title: Beyond the Deep: The Deadly Descent into the World's Most Treacherous Cave
author: William Stone
description: Set in stygian gloom, this account of a 1994 caving expedition in southern Mexico produces what adventure readers crave: danger, dissension, death, and ultimate success. Led by author Stone, the spelunkers sought the furthest reaches of a cave system, the Sistema Huautla, which plunged a kilometer and a half down and stretched out for tens of kilometers. To go the deepest, the coveted "booty" in the caving community, Stone developed a special "rebreathing" apparatus for swimming through submerged passages called sumps. As the saga unfolds (dramatically assisted by admittedly reconstructed dialogue), the riskiness of the enterprise becomes apparent as the cavers survive various snafus, which rattle some group members who come to resent Stone's hard-charging style. A cheerful wisecracker named Ian Rolland is not daunted--but soon pays the final price for this adventure. After much acrimony about whether to continue, Stone and his then-girlfriend press on, their course marked by helpful diagrams of their progress. The technicalities of this death-defying recreation, and the raw honesty with which this episode is depicted, will win over extreme-sport fans. <i>Gilbert Taylor</i><br><i>Copyright &#169; American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  When rebellion destroys the underground world in which Thimble and Stone have
  grown up, they take Stone's son and try to escape the chaos. Along the way,
  they must evade the Freaks, beings who feed on human flesh. Leaving behind the
  roles of Builder and Breeder which they were assigned at birth, they wander
  the underground tunnels, looking for safety yet afraid to go 'topside' where
  legend has it that the light and water will burn their skin from their bones.
  
  
  
  
  
  Their journey takes them upward to an unimagined world of tinned food,
  comfortable furniture, and books. Away from their regimented society for the
  first time, and still facing imminent danger, Thimble and Stone acknowledge
  the forbidden attraction which both have denied for years.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chapter 1
  
  
  
  
  
  The enclave was quiet the day normalcy died.
  
  
  
  
  
  Usually, Thimble heard the hunters preparing for patrol. They had promoted a
  couple of new bloods to fill out their numbers, and they kept College
  territory cle