Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Our Feet

The first book by this urban adventurer, spelunker, and photographing explorer is rich in history, science, and mythology as it plumbs humanity's relationship with the underground, from sacred caves and hidden catacombs to abandoned mines and subway systems. Those Paris catacombs and NYC subway adventures seem so fraught with charges like trespassing or worst that I have to wonder if the convenient name "Will Hunt" is a pseudonym. Such questionable activities is merely the first act with the second act being an international travelogue of spelunking of caverns created by or used by humans from Asia to the Yucatan. This builds to the most moving and "deep" consideration in the final act of the connections to experiences of the sacred show more from the archaeological evidence of meeting the spirit world below the surface of the earth to the commonality of spiritual visions with the entoptic phenomenon: visual effects whose source is within the eye itself. (In Helmholtz's words: "Under suitable conditions light falling on the eye may render visible certain objects within the eye itself. These perceptions are called entoptical.") show less

A panoramic investigation of the subterranean landscape, 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 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 show more 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. Advance 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 show less

Hunt is a gifted writer who crafts prose that is at the same time elegant, thoughtful, and vulnerable. I am just not sure that his application of these qualities are directed to their fullest potential in his first nonfiction monograph, Underground. The book splits its time between segmented travel writing and tales of beneath-the-crust adventure that never really dig deep enough to feel like we, as readers, are there along with him – either physically or imaginatively. The book flirts with urban exploration, with history, with religion, with philosophy, with architecture, with with with...but neither slakes a thirst for any of these subjects alone nor makes bold, reliable statements about the link between them that Hunt's 'cult of show more the underground' is credited with generating.

In short, Underground is much more of a personal memoir than a 'Human History' and does not quite cover what is suggested on the cover. It contains an inordinate amount of interspersed philosophical musings, breaking up the flow of the individual tales and collectively doing more to highlight Hunt's wide recall of other writers and poets than giving the reader valuable insights into the author's experiences. In trade for these, we receive not a single citation, which would be most welcome in a book of this nature.

Besides this, I am not wholly in accord with Hunt's tendency to wrap his mini-theses in pop-psychology, and I cannot help but wonder whether the divine peace that he claims we, as a species, universally feel underground is really any different to that of a good, uninterrupted stint in the shower when the innumerable distractions of our busy lives are all put aside for a few moments. I do my best thinking there, too. show less

And this is why it is inadvisable to take recommendations from Overdrive, I guess, because I'm sure this book would be great for someone, but it was a resounding meh for me.

The book is part travelogue, part philosophical meandering, and here's the thing: I am always here for travel stories, but you have to earn your wittering on about the human psyche and the universal urge and blah blah numinous liminal holy blah. You also have to keep the ratio of actual narrative to things you think about when you can't sleep at night pretty high. Hunt does not do those things, and so this is not the book for me. The travel bits were interesting enough, but I am going to need to spend a LOT of time reading about spaceships and/or banging to take the show more taste of Hunt's Beliefs About Caves and the Way All Humans Feel About Them away. show less

I love the feeling that dark, abandoned places exude.

Though I don't groove on caves as much, they have that same attraction for me.

In this book, rather successfully, Will Hunt tries to track down, analyze and distill humanity's allure for those secluded places down in the deep down dark.

This is probably a four star book, for most people, heck, maybe even for me, but there's something in this book that speaks directly to my inclinations and proclivities.

An entertaining and well written book about Mr. Hunt’s obsession with caves, tunnels, catacombs, etc. Part memoir, part history, anthropology, Mr. Hunt travels around the world to visit famous caves. I admit to being a bit claustrophobic and some passages he describes of his experiences in the underground left me uncomfortable. The book would have benefitted from having a bibliography.

Underground: A Human History of the Worlds Beneath Out Feet
by Will Hunt
2019

Will Hunt became obsessed with the subterranean world as a child, then grew up, went to college, but his interest and love of the exploration of unknown history always stayed constant. It is completely contagious. An exciting part memoir, part history, that Will Hunt takes us on. Into old gold mines, subway stations, ancient caves and underground cities; encountering worlds unknown, and people, like the Mole Man of Hackney, who has lived underground for years. This is fascinating, with many great photos. A fast, fun and inspiring read.