and valleys 7,000 feet deeper than Everest is
high, where tectonic plates collide and separate, and extraordinary life
forms operate under different rules. Far from a dark void, the deep is a
vibrant realm that's home to pink gelatinous predators and shimmering
creatures a hundred feet long and ancient animals with glass skeletons
and sharks that live for half a millennium--among countless other
marvels.
Susan Casey is our premiere chronicler of the aquatic world. For The
Underworld she traversed the globe, joining scientists and explorers on
dives to the deepest places on the planet, interviewing the marine
geologists, marine biologists, and oceanographers who are searching for
knowledge in this vast unseen realm. She takes us on a fascinating
journey through the history of deep-sea exploration, from the myths and
legends of the ancient world to storied shipwrecks we can now reach on
the bottom, to the first intrepid bathysphere pilots, to the scientists
who are just beginning to understand the mind-blowing complexity and
ecological importance of the quadrillions of creatures who live in
realms long thought to be devoid of life.
Throughout this journey, she learned how vital the deep is to the future
of the planet, and how urgent it is that we understand it in a time of
increasing threats from climate change, industrial fishing, pollution,
and the mining companies that are also exploring its depths. The
Underworld is Susan Casey's most beautiful and thrilling book yet, a
gorgeous evocation of the natural world and a powerful call to arms.
