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  • Blind Descent

  • The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth
  • By: James Tabor
  • Narrated by: Don Leslie
  • Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (22 ratings)

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Blind Descent

By: James Tabor
Narrated by: Don Leslie
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Summary

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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2010 James Tabor (P)2010 Random House
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Critic reviews

"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)

What listeners say about Blind Descent

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enthralling and educational

I really loved this audiobook. When I listened to the narrator talk about the expeditions, the level of detail allowed me to perfectly visualise what was happening. In terms of the story, I thought the first half was really good, but the second half lost its focus and talked about many different cave explorers. It was still interesting but I felt less attachment to the story overall. However I was still glad I read/listened to this book because I learned so much about cave exploration and how similar it actually is to mountaineering. The level of detail in this book was excellent.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

This one's a struggle.

Amazing caving escapades written in in a way that over dramatizes everything so failing to project the OMG events. Plus, the book duplicates the run of the mill stuff all cavers do for every expedition described, ultimately making the book much too long. As a mere day tripping caver, I can confidently say the book fails to project the atmosphere and difficulties of what these people went through and achieved. It's also a shame the narrator's voice and style sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster trailer ad. All in all a tedious listen beyond half way

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good but long

Riveting for the first half. Got tedious thereafter. I think 2/3 length would have been more than sufficient.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating look at a world I knew nothing about

A great introduction to the world of caving and cave diving in the worlds deepest caves. I thought it was at its best in the first two thirds when focusing on the Americans in the Mexican caves.

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