SAXTON B. LITTLE FREE LIBRARY
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Saxton Reads! & Reviews

We invite the public to post reviews to our catalog by logging into our online catalog. Reviews will then be posted to this blog. Comments can be added to existing posts or may be added as separate reviews on our catalog
SEPTEMBER 16, 2010
Blind Descent ~ James M. Tabor
***CarolK

"Why do you climb the mountain?" The answer, the trite "Because it's there!" Simple, but in the case of Blind Descent by James M. Tabor,  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.



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