The Underworld

Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean

By: Susan Casey

Narrated by: Susan Casey

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK TO READ THIS SUMMER • From 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

“An irresistible mix of splendid scholarship, heart-stopping adventure writing, and vivid, visceral prose." —Sy Montgomery, New York Times best-selling author of The Soul of an Octopus

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.

* This audiobook edition contains a downloadable PDF with photos, images, a Bibliography, and resources from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Susan Casey (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

New York Times BEST SELLER

"An awe-inspiring journey." —People

“Casey’s descriptions of the shimmeringly strange life teeming below the waves capture her wonder and ravishment in prose that morphs into poetry … enthralling.” —The 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

Save the Deep

A great story and education of the Ocean’s Deep. If you love the sea this book is for you.

You Need To Read This Book

If you love and respect the ocean and marine life, if you care about how we treat our planet, and if you just want a good nonfiction read, this is the book for you.

the possibilities of discovering new things.

I loved imaging being able to be down there with them in the depths.

I rarely learn as much reading a book.

This is a book that when you finish, you are wishing for more. I was blown away by the people she described, and the adventures she describes.

Essential book for our climate change times

Great book that certainly would benefit from a visual component, nevertheless essential for the time we live in

What an adventure and informative listen

Amazingly illustrative and thrilling perspective of the deep ocean, history and exploration. Learned so much more than I anticipated. Highly recommend!

You will feel transported

This author fid an amazing job of bringing place and people to life for the reader/listener. Perfect blend of science, history and vicarious adventure. Five stars is a hard get from me. Left me wanting more!

Great read!

I love Susan Casey’s books and this one does not disappoint. Lot’s of history along with more current events centered around deep sea exploration

Stirring observations

The book is as deep as I will dive into the ocean's abyss. Even listening to Ms. Casey's account of her dive makes my pslms sweat. The bleak look at our future (if we choose to pillage the ocean floor) is unsettling.

I’m Mesmerized!!

Loved this book and appreciated the history of submersible and ocean exploration. This book should really be a required read for 6-12 graders!! So much that we take for granted.

Please STOP ocean mining!! We have no idea what we are affecting!!