THE CAVE DIVERS This is an award-winning book about one of the world's most dangerous sports. Chosen by librarians and bookstore owners as a Book of the Year award winner in Fore Word Magazine's annual contest, The Cave Divers takes the reader into the dark, watery world of underwater springs where mastodon bones, seven-inch long fossil shark teeth, and death sometimes awaits the unwary diver. Learn the secret of caves that repeatedly trapped victims. Read about incredible underwater rescues from the watery labyrinths. Join Burgess as he descends into water-filled stone "time-capsules" where scientists discover the remains of 12,000-year-old Ice Age Man. Join early cave diving explorers who first braved the watery barrier into the unknown to find a prehistoric graveyard of mammoths, and cathedral-sized caverns never seen before. Here are daring feats of pioneer dive exploration from the sport's earliest beginnings to the mixed gas miracles accomplished in these deep inner-world watery mazes today. Go along on world record depth dives. Join the group who swam a secret way into a dry underwater cave and when their lifeline broke realized no help would come because they were the only ones who knew how to get in! 352 pages. Over 60 color and black and white photos and maps. Paperback 6 x 9 © 1999 Aqua Quest Publications. $19.95
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Wookey Hole (England
1934) FROM THE BOOK:
PUBLISHER REVIEW: "An
interesting mix of adventure and archaeology that probes one of the
earth's last frontiers." WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK: "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 unexpected 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. Beginning with a 5-year-old boy in France, you are delightfully walked through the beginning history of cave diving — from the very brave to the totally crazy, from France to England, Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas.... Divers who favor Mexico will appreciate the early chapters describing exploration efforts starting in 1878 and continuing on through the 1950s.... As a photographer, Burgess is able to add another dimension to this book. Pictures are especially valuable in caving, especially for those who have never dived in them. Burgess's photos cover many decades and many caves. A personal favorite is the 1956 photo showing a pillowcase being used as a liftbag for a mastodon bone. The resourcefulness of our predecessors is amazing. Just taking many of these underwater photographs was very challenging, as told in a humorous chapter titled, "Into the Caves with Gun and Camera." Those new to underwater photography will be appreciative of the ease of taking excellent pictures using modern camera systems. The
adventure is mixed with the lessons learned from tragic mistakes, bad
judgement and overwhelming egos.... 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.... It is obvious that Robert Burgess loves this sport and he
put great effort into telling the tale of the early explorations... he
masterfully glides the reader through tales of history that cavers and
non-cavers will enjoy." "I thought
this was going to be another tech book by a well known cave diver. Not
so! Engrossing! Reads as well as a good novel--can't wait to see how
these pioneers solved the next problem. This is a book that touches a
broad spectrum of society- courage, ethics, and the desire to discover
the unknown carry the reader to the last page."
© 2000, 2001 Robert F. Burgess. All rights reserved. |