Aaron Sachs is professor of history and American studies at Cornell University. He is the author of The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth-Century Exploration and the Roots of American Environmentalism and Arcadian America: The Death and Life of an Environmental Tradition.

"Sachs deftly draws our attention mutually to these two great writers, and the resonances between their work, one in literature and the other in urban planning and a hope for civilized progress."---Donald Brackett, Critics at Large --- "Sachs’s ‘willingness to flash back and forth in time’ leaves readers with a subtle, poignant, understanding of the relationship between the past, present, and future. Sachs also offers his readers a tether for those who feel unmoored and alone as a result of modernity. By telling ‘the story of [these] two modern wanderers’ Sachs shows us the possibility of connection despite the years and the changing circumstances that separate [Melville and Mumford]."---Natalie Fuehrer Taylor, Law & Liberty --- "Sach’s parallel biography is more than just a compendium of information. . . . [Up from the Depths] transforms our reading into a lived experience, inspiring us to rediscover connections with and between the two kindred spirits and renew our energy to confront our present concerns, with all their difficulties and uncertainties."---Maki Sadahiro, Leviathan --- "[Sachs] weaves the two writers’ contrapuntal historical dialog into a single narrative, a reading experience enhanced by Sachs’ fluent, often-lyrical writing skills."---Kevin Lynch, Culture Currents --- "This fascinating book explores the connection between two American writers, novelist Herman Melville (1819–91) and Lewis Mumford (1895–1990), the novelist’s biographer. In brief, lively, and engaging chapters, Sachs . . . alternates back and forth between the two men, detailing many correspondences in their lives and work despite the years that separated them. . . . Sachs provides sensitive analysis of text and context, offers a wealth of resources in his bibliography, and models how historians and critics can pose questions that continue to matter." --- "Fascinating. . . . In shining a light on Mumford’s efforts during the ‘Melville Revival’ of the mid-1900s, Sachs makes a strong case for the rediscovery of Mumford’s own writing. . . . A well-executed literary history." --- "An incisive homage to the continuing relevance of two towering writers. . . . A well-informed, thoughtful dual biography." --- "Illuminating."---Allison Gilbert, BUST --- "An inspired study of [Melville and Mumford], juxtaposing their lives and works in alternating chapters. . . . What draws Sachs to [these writers] is the dialectic in each between continuity and disruption, confidence and despair."---Steven G. Kellman, American Scholar --- "Rare and remarkable."---Jennie Hann, National Book Critics Circle --- "Sachs manages a set of impressive balancing acts: matching scholarly diligence with fluent, stylish prose; admiration for his subjects with an alertness to their flaws. Up from the Depths packs multiple books into one: an introduction to Mumford’s thought, an innovative study of Melville, and a history of the modern age through the eyes of two uniquely perceptive writers."---Madoc Cairns, The Observer --- "Sachs has written a sort of palimpsest of biography itself, showing how, generation by generation, we begin to see through the traffic between past and present that leads to the rediscovery of figures like Melville and Mumford, who wanted for themselves and their progeny (which includes us) a recognition that going backward can also be a way of going forward."---Carl Rollyson, New York Sun --- "A rich double portrait of Herman Melville and Lewis Mumford. . . . [Sachs’s] voice is exact, good-humored and passionate—all the qualities we need in our own dark times."---James Marcus, Times Literary Supplement ​​​​​​​ --- "[A] unique investigation of parallel lives. . . . Sachs’s chapters interweave periods of the two men’s lives, creating a dappled effect of shared shadows and light. Certain biographical overlaps are particularly striking."---Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal --- "Excellent. . . . A braided account of Melville and Mumford, aimed at exploring the strange resonance between their times and ours."---Daniel Immerwahr, Slate --- "A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year" --- "Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography"