Blind Descent

Author : James M. Tabor
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 0812979494
Total Pages : 322 pages
Book Rating : 4.97/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Blind Descent written by James M. Tabor and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2011-02-15 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Heart-stopping and relentlessly gripping. Tabor takes us on an odyssey into unfathomable worlds beneath us, and into the hearts of rare explorers who will do anything to get there first.”—Robert Kurson, author of ShadowDivers In 2004, two great scientist-explorers attempted to find the bottom of the world. American Bill Stone took on the vast, deadly Cheve Cave in southern Mexico. Ukrainian Alexander Klimchouk targeted Krubera, a freezing nightmare of a supercave in the war-torn former Soviet republic of Georgia. Both men spent months almost two vertical miles deep, contending with thousand-foot drops, raging whitewater rivers, monstrous waterfalls, mile-long belly crawls, and the psychological horrors produced by weeks in absolute darkness, beyond all hope of rescue. Based on his unprecedented access to logs and journals as well as hours of personal interviews, James Tabor has crafted a thrilling exploration of man’s timeless urge to discover—and of two extraordinary men whose pursuit of greatness led them to the heights of triumph and the depths of tragedy. Blind Descent is an unforgettable addition to the classic literature of true-life adventure, and a testament to human survival and endurance. “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 (starred review) “A fascinating and informative introduction to the sport of cave diving, as well as a dramatic portrayal of a significant man-vs.-nature conflict. . . . What counts is Tabor’s knack for maximizing dramatic potential, while also managing to be informative and attentive to the major personalities associated with the most important cave explorations of the last two decades.”—Kirkus Reviews Includes a 16-pg black and white insert

Author : Brian Dickinson
Publisher : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1414391706
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Blind Descent written by Brian Dickinson and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2014 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Former Navy rescue swimmer Brian Dickinson was roughly 1,000 feet from the summit of Mount Everest ... when his Sherpa became ill and had to turn back, leaving Brian with a difficult decision: should he continue to push for the summit, or head back down the mountain? After carefully weighing the options, Brian decided to continue toward the summit ... Four hours later, Brian solo-summited the highest peak in the world, but the celebration was short-lived ... Suddenly, his vision became blurry, his eyes started to burn, and within seconds, he was rendered almost completely blind"--Amazon.com.

Author : Nevada Barr
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101145145
Total Pages : 299 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Blind Descent written by Nevada Barr and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Park ranger Anna Pigeon is enjoying the open spaces of Colorado when she receives an urgent call. A young woman has been injured while exploring a cave in New Mexico?s Carlsbad Cavern Park. Before she can be pulled to safety, she sends for her friend Anna. Only one problem: a crushing fear of confined spaces has kept Anna out in the open her whole life.

Author : William Stone
Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780446561273
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.74/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Beyond the Deep written by William Stone and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2010-05-30 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Huautla in Mexico is the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere, possibly the world. Shafts reach skyscraper-depths, caverns are stadium-sized, and sudden floods can drown divers in an instant. With a two-decade obsession, William Stone and his 44-member team entered the sinkhole at Sotano de San Augustin. The first camp settled 2,328 feet below ground in a cavern where headlamps couldn't even illuminate the walls and ceiling. The second camp teetered precariously above an underground canyon where two subterranean rivers collided. But beyond that lay the unknown territory -- a flooded corridor that had blocked all previous comers, claimed a diver's life, and drove the rest of the team back. Except for William Stone and Barbara am Ende, who forged on for 18 more days, with no hope of rescue, to set the record for the deepest cave dive in the Western Hemisphere.

Author : Cornelius Hunter
Publisher : Baker Books
ISBN 13 : 9781441200631
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Science's Blind Spot written by Cornelius Hunter and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Had evolutionists been in charge, they wouldn't have made the mosquito, planetary orbits would align perfectly, and the human eye would be better designed. But they tend to gloss over their own failed predictions and faulty premises. Naturalists see Darwin's theories as "logical" and that's enough. To think otherwise brands you a heretic to all things wise and rational. Science's Blind Spot takes the reader on an enlightening journey through the ever-evolving theory of evolution. Cornelius G. Hunter goes head-to-head with those who twist textbooks, confuse our children, and reject all challengers before they can even speak. This fascinating, fact-filled resource opens minds to nature in a way that both seeks and sees the intelligent design behind creation's masterpieces.

Author : Stephen Kuusisto
Publisher : Delta
ISBN 13 : 0385333277
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Planet of the Blind written by Stephen Kuusisto and published by Delta. This book was released on 1998-12-29 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The world is a surreal pageant," writes Stephen Kuusisto. "Ahead of me the shapes and colors suggest the sails of Tristan's ship or an elephant's ear floating in air, though in reality it is a middle-aged man in a London Fog rain coat which billows behind him in the April wind." So begins Kuusisto's memoir, Planet of the Blind, a journey through the kaleidoscope geography of the partially-sighted, where everyday encounters become revelations, struggles, or simple triumphs. Not fully blind, not fully sighted, the author lives in what he describes as "the customs-house of the blind", a midway point between vision and blindness that makes possible his unique perception of the world. In this singular memoir, Kuusisto charts the years of a childhood spent behind bottle-lens glasses trying to pass as a normal boy, the depression that brought him from obesity to anorexia, the struggle through high school, college, first love, and sex. Ridiculed by his classmates, his parents in denial, here is the story of a man caught in a perilous world with no one to trust--until a devastating accident forces him to accept his own disability and place his confidence in the one relationship that can reconnect him to the world--the relationship with his guide dog, a golden Labrador retriever named Corky. With Corky at his side, Kuusisto is again awakened to his abilities, his voice as a writer and his own particular place in the world around him. Written with all the emotional precision of poetry, Kuusisto's evocative memoir explores the painful irony of a visually sensitive individual--in love with reading, painting, and the everyday images of the natural world--faced with his gradual descent into blindness. Folded into his own experience is the rich folklore the phenomenon of blindness has inspired throughout history and legend.

Author : Erik Weihenmayer
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 9780452282940
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.42/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Touch the Top of the World written by Erik Weihenmayer and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002-03-26 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The incredible bestselling book from the author of No Barriers and The Adversity Advantage Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life. In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for that distant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done). From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous. "An inspiration to other blind people and plenty of us folks who can see just fine."—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Into Thin Air

Author : James Tabor
Publisher : Ballantine Books
ISBN 13 : 0345538854
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.57/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Frozen Solid: A Novel written by James Tabor and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most dangerous place on Earth A devious and deadly plan to save humanity from itself A lone scientist battling the clock and ruthless enemies to avert global catastrophe The Deep Zone was hailed as “an absolutely phenomenal read by the new Michael Crichton” (Brad Thor), a book that “should come shrink-wrapped with a seat belt” (Steve Berry). Now, bestselling author James M. Tabor ups the ante and the action in his second extreme thriller, as brilliant and battle-tested heroine Hallie Leland confronts intrigue and murder in the most unforgiving place on Earth. The South Pole’s Amundsen Scott Research Station is like an outpost on Mars. Winter temperatures average 100 degrees below zero; week-long hurricane-force storms rage; for eight months at a time the station is shrouded in darkness. Under the stress, bodies suffer and minds twist. Panic, paranoia, and hostility prevail. When a South Pole scientist dies mysteriously, CDC microbiologist Hallie Leland arrives to complete crucial research. Before she can begin, three more women inexplicably die. As failing communications and plunging temperatures cut the station off from the outside world, terror rises and tensions soar. Amidst it all, Hallie must crack the mystery of her predecessor’s death. In Washington, D.C., government agency director Don Barnard and enigmatic operative Wil Bowman detect troubling signs of shadowy behavior at the South Pole and realize that Hallie is at the heart of it. Unless Barnard and Bowman can track down the mastermind, a horrifying act of global terror, launched from the station, will change the planet forever—and Hallie herself will be the unwitting instrument of destruction. As the Antarctic winter sweeps in, severing contact with the outside world, Hallie must trust no one, fear everyone, and fight to keep the frigid prison from becoming her frozen grave. Praise for Frozen Solid “The Andromeda Strain meets The Thing. Effectively blending horror with the science thriller, Tabor keeps readers on edge from beginning to end.”—Booklist “We can’t get enough of mad scientist cabals who want to take over the world with the power of genetic engineering.”—io9 “A taut page-turner . . . Tabor’s not the first genre writer to take advantage of the forbidding conditions at the South Pole, but few have done so to better effect.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A fine thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews “As you read this chilling novel it won’t be the frigid setting that sends tremors up your spine but rather the dark premise of this horrifying and engrossing story.”—BookIdeas.com “A fast-paced, visceral thriller with a likeable heroine and some stellar high-stakes action sequences.”—ScienceThrillers.com “The suspense was never-ending. . . . [There’s a] heart-stopping build-up towards the ending.”—Books4Tomorrow

Author : Alexander Kluge
Publisher : New Directions Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780811215954
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.54/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Devil's Blind Spot written by Alexander Kluge and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scathingly clever short stories. Includes "The Devil in the White House" and "The Development of Iraq as a Case for the Files." At once a genuine story-teller and a literary documentarian, Alexander Kluge's genius lies in the very special way he makes found material his own. Each of the miniatures collected here touches on "facts" and is only several pages long. In just a paragraph he can etch a whole world: he is as great a master of compression as Kafka or Kawabata. Arranged in five chapters, the dozens of stories of The Devil's Blind Spot are condensed, like novels in pill form. The first group of stories illustrates the little-known virtues of the Devil. The second explores love from Kant and opera through the Grand Guignol. The third is entitled "Sarajevo Is Everywhere" and tests how convincing power is. The fourth group concerns the cosmos, and the fifth ranges all our "knowledge" against our feelings. In each piece, Kluge alights on precise particulars: on board the atomic submarine Kursk, for instance, we are marched precisely step by step through a black comedy of the exact, disastrous stages of thinking that lead to catastrophe. Sample titles include "The Devil in the White House," "The Development of Iraq as a Case for the Files," "Intelligence of the Second Degree," and "Love's Mouth Also Kisses the Dog."

Author : Erik Weihenmayer
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 125008878X
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.89/5 ( download)

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Download or read book No Barriers written by Erik Weihenmayer and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author Erik Weihenmayer, who Jon Krakauer calls “an inspiration,” tells the epic story of his latest adventures, including solo kayaking The Colorado River.