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The Sound Atlas: A Guide to Strange Sounds across Landscapes and Imagination
Nature writers Michaela Vieser and Isaac Yuen set out in search of sounds beautiful and loathsome, melodious and disturbing, healing, strange and intimate. The phenomena of sound may be fleeting and evanescent, but the memory of it can open a window into the soul, deepening our connections with time, the environment and each other. From the edge of the solar system to the crackle of arctic sea ice, from the ancient oracle site of Dodona to the singing pillars of Hampi, each of these 36 essays explores stories of sound through the lens of history, science and culture, stylishly blending fantastical facts and unique anecdotes to create a compelling narrative.
- GenresMusicNatureEnvironment
176 pages, Hardcover
Published November 11, 2025
3 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 13, 2026
One of my favourite words is susurrations. This is the word that describes the sound that the wind makes as it rustles the leaves in a tree. The sound is as wonderful as the word.
When we go into a landscape, we need to use all our senses, including our hearing. This book is an exploration of the sound in the landscape. And wind is one of those strange elements. We can hear it and see its effects, but you cannot see the wind itself.
Sounds have been with us since big bang (can you imagine how loud that was?). Though there was nothing living around to hear it back then, the sounds can still be detected as a background white noise. This was discovered by accident by two astronomers in New Jersey.
Humans have made instruments for thousands of years for ritual and (we assume) entertainment purposes, but can a building be an instrument too? In the Vittala Temple in Hampi, India, the pillars holding the structure up are musical. When tapped, they resonate and oscillate, giving off different notes. I would love to hear it one day.
Before that, humans, have used the acoustic properties of caves. Probably for ritual purposes, but we can’t be certain, though. Ancient instruments that have been played in caves in Spain have an extra depth and almost an ethereal element to the sound. It is also speculated that stone circles have the ability to reflect sounds back into the centre of the circle too.
Animals can make a fair amount of noise too. The chirp of cicadas whilst sitting in the balmy heat of a Mediterranean summer is a happy memory. I remember hearing the roar of a lion at Dublin Zoo, and that sound triggered something deep inside my brain; no doubt the fight or flight response left over from an ancestor long gone. Even the pets we still have at home can be noisy in their own way.
Water is capable of making a whole range of sounds. The relaxing sound of a stream in a woodland has a similar effect to the gentle lapping waves by the beach. Add high winds and low pressure to the ocean, though, and the roar of the waves then is a very different sound. Take a walk outside when it has snowed, and you’ll notice how quiet it is. Partly that is because there are fewer cars moving about, but the snow absorbs sounds very well indeed. However, the crack of ice as you are traversing a crevasse is a very different sound, and not really one that you’d want to hear at that moment.
Most of the noise we hear every day is the din that we humans make. And we make a lot of noise; road and other transport noise, sounds from factories and other industry and so on. However, some of the sounds we can make are just beautiful, singing, and the sounds of instruments played by a very talented individual. Other sounds can be more distressing, though, the keening sounds made by mourners, someone in a lot of pain. One of the sounds of my childhood has long gone now, the long base note of a foghorn; it was powerful enough to be heard through fog over a distance of many miles.
One of the loudest noises ever heard on this planet was the volcano of Krakatoa, which was heard around 3000 miles away. Humans have made some of the next loudest noises when they exploded atomic bombs in various parts of the world. Years later these bombs are still making a sound as they trigger the Geiger counters.
In this world of sound there are some people that seek silence. The closest most people can get to total silence is the inside of an anechoic chamber. It is so quiet in there that you will be able to hear the noises that your body makes. It has been known t drive some people to distraction.
You might think that you’d get some peace at the bottom of the ocean too; however, you’d be disappointed. Even 11km down in the Mariana Trench, you’d hear noises from whales, subterranean earthquakes and even the noise from a surface storm will penetrate that far down. Plus, there is the din that we make in the oceans from propellers, undersea explosions and submarine sonars. This noise is incredibly damaging to cetaceans
I thought this was a wonderful book. It is full of fascinating facts about the ocean of sound that surrounds us. If you were to pick one popular science book to read this year then I can highly recommend this one.
When we go into a landscape, we need to use all our senses, including our hearing. This book is an exploration of the sound in the landscape. And wind is one of those strange elements. We can hear it and see its effects, but you cannot see the wind itself.
Sounds have been with us since big bang (can you imagine how loud that was?). Though there was nothing living around to hear it back then, the sounds can still be detected as a background white noise. This was discovered by accident by two astronomers in New Jersey.
Humans have made instruments for thousands of years for ritual and (we assume) entertainment purposes, but can a building be an instrument too? In the Vittala Temple in Hampi, India, the pillars holding the structure up are musical. When tapped, they resonate and oscillate, giving off different notes. I would love to hear it one day.
Before that, humans, have used the acoustic properties of caves. Probably for ritual purposes, but we can’t be certain, though. Ancient instruments that have been played in caves in Spain have an extra depth and almost an ethereal element to the sound. It is also speculated that stone circles have the ability to reflect sounds back into the centre of the circle too.
Animals can make a fair amount of noise too. The chirp of cicadas whilst sitting in the balmy heat of a Mediterranean summer is a happy memory. I remember hearing the roar of a lion at Dublin Zoo, and that sound triggered something deep inside my brain; no doubt the fight or flight response left over from an ancestor long gone. Even the pets we still have at home can be noisy in their own way.
Water is capable of making a whole range of sounds. The relaxing sound of a stream in a woodland has a similar effect to the gentle lapping waves by the beach. Add high winds and low pressure to the ocean, though, and the roar of the waves then is a very different sound. Take a walk outside when it has snowed, and you’ll notice how quiet it is. Partly that is because there are fewer cars moving about, but the snow absorbs sounds very well indeed. However, the crack of ice as you are traversing a crevasse is a very different sound, and not really one that you’d want to hear at that moment.
Most of the noise we hear every day is the din that we humans make. And we make a lot of noise; road and other transport noise, sounds from factories and other industry and so on. However, some of the sounds we can make are just beautiful, singing, and the sounds of instruments played by a very talented individual. Other sounds can be more distressing, though, the keening sounds made by mourners, someone in a lot of pain. One of the sounds of my childhood has long gone now, the long base note of a foghorn; it was powerful enough to be heard through fog over a distance of many miles.
One of the loudest noises ever heard on this planet was the volcano of Krakatoa, which was heard around 3000 miles away. Humans have made some of the next loudest noises when they exploded atomic bombs in various parts of the world. Years later these bombs are still making a sound as they trigger the Geiger counters.
In this world of sound there are some people that seek silence. The closest most people can get to total silence is the inside of an anechoic chamber. It is so quiet in there that you will be able to hear the noises that your body makes. It has been known t drive some people to distraction.
You might think that you’d get some peace at the bottom of the ocean too; however, you’d be disappointed. Even 11km down in the Mariana Trench, you’d hear noises from whales, subterranean earthquakes and even the noise from a surface storm will penetrate that far down. Plus, there is the din that we make in the oceans from propellers, undersea explosions and submarine sonars. This noise is incredibly damaging to cetaceans
I thought this was a wonderful book. It is full of fascinating facts about the ocean of sound that surrounds us. If you were to pick one popular science book to read this year then I can highly recommend this one.
March 23, 2026
This was a curious book that I'm still not sure how much I liked.
I think the main issue for me was the structuring. The chapters were short, staccato and disjointed in some ways, jumping about from one diverse subject to another. Don't get me wrong, there were lots of fun facts in there but the way they were presented just felt odd somehow, almost as if the book had been badly translated from one language to another.
The world is sometimes a strange place and the sounds made in it equally strange.
3 stars for a peculiar little compendium of sound related facts.
** On a side note, the book does mention the Taos Hum (random thing which is easily googled) which I used to hear a version of when I was younger for many years. It was always at night and it sounded like someone had left a car engine running outside on low. The street would be empty, no cars, no people, nothing. No one else in my family could hear it which was so frustrating to me. When I looked up the World Hum Map, funnily enough, someone has pinged a point on the map a few miles from where I used to live! So there, I wasn't going slowly mad!
I think the main issue for me was the structuring. The chapters were short, staccato and disjointed in some ways, jumping about from one diverse subject to another. Don't get me wrong, there were lots of fun facts in there but the way they were presented just felt odd somehow, almost as if the book had been badly translated from one language to another.
The world is sometimes a strange place and the sounds made in it equally strange.
3 stars for a peculiar little compendium of sound related facts.
** On a side note, the book does mention the Taos Hum (random thing which is easily googled) which I used to hear a version of when I was younger for many years. It was always at night and it sounded like someone had left a car engine running outside on low. The street would be empty, no cars, no people, nothing. No one else in my family could hear it which was so frustrating to me. When I looked up the World Hum Map, funnily enough, someone has pinged a point on the map a few miles from where I used to live! So there, I wasn't going slowly mad!
November 28, 2025
I absolutely loved this book. You get to the travel the world, sonically, from the Altai Mountains in Mongolia to Tokyo railway stations. Sound underpins everything, but only if you really listen. And Michaela has really listened and she is a wonderful writer too!
February 5, 2026
I appreciated the effort but frankly reading about sound just didn’t work. Each essay is meandering and rarely focused on what was promised. The book is also plagued by far too many allusions and references. The result was a pretty rough reading experience where I had no real idea what any individual chapter was about and am left with nothing memorable.
January 24, 2026
An ok book but I’d give it only a 3 1/2 stars. Lite or non-existent on details, often the sounds are not unusual at all. Sounds I’ve experienced myself. The book tries to be poetic but doesn’t always succeed. Mostly interesting but truncated stories.
December 20, 2025
‘The Sound Atlas’ by Michala Vieser and Isaac Yuen is a fabulous book. The book is short, and the authors divided it into 36 short chapters, each focusing on different aspects and sources of sound.
I read an article in the publication ‘Engelsberg Ideas’ that referenced the book and immediately bought a copy. After reading the book, I sat back, patted myself on the shoulder, and congratulated myself for buying and reading this short volume on sound and sounds.
No one should assume that the book offers a comprehensive, deep dive into how sound surrounds us or the many ways it manifests in our world.
There is the world of natural sound that we drown with our loud music, and with the cacophony of modern civilization. Then there are sounds from long ago, when our ancestors built temples, mosques, palaces, etc. Finally, there are sounds we created musically, like the pipe organs of Germany and Brian Eno’s creations.
The authors state that we are often oblivious to sound, and I agree. How frequently have you sat by a river and listened to the sound of the flowing water? How often do you sit in silence and listen to the sounds of your body?
The book will give you, I hope, much material with which to launch your personal explorations and make you aware of the fantastic universe of sound.
This book is exceptional and timely.
I read an article in the publication ‘Engelsberg Ideas’ that referenced the book and immediately bought a copy. After reading the book, I sat back, patted myself on the shoulder, and congratulated myself for buying and reading this short volume on sound and sounds.
No one should assume that the book offers a comprehensive, deep dive into how sound surrounds us or the many ways it manifests in our world.
There is the world of natural sound that we drown with our loud music, and with the cacophony of modern civilization. Then there are sounds from long ago, when our ancestors built temples, mosques, palaces, etc. Finally, there are sounds we created musically, like the pipe organs of Germany and Brian Eno’s creations.
The authors state that we are often oblivious to sound, and I agree. How frequently have you sat by a river and listened to the sound of the flowing water? How often do you sit in silence and listen to the sounds of your body?
The book will give you, I hope, much material with which to launch your personal explorations and make you aware of the fantastic universe of sound.
This book is exceptional and timely.
November 9, 2025
lovely bit of business
March 30, 2026
This sonic gem of a book is jam-packed with imagination and resonant facts. After reading it, you may never hear the world the same way again (and this is a good thing!).
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews