New Book Will Be Ready In Time For NSS Convention

[Larry E. Matthews]

A new book, published by the NSS, will be ready in time for this year's NSS Convention. The title of the book is "Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains".

This book is a sequel to my last book, "Caves of Chattanooga", in that it follows the same format. The book describes 14 caves that are either currently commercial caves or that were commercial caves at some time in the past. The commercial caves in the book that are still open are Alum Cave, Appalachian Caverns, Bristol Caverns, Cherokee Caverns, Forbidden Caverns, Gap Cave, Indian Cave, Morrill Cave, The Lost Sea, and Tuckaleechee Caverns. The caves that are closed are English Cave, Gregorys Cave, Meredith Cave, and New Mammoth Cave. Note: Alum Cave is only a rock shelter, but it is a favorite hiking destination in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and has a fascinating history.

The title is a little misleading, but was done to leave room for a photo on the Front Cover !!! The title could have been "Caves of Knoxville, the Great Smoky Mountains, Cumberland Gap, Bristol, and Other Areas In Between", but we didn't think we could fit all that on the spine !!!

The book is 304 pages long and features wonderful cave photographs by Bob Biddix, Ken and Lisa Storey, Cheryl Pratt, and others. Long-time East Tennessee cavers, including Laurie Adams, Jeff Bowers, David Irving, Marion O. Smith and Jim Whidby, provided lots of fascinating information on these fourteen caves. Editor Tom Rea informs me that the retail price will be $24.

Commercial cave historians Gary K. Soule and Gordon L. Smith provided wonderful old commercial cave brochures, postcards, and other memorabilia for the book. Like the "Caves of Chattanooga" book, this new book features the work of many, many NSS cavers over the past 50 years, compiled to cover the caves of this specific area.

The book is already at the printers and is expected to be back in time for sale at the NSS Convention in Florida. For those of you not going to the Convention, it will be available from the NSS Bookstore. All proceeds from this book go to the NSS.

Larry E. Matthews
NSS #6792-F

[Scott McCrea]

Sounds great, Larry!

[Scott Parvin]

Wonderful, I can't wait to get it.

[Larry E. Matthews]

The book has arrived at the NSS Office in Huntsville (July 24, 2008) and is now available. You can go to the NSS Bookstore's website and order it there.

$24 for non-members and $22 for NSS members, plus shipping.

I'm supposed to have a copy delivered at home today (July 25) by overnight express, and here I am at work! I almost stayed home, just to wait to see how the finished product looks. Maybe, I'll have to go home early!

Larry E. Matthews
NSS #6792-F