Dead Man's Cave republished

[robjones]

Missed this first time around. Are hard copies still available? If so, cheque to whom and for how much, and what address should it be sent to. It would be an ideal Christmas present for my caving-mad elder son.

 

[paul]

Missed this first time around. Are hard copies still available? If so, cheque to whom and for how much, and what address should it be sent to. It would be an ideal Christmas present for my caving-mad elder son.

It's available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Mans-Cave-Conon-Fraser/dp/0955777909.

 

[peaksoft]

Or direct from Peaksoft at a much lower p&p charge

http://www.peaksoft.co.uk

(and still selling steadily, as I think it will for some time!)

 

[robjones]

Cheue in the post tommorrow 

Thats one more present sorted for my son! 

Thanks,

Rob

 

[robjones]

Safely received today - hope my son likes it!

I'm certainly going to read it.

 

[robjones]

My son greatly enjoyed it; I'm half way through. Some of the descriptions of cave passages have the ring of true authenticity that is so often lacking in children's books (and filums) and you can almost smell the dried cave mud in the club barn. 

It was intriguing to see that the author's caving experience had focussed on the (presumably brief?) period when ladders were made from wire ropes with wooden rungs, which sounds like a transition stage between hemp rope and wood and electron. "I never knew that before"

I'm surprised that the cavers are all using lights held on bare heads with elastic. I wonder if this particularly reflects the author having begun his caving career with the Royal Military Acadamy Sandhurst? I though that compressed fibre helmets had rapidly been taken up by cavers in the early post-war years - or maybe they became popular some years later?

Looking at the list of other titles by this author, 'The Underground Explrorers' and 'The Underground River' are clearly caving-based but did Conon Fraser write any other caving-based childrens' novels? My son is keen to read more caving books by this author so the hunt is on!

 

[graham]

My son greatly enjoyed it; I'm half way through. Some of the descriptions of cave passages have the ring of true authenticity that is so often lacking in children's books (and filums) and you can almost smell the dried cave mud in the club barn. 

Yup.

It was intriguing to see that the author's caving experience had focussed on the (presumably brief?) period when ladders were made from wire ropes with wooden rungs, which sounds like a transition stage between hemp rope and wood and electron. "I never knew that before"

Late 1940s early 1950s. The manufacturing technique is described in "British Caving". I'd have to check if it was still there when "The Manual of Caving Techniques" was published.

I'm surprised that the cavers are all using lights held on bare heads with elastic. I wonder if this particularly reflects the author having begun his caving career with the Royal Military Acadamy Sandhurst? I though that compressed fibre helmets had rapidly been taken up by cavers in the early post-war years - or maybe they became popular some years later?

Again, classic for the time. Look in large photo archives (like the MCRA) for photos from this time. Lots of examples.

Looking at the list of other titles by this author, 'The Underground Explrorers' and 'The Underground River' are clearly caving-based but did Conon Fraser write any other caving-based childrens' novels? My son is keen to read more caving books by this author so the hunt is on!

Both well worth reading.