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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
This was just OK. It was full of some very interesting information about caves and cavers. I did not care for the way it was written, however. It was presented like a very poorly done documentary.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Seeing as how outdoor/adventure non-fiction is probably my favorite genre, this book was really disappointing. The 2 concurrent stories were not well integrated and the use of PAINFULLY cheesy language (e.g. "the kiss of depth" - because we're talking about deep caves, get it?!) throughout was annoying. Additionally, I'm not entirely ok with the abundant comparisons between the race to discover the deepest cave and other feats such as the first summit of Everest and the first people to reach the South Pole. Even after reaching the deepest point in a cave yet recorded, they still cannot be completely sure that this is in fact the deepest - another deeper cave or deeper point in a known cave could be accessed (especially with improved technology), while suddenly discovering a new tallest mountain is obviously not going to happen. Also, they refer to this deep caving as a "race to the center of the earth" or getting closer to "hell", but all of the caves described in this book have their surface openings at high elevations, so even though the cavers are more than a mile underground, they are not any closer to the center of the earth than someone sitting on the beach at sea level.
A great look at the ordeal of super deep caving. Really brings the feeling of being that far under the earth to you (I assume, having never been in a cave deeper than a few feet).
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
"Why do you climb the mountain?" The answer, the trite "Because it's there!" Simple, but in the case of Blind Descent, you've still got to wonder. The explorers here are not climbing mountains but diving and exploring caves in hopes of finding the deepest ever, the bottom of the world. They endure the worst conditions to realize their dream. Cold, wet, dark and dank; no other way to describe it. Darkness that leaves them virtually blind, sound that is so intensified all else is blocked out, narrow passages, flooding, falling rock, sleeping bags attached by a shoestring, lack of oxygen, too much oxygen, hallucinations, the journey down, the realization that all must be done in reverse; months on end of bleak conditions that would leave me insane. And the gear, no light load, that must be carried, checked, doubled checked and used properly to assure survival.
This is a parallel story of two teams, the first led by Bill Stone, an American scientist explorer who is out to prove that Cheve Cave, in southern Mexico is the super cave. The second is led by Ukrainian explorer Alexander Klimchouk who is equally certain that Krubera, in the republic of Georgia, will earn the super cave distinction. Reviewers have called Stone and Klimchouk polar opposites and this seems true. Their style of leadership is very different but the means to the end for both is driven by science, discovery, bravery and a stubborn determination to succeed in their goals.
James M. Tabor does an excellent job of taking the reader along for the dive, allowing us to experience the adrenalin of the adventure from our safe and warm homes. If you're at all claustrophobic, you might want to skip Blind Descent. If you liked Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson or Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, I think this would be a book to put on your list.
This is a parallel story of two teams, the first led by Bill Stone, an American scientist explorer who is out to prove that Cheve Cave, in southern Mexico is the super cave. The second is led by Ukrainian explorer Alexander Klimchouk who is equally certain that Krubera, in the republic of Georgia, will earn the super cave distinction. Reviewers have called Stone and Klimchouk polar opposites and this seems true. Their style of leadership is very different but the means to the end for both is driven by science, discovery, bravery and a stubborn determination to succeed in their goals.
James M. Tabor does an excellent job of taking the reader along for the dive, allowing us to experience the adrenalin of the adventure from our safe and warm homes. If you're at all claustrophobic, you might want to skip Blind Descent. If you liked Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson or Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, I think this would be a book to put on your list.
Yeah, very interesting book about supercaves and the total nutcases who explore them. I learned a lot! And one of the things I learned is that I don't want to go into a supercave, thank you very much!
Caving=scary, but like watching a train wreck, I'm intrigued! Sort of like reading "Into Thin Air" or "Eiger Dreams" about climbing the most dangerous, forbidding places on earth, only going the opposite direction INTO the mountains.
The cave descriptions also reminded me of how "House of Leaves" describes the spaces behind that closet door ... naming indescribably huge openings things like 'the cathedral room', etc.
This book is so reminiscent of Krakauer's accessible journalistic prose put to use in extreme environments, where people WILLINGLY go. The quest for the deepest cave involves several weeks of downward climbing, sometimes vertical black pits estimated 500ft down, and setting up camps all underground in pitch black, with roaring, echoing waterfalls amplified by the cave, being continually dirty and wet. Then add cave diving into the mix when cavers reach 'sumps' where water gathers in a pit and they decide to underwater dive to find the next opening! And after they've got the farthest they can go, or they've run to the end of their expedition time, they have to climb OUT!! It's just mind-blowing that anyone does this!
The focus of this book is on two speleologists, Bill Stone & Alexander Klimchouk, who have dedicated their lives to finding the deepest cave. Stone mounts expedition after expedition with nearly tunnel-vision drive, into Cheve cave in Mexico, while Klimchouk mounts expeditions with a lesser need to control and lead every descent, into Krubera Cave in the Arabika Massif in the Abkazia region of the Western Caucasus in the Republic of Georgia.
The cave descriptions also reminded me of how "House of Leaves" describes the spaces behind that closet door ... naming indescribably huge openings things like 'the cathedral room', etc.
This book is so reminiscent of Krakauer's accessible journalistic prose put to use in extreme environments, where people WILLINGLY go. The quest for the deepest cave involves several weeks of downward climbing, sometimes vertical black pits estimated 500ft down, and setting up camps all underground in pitch black, with roaring, echoing waterfalls amplified by the cave, being continually dirty and wet. Then add cave diving into the mix when cavers reach 'sumps' where water gathers in a pit and they decide to underwater dive to find the next opening! And after they've got the farthest they can go, or they've run to the end of their expedition time, they have to climb OUT!! It's just mind-blowing that anyone does this!
The focus of this book is on two speleologists, Bill Stone & Alexander Klimchouk, who have dedicated their lives to finding the deepest cave. Stone mounts expedition after expedition with nearly tunnel-vision drive, into Cheve cave in Mexico, while Klimchouk mounts expeditions with a lesser need to control and lead every descent, into Krubera Cave in the Arabika Massif in the Abkazia region of the Western Caucasus in the Republic of Georgia.