Beyond the Deep: The Deadly Descent Into the World's Most Treacherous Cave

At one time I was a skinnier human being and I occasionally went caving. I never learned to use equipment for vertical caving and I only went through one sump [or 'near sump' as the book would describe it] in all my years of caving. But I can tell you that being underground was one of the biggest thrills of my life, especially when it appeared that I might be entering virgin cave. Beyond The Deep by William Stone and Barbara am Ende with Monte Paulsen should convey the trials and thrills involved with caving to anyone who reads it. Beyond The Deep is an evenhanded book, addressing the concerns of all of the people involved with the 1994 effort to push the Huatla Cave System to it's deepest. I am especially glad that it doesn't suffer from the blaming I found in the book No Apparent Danger. If you like a good adventure [even if you're claustrophobic], I highly recommend Beyond The Deep.

As a personal friend of both Bill & Barb, as well as several of the key players in this story, my original reason for purchasing this book was more as a token of friendship, than anything else. Although I have been a test-diver and active user of the rebreather technology it describes since 1994, I'd never had much of an interest in exploring caves. I had expected to skim through the pages, read a few paragraphs here and there, then add it to my bookshelf alongside other books of a similar vein. Boy, was I in for a surprise!Even though I already knew most of the details of the expedition, and knew full-well in advanced how the story begins, develops, and ends...I was nevertheless held captive by it from the time I opened its cover and began reading, until I completed its last page. The motivation behind cave exploration never seemed to make much sense to me before, but now it all seems crystal clear. This is TRUE exploration at its most extreme -- something often boasted about, but seldom genuinely so. This one is as genuine as it gets.Because it would be easy to discount my endorsement as merely a kind gesture to my friends, I leave you to make your own interpretations based on the comments of other reviewers having less direct associations with the authors and expedition participants. However, as somewhat of an insider, I would like to take this opportunity to vouch for the authenticity of the events as they are described. I have had many long (multi-hour) discussions with Bill, Barb, and Noel Sloan about what happened during this expedition, and have also had conversations with Kenny Broad and Jim Brown, as well as a number of other people directly associated with the events described in the book. Most of these discussions took place very soon after the expedition ended, when memories and emotions were still fresh. It's also fair to say that I have as intimate an understanding of the inner workings of these particular rebreathers and how to use them as just about anyone else. Thus, it is not without some measure of validation when I say that I was extraordinarily impressed with how precisely the details of these events as described in the book coincide with the facts as explained to me by many and varied sources. The Authors' Note confesses to reconstructed dialog (which is understandable, as memories begin to fade), but it also correctly defends its fairness in describing those portions where memories and interpretations do not coincide in every detail. Virtually all such details are trivial in the context of the broader story - the most significant events of which are not in dispute by anyone, to my knowledge.Each and every participant on this expedition - whether I know them personally or not - has earned my highest respect and admiration. This book has impacted my perception of cave exploration much more so than I had ever expected it to. For those who decide to read it (and I doubt you will regret such a decision), you should do s

When's the movie?! This book was a great read. I couldn't put it down during the final 100 pages. If you like a good story, you'll like this book. Dig a little bit more and you'll see that Barb is an inspiration to all who want to live their own dream - and help others live theirs. Gloria Steinhem take note! Not nearly enough is devoted to the obvious hours and days she learned, trained, and most importantly gained and sustained confidence in the bleeding edge rebreather. She apparently did a majority of the thankless task of obtaining sponsor support (how do you think they got all that gear they were hauling around!) I was impressed throughout that Barb was obviously the toughest person there. She should be an inspriration in the struggles and rewards of teamwork to all women - and for that matter - all men as well.

It was hard to put this book down once the caving and diving actually got going. Being a keen scuba diver I thought I would only be interested in the extreme diving and the trial of the newly-invented rebreather but actually found all aspects of the adventure extremely interesting. The writing flowed very well and gave me a feeling of being there, alone in the cave/diving etc. The pictures certainly helped show the beauty and mystery of the Huatla (excuse spelling) Cave System. It must have been awesome standing alongside the underground waterfall where no other person had ever stood!This book is a story about human endurance and the will to go on despite devastating setbacks (such as the death of one of your party members!) and the psychological affects this has on the different personalities involved. It is hard for us common-folk to understand why people would push themselves to the limit like that but this book definitely allows us to empathise with those that do, by describing, in detail, the bounty that awaits. Regardless of the bounty, I think I'll stick to openwater reef and wreck diving!I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This book is an incredible insight into the world of caving. I knew nothing about the sport or what drives people to do such a thing until after I had read this book. This book really gave me a feel for this incredibly demanding (both physical and emotional) activity.Don't worry if you are the claustrophobic type, you can read this book and enjoy the cave exploration but be glad that you are not there.