Beyond Mammoth Cave: A Tale of Obsession in the World's Longest Cave

by James D. Borden, Roger W. Brucker

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780809390380
Publisher:	Southern Illinois University Press
Publication date:	11/20/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	392
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

James D. Borden is a data storage manager at Vencor, Inc. Louisville, Kentucky. He is a Fellow of the National Speleological Society, a past director of the Cave Research Foundation, and managing director of the Central Kentucky Karst Coalition.

Roger W. Brucker, retired Dayton, Ohio, advertising executive, fellow of the National Speleological Society, and past president of the Cave Research Foundation, is coauthor of three books: The Caves Beyond (with Joe Lawrence Jr.), Trapped! The Story of the Floyd Collins (with Robert K. Murray),and The Longest Cave (with Richard A. Watson), also available from Southern Illinois University Press.

Table of Contents

Cover Title Page Dedication CONTENTS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AUTHORS’ NOTE INTRODUCTION 1. Blazing Glory and Blind Ambition 2. Roots of a System 3. Beginnings 4. A Way In 5. Small Rewards 6. Reunification 7. Roppel-Mania 8. Transformation 9. Treasures Beneath Doyle Valley 10. The Legacy of George Morrison Gallery 11. The Abyss 12. Run for the River! 13. The French Connection 14. Fortuitous Intersections 15. Stress Fractures 16. Power Play 17. Secret Trip to Morrison Cave 18. Further Separations 19. House of Cards 20. Comfortable Ignorance 21. A New Entrance to Secret Passages 22. Gasoline on the Fire 23. Stark Reality 24. Swallowed Up Afterword PARTICIPANTS IN THE MAMMOTH CAVE–ROPPEL CAVE EXPLORATION, 1972–1983 GLOSSARY OF CAVING TERMINOLOGY INDEX About the Authors Back Cover

Editorial Reviews

"The big cave sucked us in," write Borden and Brucker, and so begins their account (told in alternating first-person chapters) of the roles they played in extending Kentucky's Mammoth Cave from 144 miles in 1972 to over 300 miles in 1983. Generously illustrated with drawings and maps, their tale is both a history of spelunking and an underground adventure<-->for the non-claustrophobic<-->complete with competitive rivalries and physical peril. A sequel to , by Brucker and Richard Watson (1973). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

[T]his book tells the whole truth  . . . of the political intrigue and rivalry between the Cave Research Foundation (CRF) and the Central Kentucky Karst Coalition (CKKC) as they each make discoveries and hide secrets in the race to connect Mammoth Cave with Roppel Cave. With books like this there will never be a shortage of cavers.”—National Speleological Society News  

“Beyond Mammoth Cave will appeal to both cave explorers and armchair explorers. . . .  It is a story that draws one in and is an honest look at real exploration by ordinary people who have ordinary faults but become obsessive and legitimate explorers. The conflicts are real and add a credible and cohesive level of detail to the description of the events.”—Emily Davis Mobley, coeditor of A Guide to Speleological Literature of the English Language: 1794-1996

From the Publisher