Blind Descent

The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth

By: James Tabor

Narrated by: Don Leslie

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's 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

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)

Absolute must read even for fiction lovers

This non-fiction account is as exciting as hell and defies comprehension in parts. A truly amazing story.

A thrilling story in the darkness

If you could sum up Blind Descent in three words, what would they be?

The reality faced by cave explorers, especially those who elect the supercavernas aim of their research. Or achievements. It is also the subject of Blind Descent - The quest to discover the deepest place on Earth, a book that borders on the incredible James M. Tabor, writer and also practically extreme adventures.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blind Descent?

The dives underground lakes - not knowing if there will be an exit.

What does Don Leslie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The speaker has a powerful voice that conveys the emotion to the narrative.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Do not laugh or cry, but in many moments of the narrative is exciting.

Any additional comments?

Not long ago I read a story so good adventures.

Amazing Courage!!

I'm an adventure/travel story buff. I loved Into Thin Air, Lost City of Z, Shadow Divers and Endurance. This one ranks right up there with those amazing true stories. I'm amazed at the courage it takes to explore the deepest caves in the world and the dibilitating panic attack they call, "The Rapture" that can hit anyone at anytime whilst inside the deep recesses of the Earth!! I highly recommend this adventure and the narrator does an excellent job. A credit well spent!!!

Excellent adventure account

I really like how the book presents two separate accounts of teams seeking the same goal. Very good read.

Middle of the road, but in a good way!

Very interesting, well written, superbly narrated. My only gripe is that the story itself is a little meandering. It left me wondering at time why I had just spent so long with a certain character or set of characters only to have them seemingly vanish; not having mattered in the grand scheme at all.

Amazon Best Books of Month June 2010 I Agree

Well, I am always lookiing for books that inform in areas which are unfamiliar. So with some interest I downloaded Blind Descent. I actually put off listening because my other Audible downloads seemed more interesting. Well, this is one of the best books I have listened to in years and I have been following Audible for a long time and Books on Tape before. This is an adventure story, science exposition, and I can't say what else.

Anyway, this is James Tabor's effort to describe the work of primier cavers (Bill Stone and ALexander Kliimchouk) as they labor to find the world's deepest caves. It details their adventures, the logistical problems encountered, political maneuvering necessary and everything else that you cannot ever expect in advance.

The book is wonderfully written and researched. Don Leslie could not be topped in his reading. Grab your mouse and click "Buy" - now. Download this volume and plug in your ear phones as soon as you can. It is well worth the time.

amazing narration and awesome writing

Being an explorer myself or kind of passionate about the subject, I can't get the headphones out of my ear. Amazing job by Tabor and great narration by Don Leslie.

Good Listening!!

I never knew there were caves that existed like that on this planet. Exelent on going in to the details of what it takes to discover new frontiers; let downs, failures, sucesses and inventing new and improved technolagies to do so.

Makes it very clear whether caving is for you

I bought this audiobook on a friend's advice - and it made me clearly realize that caving is not for me (I had gone cave diving in Mexico). While the book was pretty clear in its description of competitive caving, I had to deduct two stars from its rating: one for a stolen title (from a book by a different author from 1999) and the other for its reader. Half of the book takes place in Russia, and they got a reader who rapes every Russian word he tries to pronounce.

Great story, poorly organized and poorly narrated.

The source material for Blind Descent is fascinating and more than a little terrifying to imagine. Unfortunately the story suffers a bit in Tabor's treatment. It's poorly organized - - jumping around and difficult to follow in places.

The writing veers into melodrama and hyperbole more than it should (ie, repeated statements like "what happened next would haunt him for the rest of his life..."). This problem is compounded by the narration. At times it sounds like you're listening to a book length movie trailer.