Hidden Nature: Wild Southern Caves

by Michael Ray Taylor

Reed Environmental Writing Award Finalist, Southern Environmental Law Center, 2021

More than ten thousand known caves lie beneath the state of Tennessee according to the Tennessee Cave Survey, a nonprofit organization that catalogs and maps them. Thousands more riddle surrounding states. In Hidden Nature , Michael Ray Taylor tells the story of this vast underground wilderness. In addition to 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 longtime caver and the author of three popular books related to caving— Cave Passages , Dark Life , and Caves —Taylor enjoys (for a journalist) unusual access to this 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 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.

Genres: Nature, Travel, Nonfiction, Science

340 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2020

About the author

Michael Ray Taylor is the author of Cave Passages, Dark Life, and Caves, and has written for Sports Illustrated, Audubon, Outside, Reader's Digest, National Geographic Traveler, The Houston Chronicle, and the website of The Discovery Channel. He has consulted on feature films and has worked on documentaries for National Geographic, PBS and The Discovery Channel. He is a professor of communication at Henderson State University and lives in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, with his wife, three sons, his father-in-law, two cats, and a rat terrier. His hobbies include caving, cooking, and playing bass in Blind Opie, a rock band.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Reminded me of how much I enjoy caving and the friends I've made doing it.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than some glaring inaccuracies in Chapter 4, relating to the "discovery" of Boyer's Discovery Cave (I was there on the day we found going cave), this book is a fun, interesting read covering the exploration, science, and conservation of caves in the southeastern U.S.

[Sheri McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read, I caught myself holding my breath -wow!. Beautifully descriptive and necessary for anyone wishing to try caving. It really is a whole other world below ground. Great photographs added to an exemplary virtual experience.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Already know I will be re-reading this book soon! Captivating!

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the adventure I was hoping for.

[Delway Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a lifelong expert and writer about speleology caving. He focuses on his home territory, one of the richest cave areas on earth, the TAG area of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.