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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Jim has done it again! His latest book tells of his potholing expeditions in the 1960's in countries as varied as Spain, Greece, Mexico and Iran as well as the Yorkshire Dales and Wales.
Ideal reading for the armchair traveller and retired caver, this book is embellished with his brilliant cartoons. His illustrations include diagrams of caves such as Provatina in Greece, where Blackpool tower could fit into it twice over.
There are several tales which will give you nightmares. My favourite was when Jim was descending on a rope in El Sotano in Mexico, when 500 feet down, he became stuck on the rop. There was still 900 feet to the bottom. You will have to read the book to find out how he got out of it.
Ideal reading for the armchair traveller and retired caver, this book is embellished with his brilliant cartoons. His illustrations include diagrams of caves such as Provatina in Greece, where Blackpool tower could fit into it twice over.
There are several tales which will give you nightmares. My favourite was when Jim was descending on a rope in El Sotano in Mexico, when 500 feet down, he became stuck on the rop. There was still 900 feet to the bottom. You will have to read the book to find out how he got out of it.
Format:Paperback
This is the fourth caving book I've read by Jim Eyre ("Ers"). I started with The Cave Explorers, went on to Race Against Time, then It's Only a Game, and now this book. Ers, now in his eighties, writes with a fine self-deprecating sense of humor, and the book is lavishly illustrated with both his superb line drawings, mostly of scruffy cavers including himself, and photographs (which are, very understandably, not as interesting as the drawings).
Many of the stories here have appeared (in part) in Eyre's earlier books, as have some of his drawings, but most of the material is new. The episodes that have appeared before are retold, usually with additional details. For example: in Race Against Time there's a hair-raising tale of being sent down an old 1000' deep mine shaft at Maeshafn in search of two lost boys. That same tale is retold here at much greater length, with a drawing of how when Ers went behind some bushes to urinate before descending the shaft, he was followed by a crowd of TV cameramen filming the event--which presumably didn't make the evening news.
The tales here are primarily about caving, and most are humorous, but there are also serious stories about cave rescues, such as the Mossdale Cavern disaster, in which 6 top cavers were drowned. You'll also read about trips to Turkey, Iran, and other locales, and there's a fine chapter on Ers' first wife, who ran off with a part-time taxi driver. Ers was suspected by the police of doing her in, and when some fellow cavers turn up a body in a pothole, the cavers think it's Ers' wife. He gets a call "We've found her!" "Where is she?" asks Eyre. "You know, me and my mate knows--but nobody else knows. We thought we would have a word with you first." The skeleton, with her hands tied, and buried under rocks, was not in fact Eyre's wife.
After reading Eyre's books, you realize several things. First, if a cat has 9 lives, Ers has had about 90--it's amazing that he's reached age 80. He's usually the one who gets sent to try the dangerous places, although luckily Mossdale Caverns frightened him too much--he was invited on that fateful trip, but declined. Second, speaking from experience, cavers tend to be an odd lot, and Ers is a living legend. And finally, the caving world if fortunate to have it's own Scherezade!
Many of the stories here have appeared (in part) in Eyre's earlier books, as have some of his drawings, but most of the material is new. The episodes that have appeared before are retold, usually with additional details. For example: in Race Against Time there's a hair-raising tale of being sent down an old 1000' deep mine shaft at Maeshafn in search of two lost boys. That same tale is retold here at much greater length, with a drawing of how when Ers went behind some bushes to urinate before descending the shaft, he was followed by a crowd of TV cameramen filming the event--which presumably didn't make the evening news.
The tales here are primarily about caving, and most are humorous, but there are also serious stories about cave rescues, such as the Mossdale Cavern disaster, in which 6 top cavers were drowned. You'll also read about trips to Turkey, Iran, and other locales, and there's a fine chapter on Ers' first wife, who ran off with a part-time taxi driver. Ers was suspected by the police of doing her in, and when some fellow cavers turn up a body in a pothole, the cavers think it's Ers' wife. He gets a call "We've found her!" "Where is she?" asks Eyre. "You know, me and my mate knows--but nobody else knows. We thought we would have a word with you first." The skeleton, with her hands tied, and buried under rocks, was not in fact Eyre's wife.
After reading Eyre's books, you realize several things. First, if a cat has 9 lives, Ers has had about 90--it's amazing that he's reached age 80. He's usually the one who gets sent to try the dangerous places, although luckily Mossdale Caverns frightened him too much--he was invited on that fateful trip, but declined. Second, speaking from experience, cavers tend to be an odd lot, and Ers is a living legend. And finally, the caving world if fortunate to have it's own Scherezade!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
great caving stories
13 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback
I bought a dozen books at the 2007 National Speleological Society convention, and this is the first one I read when I got home. It is the second half of Jim Eyre's story of his adventurous life, the sequel to "It's Only a Game," published in 2004. More hilarious tales, mostly about caving, illustrated by many of Jim's inimitable cartoons of cavers with fat bums and knobby knees, as well as some tiny photographs. The nineteen chapters include caving visits to Greece, where he nearly bottomed on cable ladders the virgin Abyss of Provatina, a 1326-foot shaft broken by a single snow-covered ledge, and later did explore to the bottom of Epos Chasm, 1500 feet deep, of which 1350 feet required the use of ladders. His visit to Mexico included doing Golondrinas on rope and being stymied by a "hissing and snarling" knot in El Sótano, where he concluded that Louise Hose is an extraterrestrial after she did the pit twice. Also caving in Spain, Iran, Turkey, and Bulgaria, which he reached by driving through Czechoslovakia on roads strangely empty because the Russian army was invading. And of course Great Britain, where he was involved in a lot of scary digging and rescues. He wraps up with trekking in cold rain in Himachal Pradesh state, northwestern India, at age seventy. Some of the material is repeated from his 1981 book "The Cave Explorers," but much is new, and anyway that earlier book is now rare.
I remember drinking beer with Eyre one evening during the 1981 International Congress of Speleology in Kentucky. The place was nearly deserted, as most people had gone on a special trip to Mammoth cave that (the trip) Eyre couldn't go on because he hadn't actually registered for the congress and which (the cave) I'd seen plenty of before. Unfortunately, few American cavers have met Jim, and that, combined with the high price, will mean that too few of us will read this book. "The timeless caverns of the earth can never be fully explored, but successive generations have and will continue to enjoy plenty of fun and excitement pitting their wits against the cold black spider that chuckles its watery laugh while waiting patiently for the unwary to make a wrong move. So far, I have escaped." And it's a good thing, too, for he lived to tell his tales.--Bill Mixon
I remember drinking beer with Eyre one evening during the 1981 International Congress of Speleology in Kentucky. The place was nearly deserted, as most people had gone on a special trip to Mammoth cave that (the trip) Eyre couldn't go on because he hadn't actually registered for the congress and which (the cave) I'd seen plenty of before. Unfortunately, few American cavers have met Jim, and that, combined with the high price, will mean that too few of us will read this book. "The timeless caverns of the earth can never be fully explored, but successive generations have and will continue to enjoy plenty of fun and excitement pitting their wits against the cold black spider that chuckles its watery laugh while waiting patiently for the unwary to make a wrong move. So far, I have escaped." And it's a good thing, too, for he lived to tell his tales.--Bill Mixon
another wonderful caving book by old "ers"
19 Oct 2007
Format:Paperback
(from my amazon UK review)
This is the fourth caving book I've read by Jim Eyre ("Ers"). I started with The Cave Explorers, went on to Race Against Time, then It's Only a Game, and now this book. Ers, now in his eighties, writes with a fine self-deprecating sense of humor, and the book is lavishly illustrated with both his superb line drawings, mostly of scruffy cavers including himself, and photographs (which are, very understandably, not as interesting as the drawings).
Many of the stories here have appeared (in part) in Eyre's earlier books, as have some of his drawings, but most of the material is new. The episodes that have appeared before are retold, usually with additional details. For example: in Race Against Time there's a hair-raising tale of being sent down an old 1000' deep mine shaft at Maeshafn in search of two lost boys. That same tale is retold here at much greater length, with a drawing of how when Ers went behind some bushes to urinate before descending the shaft, he was followed by a crowd of TV cameramen filming the event--which presumably didn't make the evening news.
The tales here are primarily about caving, and most are humorous, but there are also serious stories about cave rescues, such as the Mossdale Cavern disaster, in which 6 top cavers were drowned. You'll also read about trips to Turkey, Iran, and other locales, and there's a fine chapter on Ers' first wife, who ran off with a part-time taxi driver. Ers was suspected by the police of doing her in, and when some fellow cavers turn up a body in a pothole, the cavers think it's Ers' wife. He gets a call "We've found her!" "Where is she?" asks Eyre. "You know, me and my mate knows--but nobody else knows. We thought we would have a word with you first." The skeleton, with her hands tied, and buried under rocks, was not in fact Eyre's wife.
After reading Eyre's books, you realize several things. First, if a cat has 9 lives, Ers has had about 90--it's amazing that he's reached age 80. He's usually the one who gets sent to try the dangerous places, although luckily Mossdale Caverns frightened him too much--he was invited on that fateful trip, but declined. Second, speaking from experience, cavers tend to be an odd lot, and Ers is a living legend. And finally, the caving world if fortunate to have it's own Scherezade!
A note for American readers: all four of Eyre's books make superb reading. Race Against Time is the most dramatic: often wrenching, but there is also a lot of humor--but in it's proper place. There's no humor in the telling of the Mossdale Cavern tragedy, but there are hilarious episodes elsewhere--such as stories about rescue practice that do not go as planned.
This is the fourth caving book I've read by Jim Eyre ("Ers"). I started with The Cave Explorers, went on to Race Against Time, then It's Only a Game, and now this book. Ers, now in his eighties, writes with a fine self-deprecating sense of humor, and the book is lavishly illustrated with both his superb line drawings, mostly of scruffy cavers including himself, and photographs (which are, very understandably, not as interesting as the drawings).
Many of the stories here have appeared (in part) in Eyre's earlier books, as have some of his drawings, but most of the material is new. The episodes that have appeared before are retold, usually with additional details. For example: in Race Against Time there's a hair-raising tale of being sent down an old 1000' deep mine shaft at Maeshafn in search of two lost boys. That same tale is retold here at much greater length, with a drawing of how when Ers went behind some bushes to urinate before descending the shaft, he was followed by a crowd of TV cameramen filming the event--which presumably didn't make the evening news.
The tales here are primarily about caving, and most are humorous, but there are also serious stories about cave rescues, such as the Mossdale Cavern disaster, in which 6 top cavers were drowned. You'll also read about trips to Turkey, Iran, and other locales, and there's a fine chapter on Ers' first wife, who ran off with a part-time taxi driver. Ers was suspected by the police of doing her in, and when some fellow cavers turn up a body in a pothole, the cavers think it's Ers' wife. He gets a call "We've found her!" "Where is she?" asks Eyre. "You know, me and my mate knows--but nobody else knows. We thought we would have a word with you first." The skeleton, with her hands tied, and buried under rocks, was not in fact Eyre's wife.
After reading Eyre's books, you realize several things. First, if a cat has 9 lives, Ers has had about 90--it's amazing that he's reached age 80. He's usually the one who gets sent to try the dangerous places, although luckily Mossdale Caverns frightened him too much--he was invited on that fateful trip, but declined. Second, speaking from experience, cavers tend to be an odd lot, and Ers is a living legend. And finally, the caving world if fortunate to have it's own Scherezade!
A note for American readers: all four of Eyre's books make superb reading. Race Against Time is the most dramatic: often wrenching, but there is also a lot of humor--but in it's proper place. There's no humor in the telling of the Mossdale Cavern tragedy, but there are hilarious episodes elsewhere--such as stories about rescue practice that do not go as planned.
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