The World Beneath Our Feet
The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All
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The World Beneath Our Feet
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Narrated by:
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By:
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Frank Ashwood
Summary
The ground beneath us hums with a staggering abundance of winding roots, interconnecting fungal networks, wriggling creatures, and mind-blowing microbial life. This hidden ecosystem is the single most biodiverse habitat on the planet. Over half of all the Earth's species exist underfoot, where decaying matter is transformed into new life; just a handful of soil can contain an entire world. Without soil, there would be no life as we know it—and yet we rarely take the time to know the countless lives happening below.
In The World Beneath Our Feet, soil ecologist Frank Ashwood dives deep into this precious ecosystem, spanning the globe from the frozen landscape of Greenland to the black soil deposits of the Amazon and the Eurasian Steppe, while also examining the jaw-dropping evolutionary adaptations that make lives very alien from our own possible. Unearthing soil layers one at a time, Ashwood reveals every sublayer to be a distinct macrocosm, teeming with organisms essential to our planet's wellbeing. Supported by interviews with global soil biologists, as well as his own expert research, Ashwood shows us how life at a microscopic scale impacts us all.
Powerfully illuminating the dark depths of the earth, and accompanied by the author's own up-close photography, which magnifies and reveals creatures only millimeters long, The World Beneath Our Feet opens our eyes to the hidden and wondrous world of soil—perhaps the greatest unexplored frontier on our planet.
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Critic reviews
“This is a thrilling and delightful book. It opens a treasure chest of fascinating insights into our most neglected ecosystem.”—George Monbiot, author of Feral
“Vital, brilliant, wholly absorbing—this rich weave of soil science and stories that connect us with the tiny creatures we rarely see is as diverse and finely tuned as the life of the soil itself. It is a masterpiece of science writing, and a subject that is the most important of all to our own survival.”—Isabella Tree, co-author of The Book of Wilding
“This book has massive, understated charm. I used merely to like earthworms. Now I truly admire them. Ashwood has made soil science enchanting.”—Noreen Masud, author of A Flat Place
“If there’s one thing we’re going to need in the future, it’s healthy soil. Terrestrial life depends on it. We find ourselves at a critical juncture in our history, and what we do now will determine our survival. I sincerely hope we heed the message of this significant book. . . . Quite simply magnificent.”—George McGavin, Oxford University Museum of Natural History
“A fascinating journey into the hidden life of soil and its vital importance for people and the planet . . . Engaging and full of surprises, it will transform the way you see the ground beneath your feet and is a must read for anyone interested in the natural world.”—Richard Bardgett, CBE, Lancaster University
“Vital, brilliant, wholly absorbing—this rich weave of soil science and stories that connect us with the tiny creatures we rarely see is as diverse and finely tuned as the life of the soil itself. It is a masterpiece of science writing, and a subject that is the most important of all to our own survival.”—Isabella Tree, co-author of The Book of Wilding
“This book has massive, understated charm. I used merely to like earthworms. Now I truly admire them. Ashwood has made soil science enchanting.”—Noreen Masud, author of A Flat Place
“If there’s one thing we’re going to need in the future, it’s healthy soil. Terrestrial life depends on it. We find ourselves at a critical juncture in our history, and what we do now will determine our survival. I sincerely hope we heed the message of this significant book. . . . Quite simply magnificent.”—George McGavin, Oxford University Museum of Natural History
“A fascinating journey into the hidden life of soil and its vital importance for people and the planet . . . Engaging and full of surprises, it will transform the way you see the ground beneath your feet and is a must read for anyone interested in the natural world.”—Richard Bardgett, CBE, Lancaster University
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