Underland. November 10, 2020


This book is an amazing journey through a lot of nature’s hidden gems (literally hidden since most of them are underground, and the ones that aren’t are very remote). Robert Macfarlane has a real knack for talking about science with very evocative, poetic language. And it’s not the “I fucking love science” kind of writing either: it’s clear that a lot of research went into writing this book (although I thought the chapter on dark matter was a bit thin), and since it is as much about the act of discovering as it is about the discoveries themselves, he emphasizes the notion that science is something that’s done by real people rather than falling from the sky.

This is not really a travel book, but it made me really want to visit some of the places he talks about. Which makes this perhaps not ideal reading for coronatime, but it was nice to check out some pictures online. And each chapter touches on so many different subjects that I felt compelled to check Wikipedia every couple of pages or so. If you’re a curious person, this book will definitely broaden your horizons.