Customer Reviews (6)

A must read classic manual for Cave Diving
Many years have passed since the first edition still this basic manual is a must read for any Cave Diver.

An all-time classic
This booklet is the first cave diving manual and although decades old it is amazingly contemporary and still extremely useful to all technical/overhead divers. A must have book for every serious divers' library.

Great introduction to cave diving by one of the best.
The "brand new fifth edition" of Basic Dave Diving is last copyrighted 1986.I'm intrigued by cave diving, but am not yet a cave diver, so I don't know for sure, but question if some of the equipment discussed in absolutely up-to-date.The addresses for instructors and phone numbers for Florida recompression facilities may also be in question.I'm trusting, though, that the National Speleological Society (NSS) is not continuing to print something that promotes dangerous, discredited, technique.Moreoever, I've seen this book in the dive shops in north central Florida, and it still seems to be in use for cave diving instruction.

First, for those who judge value in the book by the quality of printing, note that this booklet is a typewritten, photocopied, booklet, copied on 8-1/2-x-11 in paper and folded in half with a cardstock cover.I just mention this so someone expecting more is not disappointed.

The book is divided into 10 short chapters, each 3 to 8 pages long, and the book can be easily read in its entirety in one evening.Each chapter begins with an actual accident report and an accident analysis leading into the subject of the chapter, whether it be silt, lights, guidline, air supply planning, etc..Each chapter focusses on one aspect of proper cave diving, and thus the book divides techniques into small, easily digestible, pieces.Each chapter tells you what it needs to without adding extraneous information to complicate your understanding.

Note that the book focusses on cave diving technique in Florida, and warns the reader that different techniques may be appropriate in other locations.

I think that this book is a good, inexpensive, introduction to cave diving for someone with a curiosity about this sport, whether or not you plan to pursue it.The book is also written by the probably best-known person in the field of Cave Diving.(Don't let the fact that Sheck Exley died cave diving cause you discredit the information in this book - he balanced the risks with the rewards and willingly chose to push the limits of cave diving.)

It would be irresponsible of me to conclude this review without a warning.An open water diver armed with the this book might think that they know enough to safely cave dive, but PLEASE do not attempt cave diving without training from an appropriate agency.I am an open water divemaster, and do not feel that I yet have the experience to even begin cave diving training.Before beginning cave or cavern diving training, a diver requires extensive open water experience, must be thoroughly comfortable in the water, must be able to handle emergency situations without panicking, and must be physically fit.

Cave diving accident analysis. Learn from fatal errors
Very important mind forming book about cave diving. Accident analysis covering the firsts statistical reasons people get killed in cave diving. s.Exley was among the most important people to learn from. All cave diversneed this to play "What if..."

Excelent Summary, This book will save your life.
There are several dangers that exist with cave diving.This book covers each one of these points with absolute clarity.With the description of each danger an accident analysis is reviewed where divers died by violatingone of the basic rules in cave diving.This book saved my life. It is amust for anyone that is considering cave diving.With proper training andequipment Cave Diving can be a safe sport.This is a good primar on thesubject ... Read more

Amazon.com
If you were to travel to the Amazon, say, or the source of the Nile, you would likely find the people there wearing corporate logo-branded T-shirts and listening to the latest pop hits on the radio. Using a GPS device or satellite photos, you can track your location just about anywhere on the face of the planet. Given globalism and the ease of travel to once-remote places, where is a would-be flag-planting adventurer to go these days?

The answer, writes Michael Ray Taylor in this intriguing book, is inward: inside the earth by way of the millions of caves that pierce its surface. Following an international team of fellow cavers--men and women in peak physical form and apparently without fear--his narrative takes us deep within the ice caves of Greenland; a vast underground labyrinth of rivers and chambers in Mexico's Yucatan; a cave on a cliff wall overlooking the Colorado River near the Grand Canyon, one that no human had ever before entered; and other great caverns of North America. High-quality (and sometimes astounding) full-color images accompany the text, offering views that usher us into a world of blind snakes, bats, strange geological formations, and uncanny sights that few surface-dwellers have been privileged to see.

Caving is not merely adventure for its own sake, Taylor notes. "Over the past decade," he observes, "scientists have been surprised to learn that in the deepest recesses of the Earth are repositories of exotic microbes ... far more varied in types of species and their individual strategies for survival than all the plants of an equatorial rain forest." Some of these microbes, he suggests, may deliver chemicals for fighting disease; they also deliver important evidence about the history of life on the planet.

But, all that said, caving offers plenty of thrills, and Taylor's book does a superb job of capturing both the science and the adventure of a journey to the center of the earth. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Where no large-format camera has gone before...
CAVES: EXPLORING HIDDEN REALMS by Michael Ray Taylor (0792279042, $35.00) provides some outstanding cave shots from caving experiences around the world. The book accompanies a new film 'Journey Into Amazing Caves' which was released in March 2001: many of the hundred-plus photos are from the film and highlight places no large-format camera has gone before.

How would you like to explore the mysteries of caves?
Many of us have probably been very fascinated with caves since we were small children. However, we probably never had the actual experience of exploring caves nor will we ever undertake such a voyage to many of our planet's uncharted regions.

Perhaps, the wisest and safest way to satisfy our curiosity pertaining to the study of caves, or as it is called, Speleology, is to seek out a good reference text. National Geographic Society's coffee-table book entitled CAVES: EXPLORING HIDDEN REALMS, authored by Michael Ray Taylor, would certainly meet the criteria as being one of the most outstanding introductions to the mysteries of the underground.

The tome is the companion text to the McGillivray Freeman Imax film by the same title.
Taylor separates the book into three distinct sections, ice, water and earth in order that we have a general understanding as to where caves are to be located as well as their respective formations. As the author states: "the skin of the world hides many caves. All are profoundly shaped by, and profoundly affect, the nature of the land overhead. Caves are to a surface landscape as veins and capillaries are to a human face-the hidden structure of an inseparable whole."

The ice section introduces us to the caves of the heartland of Greenland where glossy photos provide us with fantastic visual entertainment that convey to us the beauty of these caves as well as the danger constantly prevalent within. Moreover, we are also clued in to the many animal creatures found within these subterranean enclaves such as the tardigrade. It is to be noted that the study of life in caves is known as biospeleology.

Our adventure moves onto to some of the caves discovered beneath the Yucatan or the section dealing with water. One only has to stare at the introductory photos to this chapter and we can appreciate the utterances of the cavers when they assert: "we are amid the wildest scenery we had yet found in Yucatan; and, besides the deep and exciting interest of the ruins themselves, we had around us what we wanted at all other places, the magnificence of nature."

The final stop on our journey delivers us to the caves of the earth where we explore the deepest one in the United States, Lechuguilla located in New Mexico. We also venture into the caves of Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia or as they are termed the TAG region. The spectacular photo of the Lechuguilla certainly reaffirms the statement that "a picture is worth a thousand words."

Enhancing the usefulness of the book are the many articles pertaining to the study of caves that have been contributed by several well-known experts. These short essays also include those of the author, Michael Ray Taylor, who has explored more than 600 caves in expeditions that have taken him around the world.

Bon voyage on your next expedition into the world of caves where all you will need is a good chair and Michael Ray Taylor's brilliant book.

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com

Where in the world to cave
I am always left breatheless at the majestic beauty of every cave I am blessed to enter. This book gives wonderful descriptions of caves and the pictures in this coffeesque style bookare the icing on the cake.

A great guide to caving
This book is very well written with lovingly detailed chapters devoted to the many splendid cave networks dotted around the world. There's a great section on the flora and fauna of the underworld, as well. I went potholing in Kak Canyon once, and saw a couple of chutney ferrets, all thanks to this book. Incredible creatures - and I wouldn't have known they were there until I read this.

Super cave explorers
I really liked this book. It has good pictures for people who want to be a cave explorer. It tells you a good description of the caves these people explored. I really liked the fact that they explored ice, water and earth caves. I think students that are studying caves would really like this book ... Read more

Book Description
This profusely illustrated book, written by one of Britain's leading cave divers, is a spectacular introduction to the world's most dangerous sport.

The Darkness Beckons describes the techniques and fascinating history of cave diving from the first known cave dive in 1878 with the familiar globe shaped helmet, heavy boots, and sturdy air lines fed by surface pumps, to the sophisticated rebreather systems used by divers today. This internationally comprehensive book includes stories from the United States, France, Switzerland, The West Indies, Mexico, South Africa, UK, and Australia.

This new book includes both historical anecdotes and accounts of the most interesting recent dives. It is a chronicle of outstanding sporting endeavor, as yet little known outside an elite specialist world, but sure to inspire anyone with a taste for adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Best book on the subject
Martin Farr's book is by far the best book on the subject of history and development of cave diving. It is really exciting as you follow the development of the sport over the years from before the war to the latest trimix dives,scooter etc... Geographically it concentrates on the UK (about 1/3 of the book) and then Europe, USA and the rest of the world.Mandatory for anyone involved in cave diving and recommended for all interested in adventure stories.

A very interesting and well written book about cave diving
Farr tells the complete story of cave diving in England's caves (often sumps), and then describes all major explorations worldwide (up until the beginning of the nineties). The book is not centered on Florida's caves so american cave divers might be somewhat disappointed. There are manypictures and drawings, the account is always accurate and detailed. It is avery interesting lecture and reference for any cave diver, not very much sofor an open water diver. Cave divers are explorers that always pursue theextreme: deeper or longer into a cave; this will probably fascinate mostadventure seeking people. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very good for beginning cavern divers, bad for cave divers!
If you are a person that wants to get started with cavern diving, this is the book. If you are an experienced cave diver, there is no need to get this because everything is so basic and it talks ALOT about cavern. ... Read more

Book Description
Cave divers are the elite, and this is their story--a story of pushing the limits of technology and human endurance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

First half great, second half not great
The book is a good description of the history of the sport.Combined with the Master Exley's "Caverns Measureless to Man", one has a good set of stories on the origins of the sport and some of the scary stories.
The second half unfortunately seems a little anecdotal and turns into something that only the die-hard archeology enthusiast would want to get further into.While entranced in the first few chapters, I got pretty bored with the rest.If you want horror stories from caving, read also Exley's Basic Cave Diving - A Blueprint for Survival.It's a hand-typed, thin pamphlet of a book, but it's one of those essential reads, even if you don't intend to do the sport - like me.

The Cave Divers
Burgess's recount of these various cave diving episodes makes a good read. It is not very detailed on technical aspects, nor pretends to be a comprehensive re-tracing of the cave diving history. It does however weave in suspense filled short stories the beginnings of cave diving, its major players and their accomplishments. Without the boring list type of dry dates, names and events. Will interest the few passionate about the sport, as well as all adrenaline rush and adventure seekers. To me, it gave a backdrop, a character and a soul to many of those names I looked up to when I started venturing deeper and longer in the underwater realm.

The Cave Divers
Burgess's recount of these various cave diving episodes makes a good read. It is not very detailed on technical aspects, nor pretends to be a comprehensive re-tracing of the cave diving history. It does however weave in suspense filled short stories the beginnings of cave diving, its major players and their accomplishments. Without the boring list type of dry dates, names and events. Will interest the few passionate about the sport, as well as all adrenaline rush and adventure seekers. To me, it gave a backdrop, a character and a soul to many of those names I looked up to when I started venturing deeper and longer in the underwater realm.

got down and hooked
New to technical diving, I found this historical perspective very interesting. Being French, I was most impressed by Burgess' firsts stories about early dives by pioneers. Each chapter recounts a Cave diving exploration history, and can be read independently. It is also well written, in an entertaining style and does not try to play it too "tekkie". The focus is on exploration. I spent a straight week nights on it, and loved it all the way down. You gonna be hooked.

A Delightful, Entertaining and an Easy Read
'Robert Burgess succeeds in conveying the excitement, eloquently painting pictures of the sights and describing the intellectual challenges and satisfactions, masterfully mixing adventure with history, sociology, archaeology and some hard-learned lessons in physics. There are chapters with unexpectedly happy endings and others detailing tragic mistakes made in this unforgiving environment... it is easy to see why this book earned a 'Book of the Year' award from Forward Magazine... As a photographer, Burgess is able to add another dimension to this book... Burgess' photos cover many decades and many caves... Overall, the book is a delight, entertaining and an easy read. It's a great vacation book, full of adventure, divided into chapters that can easily stand alone or mesh together...[Burgess] masterfully glides the reader through tales of history that cavers and non-cavers will enjoy.' Susan Brillhart Book Review IMMERSED. The International Technical Diving Magazine ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Word Ways, published by A Ross Eckler on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 2053 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Eva: palindromic chaos in a cave.
Author: Bill A. O'Connor
Publication: Word Ways (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2002
Publisher: A Ross Eckler
Volume: 35Issue: 2Page: 152(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more