Blind Descent

Blind Descent PDF Author: James M. Tabor
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812979494
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
“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, author of ShadowDivers In 2004, two great scientist-explorers attempted to find the bottom of the world. American Bill Stone took on the vast, deadly Cheve Cave in southern Mexico. Ukrainian Alexander Klimchouk targeted Krubera, a freezing nightmare of a supercave in the war-torn former Soviet republic of Georgia. Both men spent months almost two vertical miles deep, contending with thousand-foot drops, raging whitewater rivers, monstrous waterfalls, mile-long belly crawls, and the psychological horrors produced by weeks in absolute darkness, beyond all hope of rescue. Based on his unprecedented access to logs and journals as well as hours of personal interviews, James Tabor has crafted a thrilling exploration of man’s timeless urge to discover—and of two extraordinary men whose pursuit of greatness led them to the heights of triumph and the depths of tragedy. Blind Descent is an unforgettable addition to the classic literature of true-life adventure, and a testament to human survival and endurance. “Holds the reader to his seat, containing dangers aplenty with deadly falls, killer microbes, sudden burial, asphyxiation, claustrophobia, anxiety, and hallucinations far underneath the ground in a lightless world. Using a pulse-pounding narrative, this is tense real-life adventure pitting two master cavers mirroring the cold war with very uncommonly high stakes.”—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. . . . What counts is Tabor’s knack for maximizing dramatic potential, while also managing to be informative and attentive to the major personalities associated with the most important cave explorations of the last two decades.”—Kirkus Reviews Includes a 16-pg black and white insert

Blind Descent

Blind Descent PDF Author: James M. Tabor
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812979494
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
“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, author of ShadowDivers In 2004, two great scientist-explorers attempted to find the bottom of the world. American Bill Stone took on the vast, deadly Cheve Cave in southern Mexico. Ukrainian Alexander Klimchouk targeted Krubera, a freezing nightmare of a supercave in the war-torn former Soviet republic of Georgia. Both men spent months almost two vertical miles deep, contending with thousand-foot drops, raging whitewater rivers, monstrous waterfalls, mile-long belly crawls, and the psychological horrors produced by weeks in absolute darkness, beyond all hope of rescue. Based on his unprecedented access to logs and journals as well as hours of personal interviews, James Tabor has crafted a thrilling exploration of man’s timeless urge to discover—and of two extraordinary men whose pursuit of greatness led them to the heights of triumph and the depths of tragedy. Blind Descent is an unforgettable addition to the classic literature of true-life adventure, and a testament to human survival and endurance. “Holds the reader to his seat, containing dangers aplenty with deadly falls, killer microbes, sudden burial, asphyxiation, claustrophobia, anxiety, and hallucinations far underneath the ground in a lightless world. Using a pulse-pounding narrative, this is tense real-life adventure pitting two master cavers mirroring the cold war with very uncommonly high stakes.”—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. . . . What counts is Tabor’s knack for maximizing dramatic potential, while also managing to be informative and attentive to the major personalities associated with the most important cave explorations of the last two decades.”—Kirkus Reviews Includes a 16-pg black and white insert

Immortality

Immortality PDF Author: Stephen Cave
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307884937
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Get Book Here

Book Description
If you could live forever, would you want to? Both a fascinating look at the history of our strive for immortality and an investigation into whether living forever is really all it’s cracked up to be. A fascinating work of popular philosophy and history that both enlightens and entertains, Stephen Cave investigates whether it just might be possible to live forever and whether we should want to. He also makes a powerful argument that it’s our very preoccupation with defying mortality that drives civilization. Central to this book is the metaphor of a mountaintop where one can find the Immortals. Since the dawn of humanity, everyone – whether they know it or not—has been trying to climb that mountain. But there are only four paths up its treacherous slope, and there have only ever been four paths. Throughout history, people have wagered everything on their choice of the correct path, and fought wars against those who’ve chosen differently. In drawing back the curtain on what compels humans to “keep on keeping on,” Cave engages the reader in a number of mind-bending thought experiments. He teases out the implications of each immortality gambit, asking, for example, how long a person would live if they did manage to acquire a perfectly disease-free body. Or what would happen if a super-being tried to round up the atomic constituents of all who’ve died in order to resurrect them. Or what our loved ones would really be doing in heaven if it does exist. We’re confronted with a series of brain-rattling questions: What would happen if tomorrow humanity discovered that there is no life but this one? Would people continue to please their boss, vie for the title of Year’s Best Salesman? Would three-hundred-year projects still get started? If the four paths up the Mount of the Immortals lead nowhere—if there is no getting up to the summit—is there still reason to live? And can civilization survive? Immortality is a deeply satisfying book, as optimistic about the human condition as it is insightful about the true arc of history.

Quest for a Cave

Quest for a Cave PDF Author: Judy Hayman
Publisher: Practical Inspiration Publishing
ISBN: 1910056960
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 80

Get Book Here

Book Description
Emily, a small Scottish blue dragon, lives with Mum and Dad and younger brother Tom in a cave in a remote Highland glen. When they discover that a holiday camp is being built at the bottom of the glen – and come close to discovery in a daring midnight raid – they realize they must find a new home, away from these dangerous Humans. They set out on their quest and find a mysterious mountain, which is not all it seems.... Will they find their new home? And will Emily ever find the friend she longs for? This is the first of the Dragon Tales chronicles, and will be a firm favourite for reading aloud or reading alone for children aged 5-11. "This is a sparkling story of a feisty young dragon, Emily, and her family. In her search for a friend she alerts the family to danger, which means they must move on. Will they find a new home? And will Emily find her special friend? This will be a good length for first readers and a wonderful ‘read aloud’ book for all. I can't wait to read the next one!" - Margaret Forrester

Rashouk the Cave Troll

Rashouk the Cave Troll PDF Author: Adam Blade
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545270936
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 99

Get Book Here

Book Description
In his quest to capture the pieces of the Amulet of Avantia, Tom must battle the ghost beat Rashouk the cave troll, who can smell his victims' fear and turn them into stone

Cave in the Snow

Cave in the Snow PDF Author: Vicki Mackenzie
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1582340455
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
How an Englishwoman has become a Buddhist legend and a champion for the rights of women to attain spiritual enlightenment.

Cavern of the Fear

Cavern of the Fear PDF Author: Emily Rodda
Publisher: Turtleback Books
ISBN: 9780613505949
Category : Fantasy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
King Lief and his friends Barda and Jasmine go in search of a weapon powerful enough to combat the Shadow Lord's magic that is keeping thousands of their fellow Deltorans prisoner in the terrifying kingdom of Shadowlands

Beyond the Deep

Beyond the Deep PDF Author: William Stone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 9780446561273
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Huautla in Mexico is the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere, possibly the world. Shafts reach skyscraper-depths, caverns are stadium-sized, and sudden floods can drown divers in an instant. With a two-decade obsession, William Stone and his 44-member team entered the sinkhole at Sotano de San Augustin. The first camp settled 2,328 feet below ground in a cavern where headlamps couldn't even illuminate the walls and ceiling. The second camp teetered precariously above an underground canyon where two subterranean rivers collided. But beyond that lay the unknown territory -- a flooded corridor that had blocked all previous comers, claimed a diver's life, and drove the rest of the team back. Except for William Stone and Barbara am Ende, who forged on for 18 more days, with no hope of rescue, to set the record for the deepest cave dive in the Western Hemisphere.

Alcandian Quest

Alcandian Quest PDF Author: Mary Wine
Publisher: Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 9781419952807
Category : Erotic stories
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Jessica's love life is a mess. She wants a man who will love her, make her heart pound with desire and her body melt from passion. Marriage is in there too, but finding the right guy is turning out to be mission impossible. Dumping Mr. Wrong, she heads to her cabin in the mountains, hardly expecting to be swept off her feet and out of this world - literally - into the arms of the sexiest man she's ever met. What she isn't prepared for is to get the man of her dreams - in duplicate! Dylan and Jett don't care which planet they discover their mate on, only that they find the woman who will complete them both. And when Dylan touches Jessica's mind and body, he knows it is his mate he holds in his arms. But Jessica is about to find her personal taboos stretched to the limit by these two sexy, powerful warriors. Offering her everything she ever wanted from a man, she finds out that sometimes what you wished for is a whole lot more than you can handle. But an Alcandian warrior never gives up until the battle is won."--Publisher description.

Beyond Mammoth Cave

Beyond Mammoth Cave PDF Author: James D. Borden
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 0809390388
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 392

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Beyond Mammoth Cave: A Tale of Obsession in the World’s Longest Cave, James D. Borden and Roger W. Brucker provide gripping first-person accounts of the discoveries, including Roppel Cave, that made Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave three times longer than any other cave in the world. Borden, a relative newcomer, and Brucker, a veteran explorer, bring a personal and sometimes conflicting view of their roles as adversaries in a race that lasted from 1972 through 1983 to find “big cave.” They describe hazardous adventures, precarious climbs, and close calls from falling rocks. The perils are many and the trek arduous as they squirm through muddy tubes, wade in neck-deep cold water, and crawl over sharp rocks and gritty sand. Theirs is a tale of agonizing endurance spiced by spectacular discoveries. But the cave was not the sole obstacle. The explorations were complicated by political intrigue and the rivalry between the Kentucky-based Cave Research Foundation and the Central Kentucky Karst Coalition, each seeking to make discoveries and hide secrets. Extreme stress, of course, evoked extreme behavior, ranging from selfishness to sacrifice, from outrageous humor to the deadly serious response. Beyond Mammoth Cave includes maps by Patricia Kambesis that show the progression of cave discoveries in relation to the topography. Original line drawings by well-known illustrator Linda Heslop capture the dark mystery of the exploration. The book features five black and white photographs as a color gallery of photographs. A sequel to The Longest Cave by Brucker and Richard A. Watson, this book is a comprehensive update of the speleological investigations in the Mammoth Cave region. Brucker’s involvement provides continuity to the investigation.

King Ink

King Ink PDF Author: Nick Cave
Publisher: 2.13.61 Publications
ISBN: 9781880985083
Category : Rock music
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description