Book Cover
Reviewing a book is made so much easier when the reviewer has, at the very least, a smidgeon of insider knowledge regarding the topic. Regrettably, pride often stands in the way when it comes to confessing one’s ignorance. Which is why, in the interests of full disclosure, I failed to admit that I was not, nor had I ever been, a cave diver, nor had I ever even considered cave diving as a ‘must-do’ activity, when, as an unashamed admirer of Steve Lewis’s previous works, I was invited to preview his latest book, ‘Is It Dark In There?’ – a book on cave diving.
Fortunately – as I later discovered in reading the book – I’m apparently not alone in my ignorance. And while I’ll happily listen to edge-of-the-seat tales of cave diving exploration told by friends and colleagues who get their rocks off (cave pun intended) by wriggling their bodies through small, dark, water-filled holes in the ground merely to discover where – if anywhere – they lead, I’ve never been inspired to give it a try. And that’s despite having a shelf full of ‘HOW TO’ books on cave diving.
And therein lies the difference that sets, ‘Is It Dark In There?’ apart from other books of the genre: it’s one that’s written as much for people like me, as it is for the would-be and the already committed cave diver. And it does so, not by a sequential series of chapters focused on, ‘HOW TO CAVE DIVE’ (although it does delve into established protocols) but by posing – and then providing answers to – questions that range from the seemingly simple to the more complex. Including an analysis of that greatest question of all, ‘WHY?’
Divided into three sections, with each section loosely aimed at a particular category of reader, from the non-diver through to divers interested in taking a course in cave diving, as well as those who already cave dive, Steve Lewis’s answers to even the simplest question often follow tangential pathways leading to delightfully surprising outcomes.
A long-time technical diving instructor and active cave diver with decades of enviable experience, who, in his own words, “… has been lucky enough to enjoy messing around underwater in places as different and interesting as caves in Brazil, shipwrecks in North America’s Great Lakes, and with icebergs in Canada’s province of Newfoundland.” , Steve Lewis is, in every sense of the word, a ‘Renaissance Man’; one who carries the reader through philosophical concepts while introducing them to some of literature and history’s greatest figures, people whose collective wisdom has a direct bearing on the original question.
As, Steve Lewis writes, in the early pages of the book, “Questions fire the imagination; they add definition to our dreams and fan the flames of our creativity.“ That may be so. But it’s the answers that add colour and meaning, that stimulate the desire for further knowledge and understanding, and that frequently give rise to further questions. And this is where, ‘Is It Dark In There?’ excels.
Rather than trivialising any of the questions posed; or, minimising the risks and dangers inherent in cave diving by avoiding the ‘death’ word, each receives a comprehensive and beautifully crafted answer. And in much the same way that the books opening pages describes the jungle landscape of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as being ‘stubby’, while, just a metre or so beneath the surface, lie the rivers, streams and lakes of, “the most extensive network of caves in the Americans.”, ‘Is It Dark In There?’ is filled with an unexpected treasury of knowledge and information as an answer to every question.
When asked to describe the cenotes and what they lead to, Steve Lewis wrote, “I mentioned long soda straws hanging like stone icicles, multicoloured flowstones smooth and viscous, calcite walls the colour of royal icing, and of course the forests of stalactites and stalagmites thick and organic … it is here in the dark, a darkness that’s deeper than existence itself, that one sees things very clearly. You simply have to be willing to open your mind and look, and by doing so, we will find ALL the answers to every question ever asked about the strange pastime of cave diving.”
In short, ‘Is It Dark In There?’, has all of the hallmarks of a classic of its type, a book that begs to be read and enjoyed, time and time again. And having challenged all of my previous perceptions and misconceptions about cave diving … and cave divers, my biggest regret is that I never had the opportunity to read and learn from it when I was setting out in diving.
—ENDS—
Categories: Book Reviews
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