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Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth Audiobook
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(3.00) - 1,312 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The deepest cave on earth was a prize that had remained unclaimed for centuries, long after every other ultimate discovery had been made: both poles by 1912, Everest in 1958, the Challenger Deep in 1961. In 1969 we even walked on the moon. And yet as late as 2000, the earth’s deepest cave—the supercave—remained undiscovered. This is the story of the men and women who risked everything to find it, earning their place in history beside the likes of Peary, Amundsen, Hillary, and Armstrong. In 2004, two great scientist-explorers are attempting to find the bottom of the world. Bold, heroic American Bill Stone is committed to the vast Cheve Cave, located in southern Mexico and deadly even by supercave standards. On the other side of the globe, legendary Ukrainian explorer Alexander Klimchouk—Stone’s polar opposite in temperament and style, but every bit his equal in scientific expertise, physical bravery, and sheer determination—has targeted Krubera, a freezing nightmare of a supercave in the Republic of Georgia, where underground dangers are compounded by the horrors of separatist war in this former Soviet republic. Blind Descent explores both the brightest and darkest aspects of the timeless human urge to discover—to be first. It is also a thrilling epic about a pursuit that makes even extreme mountaineering and ocean exploration pale by comparison. These supercavers spent months in multiple camps almost two vertical miles deep and many more miles from their caves’ exits. They had to contend with thousand-foot drops, deadly flooded tunnels, raging whitewater rivers, monstrous waterfalls, mile-long belly crawls, and much more. Perhaps even worse were the psychological horrors produced by weeks plunged into absolute, perpetual darkness, beyond all hope of rescue, including a particularly insidious derangement called The Rapture. James M. Tabor was granted unprecedented access to logs, journals, photographs, and video footage of these expeditions, as well as many hours of personal interviews with surviving participants. Blind Descent is an unforgettable addition to the classic literature of discovery and adventure. It is also a testament to human survival and endurance—and to two extraordinary men whose relentless pursuit of greatness led them to heights of triumph and depths of tragedy neither could have imagined. Includes a 16-pg full-color insert
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"Amazing what humans are willing to go through for adventure, for knowledge, for "because it's there". This book detailed the state of caving and cavers explorations of the greatest, deepest caves known. It's like climbing mountains but blind and with scuba gear."
— Lauren (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Heart-stopping and relentlessly gripping. Tabor takes us on an odyssey into unfathomable worlds beneath us and into the hearts of rare explorers who will do anything to get there first.”
— Robert Kurson, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers -
“Riveting…Just try to stop reading.”
— Washington Post -
“A captivating summer read for adventure seekers and armchair adrenaline junkies alike.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review -
“A pulse-pounding narrative.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“A fascinating and informative introduction to the sport of cave diving, as well as a dramatic portrayal of a significant man-vs.-nature conflict.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month, June 2010
Blind Descent Listener Reviews
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" Pretty stinking good! Very entertaining for nonfiction. Felt very similar to another great nonfiction book, Shadow Divers, and equally recommended. "
— Justin, 2/9/2014 -
" The first half of this story, about an American team exploring caves in southern Mexico, is so exciting that it hardly matters how clunky and repetitive Tabor's writing is. The second half, though, about an Eastern European team in Abkhazia, totally loses steam. I'd give it a C+. "
— Noah, 2/9/2014 -
" I'm having a hard time getting through this book. It started out interesting as I like books about extreme sports but in my opinion it has far too much focus on the ego's of the characters. The descents become shorter and shorter and lackluster in their description and it has quite frankly become a downer. Unlike "Into Thin Air" I don't have any connection to the characters and it seems like neither do they with each other. People die and it's business as usual to get to the depths of the earth. I understand and appreciate the drive but I don't think it's been conveyed well in this book. I will finish it out of principle, but it's a struggle. "
— Tiffany, 1/21/2014 -
" The book was interesting for about half of Part 1. Part 2 became a compare and contrast essay between Stone and Klimchouk. It was dry, dry, dry. In short, I didn't finish it. "
— Carissa, 1/21/2014 -
" What is our last frontier? Mankind has conquered the North Pole, the South Pole, Mt. Everest, and even the bottom of the sea. But who would have thought of climbing down into the earth through the deepest caverns. It's like climbing the tallest mountain, except in reverse. In the dark. Sometimes under water. Crazy scary. If you fall and get hurt, it is incredibly hard to get you out, so even a broken leg can prove fatal. If you die, your body must stay until you are bones because it takes too many resources to take your body out. Who would be brave enough, or nutty enough to do this? Many do, and some die. A great read, but I'd never, never do it. "
— Joanne, 1/7/2014 -
" A fascinating look at cave exploration. "
— Kristi, 12/10/2013 -
" I was very intrigued by the topic, but towards the end I just couldn't care any more. The stories got stale. "
— Elizabeth, 12/8/2013 -
" Loved this book. Learned so much about what these people do and what makes them tick. Fascinating. "
— Hans, 12/1/2013 -
" Interesting, but not as much as i thought it would be. "
— Robert, 11/10/2013 -
" This was much better than Tabor's attempt at fiction. What a wild ride! "
— Crystal, 7/17/2013 -
" A great read if you are interested in caving. "
— Sheila, 5/7/2013 -
" Absolutely spell binding. These extreme cavers are from another dimension. Couldn't put this one down! "
— Jack, 2/5/2012 -
" Very similar to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air but the adventure is traveling the opposite direction. "
— Cathy, 8/28/2011 -
" Sort of a tough book to read for someone not familiar with Cave Diving. Did not really explain too much detail before "diving" (pun intended) right in... "
— Paul, 6/15/2011 -
" I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down. Who knew cave exploration was so dangerous and exciting. "
— Linda, 4/29/2011 -
" Very interesting, a bit anticlimactic though. "
— Brandon, 4/19/2011 -
" Very similar to Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air but the adventure is traveling the opposite direction. "
— Cathy, 4/13/2011 -
" The first half of this story, about an American team exploring caves in southern Mexico, is so exciting that it hardly matters how clunky and repetitive Tabor's writing is. The second half, though, about an Eastern European team in Abkhazia, totally loses steam. I'd give it a C+. "
— Noah, 4/3/2011 -
" it wasn't the best written book ever, but the subject matter was very exciting. i missed my subway stop at least once. "
— Erin, 3/31/2011
About Don Leslie
Don Leslie has appeared on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theaters throughout the country. He has been heard in thousands of commercials, promos for all the broadcast networks and most cable stations, political campaigns, movie trailers, and over fifty audiobooks.