Subterranea: Journey into the Depths of the Earth's Most Extraordinary Underground Spaces: Journey Into the Depths of the Earth's Most Extraordinary Underground Spaces

by Chris Fitch

Filled with fun facts and unbelievable photography, this below-the-surface exploration of the world's most spectacular underground spaces will delight curious nature lovers, travelers, and readers. Subterranea peels back the outer layer of the earth and reveals the fascinating hidden underground spaces that you cannot see from above the ground. These places include the poisonous caves in Mexico, full of deadly hydrogen sulphide, where the toughest fish in the world manage to survive; the magnificent Roman sunken palace that was lost beneath the streets of Constantinople for centuries; the "Door to Hell" that was accidentally created by Soviet gas explorers in the 1970s and has been on fire for nearly half a century; and the drug-smuggling tunnels between Mexico and the Unites States. Lavishly illustrated and packed with maps and photographs of little-explored locations, Subterranea is the unique, untold, and utterly unforgettable story of our planet from the inside. AUTHOR: Chris Fitch is a writer, geographer, and storyteller based in New Zealand. He is a senior staff writer for Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, which has seen him travel from Greece to Australia, from Kenya to the Galápagos Islands, uncovering stories about wildernesses, culture, conservation, and more. 250 colour photographs

• ISBN10: 1643261096
• ISBN13: 9781643261096
• Publish Date: 12 October 2021 (first published 3 September 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Timber Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Subterranea is a fascinating and seldom-seen look at amazing caves, underwater rivers, lakes, excavations, and other subterranean locations worldwide curated by Chris Fitch. Originally published in 2020, this reformat and re-release from Workman Publishing on their Timber Press imprint is due out 15th Sept 2021. It's 240 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This was a much more comprehensive and information dense volume than I was expecting. It *is* a graphically amazing book, full of clear, breathtaking photography of the secret underground places, but more than that, it's also full of ordnance survey maps showing the different cave systems and locations as well as interesting cultural and physical background for each place covered.

Each entry (there are 40) contains location, description, maps, background, and color photos of the sites and the features of each. The descriptions are well written and accessible. The author doesn't shy away from descriptions which include insalubrious details such as some caves' previous use in human sacrifice and other rituals, so it might be distressing to some readers. The photographs are clear and the layout is graphically simple and impactful. The author has included a nice selection of links and resources for further reading.

Five stars. This would be a good selection for library acquisition as well as for readers who enjoy travel writing, natural history and the natural world.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.