
What Lies Beneath - dangerman
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/20/what-lies-beneath-robert-macfarlane
======
arethuza
I've listened to a couple of Robert Macfarlane's books recently after a
recommendation from someone on HN - "The Old Ways" and "Landmarks". Both
_very_ different to what I usually read but very enjoyable.

I'm now reading Nan Shepherd's _The Living Mountain_ \- which is every bit as
good as Macfarlane suggests. Also planning on reading _The Peregrine_ by J.A.
Baker.

A review of the _The Living Mountain_ :
[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/20/living-
mountai...](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/20/living-mountain-nan-
shepherd-review)

------
growlist
For some reason I'm fascinated by underground stuff. I have to say though some
of this article is certainly in Pseud's Corner territory, e.g.

'Experimental climate-change reportage such as Elizabeth Rush’s Rising; major
environmental histories such as Floating Coast, Bathsheba Demuth’s study of
the Bering Strait; Lauret Savoy’s brilliant account in Trace of deep time,
race and the American landscape; and innovative print essays such as Emily
Raboteau’s recent Climate Signs – all are recognising the _poly-temporal
weaves of culpability, vulnerability, elementality and urgency that
characterise the present situation_.'

That aside, it's certainly possible to fall into a rabbit-hole (sorry) on this
topic! The Great County Adit is quite an amazing and mostly unknown part of
mining history, and the story of how in 1880 the construction of the Severn
Tunnel was saved by a pioneering diver using one of the first rebreathers is
staggering - and I've just read that in another fearless adventure the same
diver, a chap called Alexander Lambert, recovered tens of thousands worth of
gold coins from a sunken galleon in the Canary Islands, blasting his way
through the ship with explosives and diving deeper than any man have gone
before! Someone should make a film about his life.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_County_Adit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_County_Adit)

[http://archive.divernet.com/other-diving-
topics/p299302-the-...](http://archive.divernet.com/other-diving-
topics/p299302-the-strong-manthe-rebreather-and-the-tunnel.html)

[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Alexander_Lambert](https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Alexander_Lambert)

