{"product_id":"the-world-beneath-our-feet-the-hidden-life-of-soil-and-why-it-matters-to-us-all-9780593978320","title":"The World Beneath Our Feet: The Hidden Life of Soil and Why It Matters to Us All","description":"\u003cb\u003eA vivid tour into the subterranean that encourages us to look downwards, revealing how the earth's most biodiverse frontier sustains all life above the soil surface\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn\u003ci\u003e The World Beneath Our Feet\u003c\/i\u003e, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePowerfully 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, \u003ci\u003eThe World Beneath Our Feet \u003c\/i\u003eopens our eyes to the hidden and wondrous world of soil--perhaps the greatest unexplored frontier on our planet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Random House\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/29\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593978320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Frank Ashwood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52933780242613,"sku":"9780593978320","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-world-beneath-our-feet-the-hidden-life-of-soil-and-why-it-matters-to-us-all-9780593978320","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}