This amazing true adventure story about the discovery of the Lascaux Cave will have young readers feeling that they've discovered something pretty special, too! In 1940, four teenage boys and a dog dropped themselves into a hole in the forest floor. Using a flaming grease gun as a torch, they ventured deep underground, eventually coming to a huge cave, the walls of which were covered with life-size paintings of animals. Whole herds of horses! Deer with horns as big as tree branches! Giant bison! The boys were amazed by their discovery. They'd stumbled upon the world's finest examples of prehistoric painting! Perfect for classroom use, this Step 4 Step into Reading book is realistically illustrated by award-winning artist Bryn Barnard.

Recounts the true story of how four boys looking for buried treasure in the south of France in 1940 stumbled upon something much more valuable--a sealed cave whose walls were covered with prehistoric paintings and engravings.

Fern Cave is one of the most significant (and magnificent) caves in the southeastern US, and even the country. It's over 15 miles long, is three separate caves connected into one cave system, has fantastically beautiful formations, incredibly complicated passages, important deposits of ancient animal bones, one section of the cave is the winter home for over a million endangered gray bats, and the cave used to be one of the favorite destinations for experienced cave explorers (most of the cave is now closed to any caving--that story is included in the book). The story of how cavers discovered and explored this cave is incredible, especially since when cavers discovered Surprise Pit, modern vertical caving gear did not exist. This book also explains how the US Fish and Wildlife Service bought 4 entrances to the cave in 1981 and teamed up with cavers to responsibly manage the cave to protect both the massive cave itself and the bat colony. The story continues by explaining how that partnership has almost disappeared in the era of white-nose syndrome cave closures. This book is a tale of discovery, exploration, adventure, wonder, politics, nature, biology, science, and beauty.

This book details recent findings in the field of cave microbiology and builds on fast-paced efforts to exploit an unconventional and underexplored environment for new microorganisms which may provide an untapped source of drugs: microorganisms from caves.

This book details recent findings in the field of cave microbiology and builds on fast-paced efforts to exploit an unconventional and underexplored environment for new microorganisms which may provide an untapped source of drugs: microorganisms from caves.

“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