There are many reasons to recommend Blind Descent, James Tabor's excellent account of supercave exploration, but it is worth noting, too, that readers (such as this one) with even a mild case of claustrophobia will find this book a highly effective lesson in aversion therapy. Simply put, it is terrifying, thrilling and impossible to put down.
Deep cave exploration, as Tabor points out, is in a sense the last frontier of human discovery. Man has reached the poles, the deepest oceans, the highest peaks and beyond, into space, but we have not yet stood in the depths of Earth's innermost cavern. It turns out there are several very good reasons why this is so, and Tabor describes them all in horrifying detail. There are the obvious dangers; falling, for example, or exposure to deadly microbes (the Ebola virus evolved in a supercave) and sudden burial, but there are also far greater risks and peril to one's psyche and many slower and more painful ways to die in a cave. Yet, human nature being what it is, where there exists a seemingly impenetrable barrier there will be people who will try to break it down. Tabor focuses on two of those people: the brash, alpha male, win-at-all-costs American Bill Stone and his much milder but no less determined Ukrainian counterpart, Alexander Klimchouk, and their race to the bottom of the world.
Though caves are found throughout the planet, the deepest supercaves are located in Mexico (Cheve and Huautla) and in the Abkhazia region of the Republic of Georgia (Krubera). Both Stone and Klimchouk have led several expeditions over the course of decades through each cave, searching and vying for the greatest depths. The challenges have been legion, from dissent and death among team members to hostility from local governments; then, of course, there are the caves themselves. Tabor's narrative is brilliant in its creation of a visceral you-are-here perspective of the subterranean world, encompassing everything from the hallucinations caused by a total lack of light to the loud rush of underground waterfalls, the suffocating panic caused by cave diving (which has to be one of the most insanely claustrophobic experiences possible) and the knowledge that if anything goes wrong (and there are so many things that can), rescue is near impossible. And then there is the trip back to the surface--in many ways, more perilous than the journey down.
There are more subtle themes at play in Blind Descent (evident in the ultimate fates and achievements of Stone and Klimchouk) and these, too, are delivered with suspense and skill. It's altogether a superior and utterly fascinating read--just make sure to leave the lights on.--Debra Ginsberg
Shelf Talker: A fascinating and very well-written account of extreme supercave exploration and the complex individuals who have found their way into the earth's hidden depths.