As depicted in Ron Howard's hit film THIRTEEN LIVES, this is the THRILLING account of the dramatic Thai cave rescue which saved the lives of thirteen people, FROM THE DIVER WHO LED THE RESCUE. 'A profound and thrilling read.' COLIN FARRELL 'Riveting...a powerful story written by a hero who lived it.' RON HOWARD, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 In this first-hand account, John Volanthen reveals how he pushed the limits of human endurance in the life-or-death mission to rescue the Thai youth soccer team trapped in the flooded cave. The world held its breath in 2018 when the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach went missing deep underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. They had been stranded by sudden, continuous monsoon rains while exploring the caves after practice. With torrential rain pouring down and the waters still on the rise, an army of rescue teams and equipment was deployed, including Thai Navy SEALs, a US Air Force special tactics squadron, police sniffer dogs, drones and robots. But it was British cave diver John Volanthen and his partner, Rick Stanton, who were first to reach the stranded team and who played a key role in their ultimate rescue. As John's light flickered from one boy to another, he called out, 'How many of you?' 'Thirteen,'a boy answered. After 10 days trapped in desperate darkness, the boys and their coach were all alive. Each chapter of Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives tells one part of the edge-of-your-seat mission from Tham Luang but also imparts a life lesson, gleaned from John's previous rescues and record-breaking cave dives, that can be applied to everyday obstacles and challenges. In this story of breathtaking courage and nerves of steel, John reveals how responding positively to the statement, 'But I can't...' by stating, 'I can,' led to one of the most incredible rescues of all time. He hopes that his story will inspire the superhero in you. Meanwhile, he is always on standby for the next rescue.

This wonderfully appealing and practical gift book features step-by-step instructions on how to tie over 50 knots and when and where to use them. The beautiful two colour illustrations and clear instructions quickly teach you how to tie classic knots, such as the Reef Knot and Bowline, through to more specialist knots such as the Alpine Butterfly and the Taut Line Hitch. The knots are clearly organised for safe application across a range of activities including sailing, climbing, fishing, camping or for decoration. The useful introduction and reference section tells you all you need to know about knot work; including an explanation of the key terms, recommended techniques and a complexity rating for tying each knot. So, if you want to make a rope ladder with your kids, sail the oceans, be safe climbing in the mountains or make a True Lovers knot then this book has every knot you should know how to tie, plus many more. The perfect gift for craftsmen and women alike and the adventurer in all of us. Featuring an exclusive foreword from Tim Treloar of TT Adventures, co-presenter of the BAFTA-winning Survival School with Bear Grylls.

This guidebook has been created for both experienced canyoneers and for those who have just started to delve into this adventurous sport. Here you will find information about some of the best canyons and gorges Scotland has to offer. There are 47 Scottish routes to explore, ranging from beautiful entry-level gorge-walks to committing and challenging canyon descents. Canyoning is an adventurous sport that follows the path of a stream down the mountain side - usually in steep-sided gorges, through cold plunge pools and over tumbling waterfalls. This extreme sport requires a combined range of skills to overcome the obstacles along the river path; from abseiling to jumping, scrambling, climbing, sliding, and swimming. When you put all of this together, it enables you to explore a harsh yet outstanding environment where few have ever been before.

Explore and experience nature with your kids with these 30 fun and educational family activities dedicated to spending more time outside. Less screen, more green! In the world of smartphones, tablets, and online learning, the need for children to engage with nature has never been more evident. Outdoor activities and projects inspire exploration, creativity, curiosity, learning, and a sense of wonder. Interacting with nature also fosters a healthy love and respect for the outdoors. The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures features fun and engaging hands-on nature, camping, and bushcraft projects that get you and your children outside having more fun, strengthening your bond, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Written by expert survival instructor Creek Stewart, each project is designed to get parents and their kids outside and teach them about nature and the great outdoors. From casting animal tracks and dyeing t-shirts with walnuts to building a debris hut and catching minnows with a spider web your family with get your hands dirty, learn some cool nature facts, and complete some awesome projects with your family. Explore, create, laugh, love, and experience the great outdoors together with The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures.

The Definitive Guide to Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in The Grand Cayman Islands "The collection of Reef Smart Guides is a great resource for the touring diver. Incredible detailed 3D maps and up to date editorial content based on information from local dive experts, these cutting edge guidebooks are a must have for all scuba divers before they travel." Clearly Cayman Dive Resorts #1 New Release in Scuba Travel Guides, Caving & Spelunking, and Swimming For Lonely Planet fans comes a unique and essential scuba, snorkel, and surf travel guide. A great Caribbean travel book. The ultimate guide for beach and marine activities in the Grand Cayman Islands. The detailed descriptions and illustrations of beaches, coral reefs, shipwrecks, and other dive spots are ideal for divers, snorkelers and surfers. Make the most of your time on the Island and in the water. Detailed descriptions and map art. Reef Smart catalogues the beaches, surf spots, and dive and snorkel sites in the Cayman Islands. With the help of Reef Smart's unique 3D-mapping technology, learn all you need to know about the regions' top dive and snorkel sites. These maps provide useful information such as depths, currents, waves, suggested routes, potential hazards, unique structures, and species information. Don't go diving without it. This indispensable resource will help you plan and execute dives without a hitch. Pack this guidebook with the rest of your scuba gear. Guidebook provides: The best locations for diving, snorkeling, and surfing, and how to access them Detailed 3D maps, graphics, and information to help you plan your time in and out of the water Species guide to help you identify and understand the marine creatures in the Cayman Islands and its surrounding areas And much more! A unique and comprehensive SCUBA diving book. Also look for Reef Smart Guides Florida: Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and Deerfield Beach; Reef Smart Guides Barbados; and the best-selling Reef Smart Guides Bonaire.

This book focuses on Romania's more than 12,000 caves, which developed in limestone (including thermal water caves), salt, gypsum, and occasionally in sandstone. It examines these caves and related topics in a format suitable for cavers, while also addressing a broad range of aspects useful for students and researchers. Since the Institute of Speleology was first established by Emil Racovita in 1920, a great deal of research has been conducted on all cave and karst types. As such, the book examines a variety of scientific fields, including karst geology, hydrogeology, biospeleology, paleoclimatology, mineralogy and archaeology.

READ ABOUT THE HEROIC RESCUE, AS SEEN IN RON HOWARD'S THIRTEEN LIVES, FROM THE MAN AT THE HEART OF THE SEARCH. 'A profound and thrilling read.' COLIN FARRELL 'Riveting...a powerful story written by a hero who lived it.' RON HOWARD, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 This is the thrilling account of the dramatic Thai cave rescue which saved the lives of thirteen people, from the diver who led the rescue. In this first-hand account, John Volanthen reveals how he pushed the limits of human endurance in the life-or-death mission to rescue the Thai youth soccer team trapped in the flooded cave. The world held its breath in 2018 when the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach went missing deep underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. They had been stranded by sudden, continuous monsoon rains while exploring the caves after practice. With torrential rain pouring down and the waters still on the rise, an army of rescue teams and equipment was deployed, including Thai Navy SEALs, a US Air Force special tactics squadron, police sniffer dogs, drones and robots. But it was British cave diver John Volanthen and his partner, Rick Stanton, who were first to reach the stranded team and who played a key role in their ultimate rescue. As John's light flickered from one boy to another, he called out, 'How many of you?' 'Thirteen,'a boy answered. After 10 days trapped in desperate darkness, the boys and their coach were all alive. Each chapter of Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives tells one part of the edge-of-your-seat mission from Tham Luang but also imparts a life lesson, gleaned from John's previous rescues and record-breaking cave dives, that can be applied to everyday obstacles and challenges. In this story of breathtaking courage and nerves of steel, John reveals how responding positively to the statement, 'But I can't...' by stating, 'I can,' led to one of the most incredible rescues of all time. He hopes that his story will inspire the superhero in you. Meanwhile, he is always on standby for the next rescue.

Duncan's curiosity has got him into a lot of tight spots-quite literally! As a teenager, Duncan really wanted to be an astronaut but took to the exploration of inner space instead. Only a dozen men might have stood on the moon but Duncan has squeezed into many places that no-one has ever been before, and some places that no-one is ever likely to go again (probably for a very good reason). These memoirs recount the author's misadventures during his thirty-year involvement with caving and cave diving beginning with student antics in the caves of the Mendip Hills in England to a hair-raising escape from deep beneath an English stately home. Along the way we are treated to the ups and downs of subterranean enterprise-from the joys of discovering new caves to the sadness of losing close friends. Duncan tells his tales with characteristic candour, often making light of difficult situations: rock falls, serious illness and an embarrassing incident with a tick. There are tears and laughter, often at the same time: who else would perform an animal impression with a suspected metatarsal fracture? We dive beneath Welsh Valleys, Yorkshire Dales and the Blue Ridge Mountains, encounter sharks, unexploded bombs and secret nuclear research facilities. Technical concepts and jargon are explained clearly and concisely, allowing the reader to follow Duncan into the depths. These stories are a treat for anyone interested in exploration, above or below ground, over or underwater. People often tell Duncan that he must be 'mad' to go cave diving-read this and judge for yourself...

From award-winning ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman, and written using exclusive interviews and information comes the definitive account of the dramatic story that gripped the world: the miracle rescue of twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooded cave miles underground for nearly three weeks-a pulse-pounding page-turner by a reporter who was there every step of their journey out. After a practice in June 2018, a Thai soccer coach took a dozen of his young players to explore a famous but flood-prone cave. It was one of the boys' birthday, but neither he nor the dozen resurfaced. Worried parents and rescuers flocked to the mouth of a cave that seemed to have swallowed the boys without a trace. Ranging in age from eleven to sixteen, the boys were all members of the Wild Boars soccer team. When water unexpectedly inundated the cave, blocking their escape, they retreated deeper inside, taking shelter in a side cavern. While the world feared them dead, the thirteen young souls survived by licking the condensation off the cave's walls, meditating, and huddling together for warmth. In this thrilling account, ABC News Chief National Correspondent Matt Gutman recounts this amazing story in depth and from every angle, exploring their time in the cave, the failed plans and human mistakes that nearly doomed them, and the daring mission that ultimately saved them. Gutman introduces the elite team of volunteer divers who risked death to execute a plan so risky that its American planners admitted, "for us, success would have meant getting just one boy out alive." He takes you inside the meetings where life and death decisions were grimly made and describes how these heroes pulled off an improbable rescue under immense pressure, with the boys' desperate parents and the entire world watching. One of the largest rescues in history was in doubt until the very last moment. Matt Gutman covered the story intensively, went deep inside the caves himself, and interviewed dozens of rescuers, experts and eye-witnessed around the world. The result is this pulse-pounding page-turner that vividly recreates this extraordinary event in all its intensity-and documents the ingenuity and sacrifice it took to succeed.

First came the awful news that 12 boys and their football coach were missing. Then came the flickering video of the boys found by a pair of British divers nine days later. Monsoon rains had raised the water level in the cave system, and they were trapped in an air pocket, surrounded by rising muddy water, over two kilometres from the cave entrance. Expert British, Australian, American, Chinese, and other international divers joined the Thai Navy SEALs and hundreds of local volunteers to mount one of the most risky and complex rescue operations the world has ever seen. South-east Asia correspondent James Massola recreates the drama, tension, and inspiration of the days in July 2018 when the eyes of the whole world were trained on a remote Thai mountain. Very little information about what happened inside the cave was released by the Thai authorities at the time, but through interviews Massola has managed to obtain extensive details of the nine long days the Wild Boars were on their own and during the rescue operation itself as well as background information about the boys and coach. He writes about the pivotal role of the British Cave Rescue Council in leading the international effort, and determining the technical aspects of the rescue. He reveals how the Thai, British, US, Australian and other international divers worked together so smoothly, when even a minor miscommunication could have resulted in death or serious injury. And, most dramatically, he discloses the number of instances in which the rescue operation nearly went wrong.

More than 10,000 known caves lie beneath the state of Tennessee according to the Tennessee Cave Survey, a nonprofit organization that catalogs and maps them. In Hidden Nature: Wild Southern Caves, Taylor tells the story of this vast underground wilderness. Besides describing the sheer physical majesty of the region's wild caverns and the concurrent joys and dangers of exploring them, he examines their rich natural history and scientific import, their relationship to clean water and a healthy surface environment, and their uncertain future. As a long-time caver and the author of three popular books related to caving - Cave Passages (1996), Dark Life (1998), and Caves (2000) - Taylor enjoys (for a journalist) unusual access to their secretive world. He is personally acquainted with many of the region's most accomplished cave explorers and scientists, and they in turn are familiar with his popular writing on caves in books; in magazines such as Audubon, Outside, and Sports Illustrated; and on websites such as those of the Discovery Channel and the PBS science series Nova. Hidden Nature: Wild Southern Caves is structured as a comprehensive work of well-researched fact that reads like a personal narrative of the author's long attraction to these caves and the people who dare enter their hidden chambers.