Down to a sunless sea by Mike Boon published-1977 Stalctite press

[Arnold Mesiser]

"Down to a sunless sea" 1977 Stalactite Press, Edmonton written by Mike Boon

.It is out of print but hopefully soon a reprint run will take place ( I have tentative permission to go ahead and re=print this treasure trove of knowledge and great caving adventures)




For those of you who have not heard of Mike Boon..the following is something Ian Mackenzie( Long time Alberta Speleological society member / cave explorer-karst specialist for decades and past Canadian Caver editor posted (he says it better than I can and knows far more of the history than I do)

"Mike Boon was a British caver who was active from the late 1950s thru the 1970s. You might know him from the accounts of early Swildons dives, but he also surveyed (with Tich Morris) the entrance series of Darren Cilau - Mike went on to fame caving in Mexico when Mexico wasn't cool, did a solo expedition to the back of Castleguard Cave in Canada, and was considered by some to be the best caver in the world... and currently lives quietly in Calgary."






The book contains stories of cave diving/dry caving exploration and good descriptions/ surveys of Quashies River Cave and Bristol Cave Jamaica , as well as tales/surveys of many British systems (Swildons etc) as well as virgin explorations in Ireland,Slovenia ,Yochib river cave and many others in Mexico. Mike did the first sidemount dive in Britain circa 1962- "A technical review of cave diving " had a huge impact when he released it in 1966 .

The book contains MANY wonderful/hair raising stories by a man who had a pure and all encompassing passion for cave exploration and furthering caving knowledge . He could ALWAYS be found assisting as many cavers as he could when he was not pushing a solo endeavor.

Some of the accounts show just how far Mike would go to ensure he could even GET to a caving area to explore and the severe hardships he would endure to facilitate his passion.Many of of the greats in Mexican cave exploration have stories of Mike's exploits -I am taken by the fact that they all seem to have some reverence for his abilities and the fact he was always willing to help fellow cavers .Bill Steele makes mention of Mike in the latest NSS news (June 2009)

I believe he was born to cave and he has certainly ate-breathed-and bled for them.


If anyone would be interested in getting a new version of this book-please let me know and maybe enough interest will bring this to fruition.

Cost will be reasonable and depending on desired volumes.I am pursuing this as a volunteer and any proceeds would go to Mike Boon.

[sskasser]

I picked up an older version at an NSS convention...EXCELLENT book! I'd be interested in seeing it reprinted.

Shirley

[Arnold Mesiser]

I picked up an older version at an NSS convention...EXCELLENT book! I'd be interested in seeing it reprinted.

Shirley

Good to hear-very few have heard of it in recent times.Old copies are hard to come by and the content is fascinating IMHO although some bits may be controversial.He certainly was a pioneer.

[sskasser]

I recall getting NOTHING done once I picked the book up, until I finished it. It was a compelling read.

[Arnold Mesiser]

I scanned some pages to give an idea of content

[Spd 135]

Excellent book. Lost my first one to the floods of Katrina. Found another about 2 months ago.

[temrich]

I would be interested.

[FW]

Is there more than one book with the same name?

From Wikipedia:
David Graham's Down to a Sunless Sea (1979) is a post-apocalyptic novel about a planeload of people during and after a short nuclear war, set in a near-future world where the USA is critically short of oil.

[FW]

I found a very interesting link, in the CDF archives

http://www.cavediver.net/archives/books/cdfbooks.html

[sskasser]

I found a very interesting link, in the CDF archives

http://www.cavediver.net/archives/books/cdfbooks.html

This is awesome! Let's revive this link! I'd be glad to be the point of contact for posting reviews.