Explore fascinating “˜Caves’ from your living room

BOOK REVIEW Title: Caves
Author: Micheal Ray Taylor Publisher: National Geographic Price:
$35 Pages: 215 Original by CONNIE WU/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Web
Adaptation by JUSTIN HONG

By Michael Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Caves fascinate many people, and, with “Caves: Exploring
Hidden Realms,” it’s not too hard to see why.

The book brings the exotic world of the spelunker right to
readers’ coffee tables. It is intended as a companion to the
IMAX film “Journey into Amazing Caves,” but it can
easily be enjoyed for its own merits.

A National Geographic book, “Caves” is chock full of
glossy, full-color pictures, and it is this feature more than the
text that makes “Caves” a worthwhile book.

The text is little more than a compilation of various academic
essays relating to certain aspects of cave life. The authors take
different approaches to their subject matter; some speak in lofty,
academic tones, reveling in the scientific jargon of cave study,
while others opt to relate personal experiences involving cave
investigation.

Louise D. Hose’s chapter “Cave of the
Snotties” talks almost entirely about acid-secreting,
microbial strands found in some caves ““ viscous, slippery
fluids that drip from the ceiling; caver Jim Pisaowicz
appropriately gave them the revolting name “snotties.”
Hose’s article is one of the most interesting sections in the
book, especially after she reveals that on one occasion she had to
“wallow” in snotties to get through a cave.

Other articles explore ice caves, underwater caves and the
well-known and loved stalactite/stalagmite caves.

The chapter on cave divers contains some of the most beautiful
pictures in the book, with scuba divers paddling through
blue-tinted caverns and maneuvering through combs of needle-like
stalactites and stalagmites.

The most exciting pictures in the book are of cave architecture,
with strange arches and tunnels so bizarre that they hardly seem
natural. Drip formations, flowstones and the other unique phenomena
that have captured the imaginations of artists and spelunkers alike
are caught by the camera lens and brought to life for readers.

Every aspect of cave life gets equal treatment in this book.
Animal lovers will be glad to see that cave animals ““
including bats, bears and even salamanders ““ have sections
devoted to their habits and habitat.

Close-up photos of bat heads, with faces squished like pugs and
ears sprouting marvelous lobes and whorls, reveal the unusual
characteristics of these creatures .

Hazel Barton writes about the unique bacterial flora and fauna
of the cave, including magnified photographs of all the icky
beasties that live in cave puddle water.

When readers tire of the subterranean dank, other equally
spectacular photos showcase the world of the cave entrance. One
particularly noteworthy shot finds members of the IMAX crew
constructing an elaborate crane atop a sun-scorched, craggy
mountain in the Navajo Desert to allow them to rappel down to a
cave entrance.

Some photos, while not necessarily as grand as the cave
pictures, are equally charming and readers cannot help but smile at
the pictures of the IMAX crew preparing for a dive into unexplored
realms.

The book concludes with a useful index of cave facts and
figures, including a list of the world’s largest, longest and
deepest caverns. The book delves into the history of cave
exploration somewhat, although much of its content dwells on modern
spelunking techniques.

Regardless of this oversight, “Caves: Exploring Hidden
Realms” should make a welcome addition to any cave
lover’s collection.