Underland (book)

Underland: A Deep Time Journey is a book by Robert Macfarlane and the sequel to The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot. Initially published in English on 2 May 2019 by Hamish Hamilton in the UK and on 4 June 2019 by W. W. Norton & Company in the US, the book has been translated into over a dozen languages. An audiobook, read by Matthew Waterson, was also released in June 2019 by HighBridge Audio.

Underland: A Deep Time Journey

First edition (UK)
Author	Robert Macfarlane
Audio read by	Matthew Waterson
Cover artist	Stanley Donwood[1]
Language	English
Subject	Geology Underground areas Civilization, Subterranean Voyages and travels
Published	2 May 2019 (UK: Hamish Hamilton) 4 June 2019 (US: W. W. Norton & Company; audiobook: HighBridge Audio)
Publication place	England
Media type	Print digital audiobook
Pages	496
Awards	National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature (2019)[2] The Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing (2019)[3] Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year (2020)[4] American Library Association Notable Book (2020)[5]
ISBN	978-0-393-24214-0 Hardcover
OCLC	1054001747
Dewey Decimal	551.447
LC Class	GN755
Preceded by	The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot
Website	www.underlandbook.com
All identifiers refer to the Norton international edition, published in June 2019, unless otherwise noted

The book is a descriptive journey by the author of different subterranean landscapes that he explores, including caving in the Mendip Hills, the Catacombs of Paris, the Karst Plateau, an underground laboratory for detecting evidence of dark matter, and descending into a glacier's moulin among other explorations. These underground spaces represent "burial and unburial and deep time." Through these underground journeys the book sheds light on the impacts and consequences of human actions within the Anthropocene geological epoch.^[6]

Reception

Upon release, Underland was generally well-received. According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on 35 critic reviews with 26 being "rave" and 7 being "positive" and 2 being "mixed".^[7] In Books in the Media, a site that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.22 out of 5) from the site which was based on 15 critic reviews.^[8] On Bookmarks Magazine Sep/Oct 2019 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.0 out of 5) based on critic reviews with a critical summary saying, 'Macfarlane is foremost a poet, “evoking place and mood with astounding economy” (Wall Street Journal)'.^[9]

The book has received awards and honours, including being a Sunday Times,^[10] New York Times,^[11] and Los Angeles Times^[12] bestseller. It is a 2020 American Library Association Notable Book,^[5] and has won The 2019 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature,^[2] The 2019 Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing,^[3] and was named the 2020 Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards.^[4]