The Internet. Home to the most important and intimate aspects of our lives. Our careers, our relationships, our selves, all of them are out there - online. So, where is that exactly?

'The Internet really IS a series of tubes! Who knew?' David Pogue, The New York Times

'Utterly engrossing. Even the most geek-wary of readers will enjoy' Independent

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In Tubes Andrew Blum takes us on a gripping backstage tour of the real but hidden world of the Internet, introducing us to the remarkable clan of insiders and eccentrics who own, design and run it every day.

He uncovers the secret data warehouses where our online selves are stored, peels back the wires that transport us across the globe, reveals its mammoth hubs and surprising alley-ways, explaining what the Internet actually is, where it is, how it got there - and, yes, what happens when it breaks.

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'Entertaining and illuminating. Excels at rooting the Internet in real-world locations. Full of memorable images that make its complex architecture easier to comprehend' Observer

'An excellent introduction to the nuts and bolts of how exactly it all works' Economist

'Blum is perhaps the millennial generation's John McPhee, chronicling an arcane journey of deep relevance to everyday life' Forbes

'All too awesome to behold. Andrew Blum's fascinating book demystifies the earthly geography of this most ethereal terra incognita' Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein

'Compelling and profound. You will never open an e-mail in quite the same way again' Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic