by James D. Borden and Roger W. Brucker
Pub. 2000. 355 pp.
ISBN 0-8093-2346-X $26.95 pb, $59.95 hb
Here are some book reviews that will tell you how our books have been received. Check back often for the latest information. Just click on any title below to go directly to reviews of that book. Click on "cover" to see a small image of the cover. Or just scroll down to read the reviews of the newest releases. All of them are great.
|
|
Alpine Karst 2004 |
Beyond Mammoth Cave |
|
Hidden Beneath the Mountains: |
|
|
Prehistoric Cavers of Mammoth Cave |
Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave |
|
True Tales of Terror in the Caves of the World |
|
The Art of Caving (Cover) |
|
|
Cave Passages: Roaming the Underground Wilderness (Cover) |
|
|
Deep Secrets: The Discovery and Exploration of Lechuguilla Cave (Cover) |
|
|
Going Under and Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll, Two Poems (a double volume) |
|
|
A Guide to Speleological Literature of the English Language 1974 -1996 (Cover) |
The Jewel Cave Adventure: Fifty Miles of Discovery Under South Dakota (Cover) |
|
Memoirs of a Speleologist: The Adventurous Life of a Famous French Cave Explorer (Cover) |
|
|
Shadow Hunters: The Nest Gatherers of Tiger Cave |
South China Caves (Cover) |
|
Speleology: Caves and the Cave Environment (Cover) |
Subterranean Climbers: Twelve Years in the World's Deepest Chasm |
|
Archeology of the Mammoth Cave Area (Cover) |
The Caves Beyond: The Story of the Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave Exploration (Cover) |
|
A Geological Guide to Mammoth Cave National Park (Cover) |
Rambles in the Mammoth Cave, During the Year 1844, by a Visiter (Cover) |
|
Guide to the Surface Trails of Mammoth Cave National Park (Cover) |
|
|
The Cave Research Foundation: Origins and the First Twelve Years 1957-1968 |
Wilderness Resources in Mammoth Cave National Park: A Regional Approach (Cover) |
|
Note on CRF Newsletters (in work) |
|
Cave Geology |
Cave Biology |
by James D. Borden and Roger W. BruckerPub. 2000. 355 pp.ISBN 0-8093-2346-X $26.95 pb, $59.95 hb |
|
Beyond Mammoth Cave: A Tale of Obsession in the World's Longest Cave provides 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 and a color gallery of photographs.
|
"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." |
|
|
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 investigations.
Joe Lawrence, Jr. and Roger W. Brucker, with a new 15-page introduction by Roger W. Brucker and a new index by Joan Brucker. 1975. 318 pp., 74 photos.
ISBN 0-914264-18-4 $10.95 pb |
 |
In February, 1954, under the direction of Joe Lawrence, Jr., the National Speleological Society sent the largest, most highly organized, and best equipped expedition in the history of American cave exploration into Floyd Collins' Crystal Cave, Kentucky.
The Caves Beyond is the official account of that expedition and a classic American caving story. There is no other caving book like it.
First published in 1955 in an edition of 10,000 copies, the book was out of print soon afterwards. Good copies of the rare first edition are a sought after prize to book collectors. This quality reprint reproduces every word and picture of the original edition. Brucker's new introduction to the long awaited reprint edition reveals a number of "untold stories" about the expedition, including stories of the politics behind the C-3 expedition and of how the book came to be written in an attic in Brooklyn in two weeks' time. There is also a detailed index, which the first edition lacked.
"And so we leave the cave in darkness, as we found it. We have unlocked many of nature's secrets, and still others are yet unsolved. Men will be back, probably to the end of time, but history will record the monumental effort of The National Speleological Society in the Year of Our Lord 1954."
"This excellent book is by far the best written on the adventures of exploring a single cave . . . . This is really a terrific book, and if I had to single out the most enjoyable caving book in my library, this would be it."
"It is impossible to read these pages without recognizing the insatiable drive that spurs man onward, or realizing how frustrating it is to turn back when you can see with the explorers' eyes that there are caves beyond. But never completely solved logistics problems, the growing fatigue that becomes overwhelming--that invisible but insurmountable endurance barrier--and the paralyzing uncertainty as to where you are in the uncharted maze, combine to make the caves beyond unconquerable."
"Climbing a mountain is a vastly different operation from exploring a cave. A mountain is there. You can see its summit, which becomes the goal of an expedition. You can't see a cave's goal, whatever it may be, for as you stand on the surface of the land, often the only evidence of a cave is a hole leading downward into unknown. The Caves Beyond is the story of the exploration of just such a hole, and how the explorers pushed the limits of their knowledge to the limits of physical endurance"
ISBN 0-939748-08-8 $100. pb
On September 9, 1972, a team of six cavers, five men and one woman, enter Unknown Cave through the Austin Entrance within the Flint Ridge Cave System in Kentucky. Their goal is to follow a newly found passage, if possible, to the end. Fourteen and a half hours later their dream comes true as they emerge in Mammoth Cave, over seven miles away, connecting these two caves into one, making it the longest cave in the world.
The Grand Kentucky Junction is the story of that final trip as told by those who were there, including Thomas Brucker, who was not, but who only days before had discovered the passage that leads this team to Mammoth Cave.
The Grand Kentucky Junction is the companion book to The Longest Cave. This is the second chapter in an exciting story that began over 40 years ago with the idea of connecting these two cave systems. Once connected, the Flint/Mammoth Cave System totaled 144.4 miles in length. This magnificent achievement has been compared to the conquest of Everest.
Edited by Patty Jo Watson. 1997. 255 pp.49 photos, 73 figures, 54 tables, plus large fold out map.ISBN 0-939748-41-X $24.95 pb |
 |
Cavers and archeologists alike will welcome the reprinting of this classic volume presenting results from the first decade of archeological research in the world's longest cave in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.
This book established dark zone archeology as an essential source of information on prehistoric lifeways in Eastern North America, and still provides the most detailed evidence available for indigenous, pre-maize agriculture and diet 1500 years before European contact.
The authors also document the nature and extent of speleological knowledge by Native Americans who were the best cavers anywhere--prehistoric or historic--prior to the modern era.
For over 35 years, Patty Jo Watson has been working in the caves throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, where she concentrates on documenting the origins of plant domestication.
Using the textiles, vegetable remains, charred food, gourd vessels, paleofeces, and other items left in the caves, she has reconstructed the lives of some of the prehistoric people who lived in the Eastern Woodlands of North America. In 1988 she was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences and in 1989 received Honorary Life Membership in the National Speleology Society.
"This profusely illustrated book contains 31 chapters arranged in six parts dealing with surface work in Mammoth Cave National Park, Salts Cave archaeology, Mammoth Cave archaeology, aboriginal use of other caves in the National Park area, and archaeology in Wyandotte Cave, Indiana. Watson concisely sums it all up in chapters on the prehistoric miners and horticulturists of Mammoth Cave area . . . . one of the most exciting frontiers of Eastern Woodlands archaeology."
"This is a fascinating book with full text and excellent illustration, disclosing a new world for those unversed in archeology."
Arthur N. Palmer. 1981. 210 pp.79 photos, 16 maps, 14 figures.ISBN 0-914264-28-1 $7.95 pb |
 |
How did Mammoth Cave form? How old is it? What do the rocks tell us? These and many more questions are answered in this book about America's most popular cave.
A Geological Guide to Mammoth Cave National Park is written by a geologist who has been closely involved with the exploration of the Mammoth Cave system. With many illustration and straightforward style, it is designed for readers with no scientific background, yet it is precise and detailed enough to be of use to scientists as well. Much of the information about the geology and origins of Mammoth Cave has never before been in print. No serious visitor to Mammoth Cave National Park should be without this book.
Arthur N. Palmer is Professor of Geology and Director of the Water Resources Program at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta. For the past twenty five years he has been active in the exploration, mapping, and geological interpretation of caves throughout North America and Europe. He is a Fellow and Certificate of Merit recipient of the National Speleological Society, member of the Scientific Committee of the Cave Research Foundation, and member of the Association for Mexican Cave Studies.
Alexander Clark Bullitt, with a new introduction by Harold Meloy. 1985.134 pp., 6 engravings, large foldout map.ISBN 0-939748-16-9 $6.95 pb |
 |
Rambles in the Mammoth Cave was originally published in 1845. Alexander Clark Bullitt describes the cave as easily accessible, with comfortable local accommodations, and as offering safe and pleasurable cave trips for ladies and gentleman. The book provides beautiful descriptions of the sights in the cave that could be seen by visitors in 1844 and can still be seen by visitors today. It has been a source book for all future guidebooks and remains a most attractive souvenir for visitors who want to remember their trip into Mammoth Cave.
"This 100 page volume . . . . is one of the earliest accounts of the exploration of what is now the largest cave in the world . . . . [It] is still amazingly accurate. So accurate in fact, that many of the later publications dealing with Mammoth Cave are based extensively on this work. There is a twenty eight page introduction by Harold Meloy in this reprint edition that summarizes the early days of exploration at Mammoth Cave and details the literary history of the volume. Surprisingly, by 1844, a half dozen volumes had already been written about the cave. But it is Bullitt's book that had become recognized as the most definitive work about original exploration of the famous cave. The physical reproduction of the text is excellent and the binding worthy of the classic this is."
Stanley D. Sides. 1991.100 pp., 25 maps.ISBN 0-939748-31-2 $5.95 pb
|
 |
Not all of the beauty of Mammoth Cave National Park lies hidden in the dark, winding underground passages of Mammoth Cave. Above the unseen labyrinth of the world's longest cave, within the Park's 53,000 acres of wooded forest, are over 60 miles of hiking trails.
Guide to the Surface Trails of Mammoth Cave National Park is an essential book for those who wish to hike the lush forest of this world heritage site. Sides describes 23 hiking trails, ranging from easy hikes of 0.1 miles up to 8.7 miles for those who want to see the more rugged Kentucky countryside. All of the hikes start at easy to reach trailheads. Each hike is illustrated with a map and a detailed description of the trail with mileage marked off in tenths at landmarks and surface features. Areas of special interest are also noted in the text. Most of these trails can be hiked in one day with careful staging of transportation.
Taking the time to explore these trails not only gives the hiker a greater understanding of the surface and rich heritage of this area, but also provides a deeper understanding of the relationship of the caves to the surface environment that is vital to the formation and life of the caves below.
1971. 34 pp., 7 maps and illustrations. $3.00 pb
This very informative report was prepared by the Cave Research Foundation at the request of the National Park Service, and anyone with an interest in the Mammoth Cave area will find a wealth of useful information within these pages. Topics include the geological, biological, and archeological features of the park with details of the drainage basin, the caves, karst features, cave and surface fauna, and the influence of human activities in and around the caves. Also, included is a cave passage classification covering the entire geographical extent of the Mammoth Cave Plateau detailing: horizontal, vertical, gypsum, rare minerals, and extraordinary feature zones. Other topics covered are the concepts, management, and use of Mammoth Cave wilderness for research, recreation, and tourism. Included is a detailed bibliography.
495 pp., 12 photos, 30 maps and illustrations.
ISBN 0-939748-02-9 $12.00 pb
This is an immense volume that brings together a number of papers that led to and emerged from the work of the Cave Research Foundation over a period of about fifteen years.
Origins is loaded with information for anybody interested in cave exploration, research, science, archeology, geology, and the beginnings and early history of the CRF--one of the most successful voluntary cave research organizations in the world. It also contains the first 10 years worth of CRF Annual Reports. These reports show vividly and graphically how the scientific work, through trials and tribulations, grew and evolved into the cave science of today.
Nowhere else is this amount of information available in one place, and if there was, it surely would cost more than $12.00. It is one of those books that no matter how many times you pick it up and read it, you will always find something else you hadn't read before. A must for any cave book collection.
Roger W. Brucker and Richard A. Watson. 1976.331 pp., 32 photos, 17 maps.This is the original second edition hardback published by SIU Press. $24.95 hb, $19.95 pb |
 |
This is the dramatic story of several generations of cavers whose exciting and dangerous exploration in Kentucky's dark limestone labyrinths culminated in the big connection between the Flint Ridge Cave System and Mammoth Cave, forming the longest cave in the world. Here is the romance and adventure of big time caving, told by two of the participants.
Brucker and Watson tell not only of their own twenty year effort to complete the link, but of a parade of cavers who propelled themselves by wiggling kneecaps, elbows, and toes through quarter-mile-long crawlways, clinging by fingertips and boot toes across mud slick walls, over bottomless pits, into gurgling streams beneath stone ceilings that descend to water level, down crumbling crevices and up mountainous rockfalls, into wondrous domed halls, and straight ahead into a blackness intensified rather than dispelled by the carbide lamps on their helmets.
Above all else, it is the story of the people who explore the cave, of their determination over hardship, of perseverance over fatigue, and of triumph over nature.
Along with The Caves Beyond, this book continues the informal history of the exploration of Mammoth Cave.
"This is a gripping and suspenseful story of the magnificent achievement that has been compared to the conquest of Everest--the final connection between the Flint Ridge and Mammoth Cave systems.
"The Longest Cave makes the reader get down on hands and knees, to crawl through the tight spots and the false leads and the boulder slides. But somewhere in the rocks and mud under central Kentucky, the reader becomes self reliant, begins crawling around the next twist of cave, begins to care . . . . This spare and underwritten book is a primer in self reliance and self worth."
"The book tells an absorbing story of adventure and frustration, of dedication and supreme effort . . . . The many maps scattered throughout the book make it easy and fun to follow all the discoveries, the immense avenues, the pits, and the underground rivers. As the final connection to Mammoth Cave draws closer, the book is ever harder to put aside. By now the reader is one of the gang, sharing the hard work, the jokes, the wet belly crawls, and the determination, this time, to go all the way. The Longest Cave is an epic story of caves and cavers."
"This is the story of the determined group who crawled and slipped and wriggled through dangerous miles of interlocking caves, mapping their finds, failing, persisting and at last conquering."
"Roger Brucker and Richard Watson . . . . Their book is a splendid armchair challenge, properly made, properly obsessive."
"You don't have to be a spelunker to shiver . . . . as the authors face dangerous holes and hidden rivers during their 20 year assault on this underground Everest of tunnels . . . . A Kon Tiki of superman speleology, with a superb payoff chapter."
"Adventure is part of the American spirit and this adventure is there to be shared . . . . This book is for those who crave adventure and the rewords--and frustrations--that go along with it."
"A page turning story as gripping as any mystery novel."
Cave Research Foundation Annual Reports document the work and accomplishments of CRF scientists working in cave and karst environments. Topics include cartography, exploration, geology, hydrology, mineralogy, microbiology, archeology, anthropology, evolution, ecology, conservation, history, and the arts. Numerous maps, photos, charts, and illustrations add to the wealth of information contained in these reports.
|
Annual Report 1968, 29 pp. |
$3.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Reports 1969-73, 265 pp. (One Volume) |
$15.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Reports 1974-78, 341 pp. (One Volume) |
$15.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1975, 80 pp. |
$3.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1976, 65 pp. |
$3.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1977, 64 pp. |
$4.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1978, 64 pp. |
$4.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1979, 74 pp. |
$4.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1980, 51 pp. |
$4.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1981, 55 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1982, 45 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1983, 42 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1984, 60 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1985, 48 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1986, 51 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1987, 74 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1988, 91 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1989, 79 pp |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1990, 80 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1991, 76 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1992, 68 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1993, 68 pp. |
$5.00 |
pb |
|
Annual Report 1994-97, 136 pp. (One Volume) |
$10.00 |
pb |
|
CRF Pin (3/4 inch diameter, enameled) |
$ 5.00 |
<- |
This is commonly known as the Kaemper Map and includes all of the known passages of Mammoth Cave explored up to 1908, depicted in five colors for each level of the cave. Included on the map is an index of all 112 passage names.
This sturdy three color map shows 341.8 miles of the Mammoth Cave System contained in approximately 15 square miles, overlaid on a detailed map showing the surface features above the cave. On the back of the map is a brief summary of the history and exploration of the cave.
CRF. 1981. 36 x 24. $3.00This large map shows over 200 miles of the Mammoth Cave System.Multiple colors depict each level of cave passage against a black background. Included are surface features and cave entrances.This map is a must for any fan of the book The Longest Cave. |
 |
This detailed three color map of Lee Cave shows passage names, cave features, survey station numbers, and passage section views combined with the surface features of Joppa Ridge.
Depicted in five colors, this map shows springs, major caves, flow routes, and surface features of Mammoth Cave National Park and surrounding areas. Included on the map is an index to the names of 28 basins and sub basins.
This extremely detailed two color map shows numerous cave features along with all the names associated with the passages and rooms. Included are the tourist trail routes throughout the cave.
CRF. 1976. 25 x 19. $1.50This very detailed map shows horizontal and vertical views of Ogle cave. Included are passage names, survey station numbers, cave features, and detailed passage section views. |
 |
Cave features and tourist trails are depicted in two colors on this sturdy map. On the reverse side are beautiful photos of the cave along with a brief description of the history, geology, biology, and archaeology of the cave.
This is a beautiful black and white print of explorers in the Mammoth Dome of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. From The Illustrated London News, October 7, 1876.
ISBN 0-939748-xxx $14.95 hb (Cover)
ISBN 0-939748-517 $10.95 pb
This is a family story of America's most famous cave explorer who was trapped and died in Sand Cave in 1925. That story has been told many times, but never before has the complete life of Floyd Collins been presented. Floyd's younger brother Homer tells how Floyd was fascinated with caves from his childhood, of his discovery of the famous Crystal Cave on the home property, and of the rescue attempts from the viewpoint of a brother so devoted that his extraordinary efforts to save Floyd were rewarded by his being removed from the premises while others inexperienced in working in caves carried on the unsuccessful attempt. It is a warm story of a man whose love in life was exploring caves, a man who endured his grim death with dignity and pride in his vocation.
by Colleen O'Connor Olson and Charles HanionISBN 0-939748-54-1 $7.95 pb |
 |
As you enter the world's longest cave you cannot help but wonder about scary stories. Two centuries of tourists and explorers--some of whom got lost, saw or heard the unexplainable, or just wanted to tell a good tale--cannot leave a cave without stories. Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave is a collection of nineteenth and twentieth century fiction, historical and more recent first hand accounts of unusual experiences by National Park Service employees, cave explorers, and scientists.
Colleen O'Connor Olson has been a Mammoth Cave guide since 1993, and has worked at other National Park service sites including Gulf Islands National Seashore and Grand Canyon National Park. Olson's BA in communication is from Central Washington University. Most of her writing has been directed towards improving programs for park visitors.
Charles Hanion is a career park ranger at Mammoth Cave National Park. He has also worked at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Russell Cave National Monument. Hanion's BA in Anthropology is from University of Tennessee. His research and writing specialties include archaeology, folk history and unusual phenomena.
Among the many intriguing mysteries of Mammoth Cave are sightings of ghostly figures that appear now and again along major tour routes. Perhaps they watch us through a portal in time, long separated from the physical world in which the living reside. They belong to the shadows and darkness of the cave world, and to the human mind, which catches glimpses of these denizens of the netherworld. Perhaps they are simply projections of our own fears and imaginations. The stories in this book provide glimpses into this shadowy world of Mammoth Cave. Illumination is provided only by the flame of our desire to know what the cave itself knows.
