John Gunn  (Editor). Published by Fitzroy Dearborn (Taylor and Francis Group, New Fetter Lane, London, EC4P 4EE, and New York). 2004. 902 pages. ISBN 1-57958-399-7.

As stated in the Editor’s introduction, “…this is the first encyclopedia devoted to Caves and Karst Science.” The book consists of over 300 articles from 202 authors, all of whom are recognized as leading authorities in their field. The articles were categorized into eight broad themes, which include archeology, biospeleology, caves and caving, caves and karst regions, conservation and management, geoscience, history, and resources and development, and were “…selected by a multi-disciplinary Advisory Board of leading scholars, all of whom are cavers.” The book is 902 pages in length and presents the articles in alphabetical order, with lists of works cited and further reading at the end of each article. Additionally, a thematic list of the articles is provided along with limited biographical information about each author near the end of the book. The central portion of the book provides the reader with eight pages of surface and subsurface colour photos, some of which include salamanders, bats, cave shrimp, cave art, cave pearls, flowstone, cave passages, epikarstic features, doline and cone karst, and glaciokarst.

No book published in any genre escapes the criticism of its readers, and the Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science is no exception. Previous reviews have pointed out the presence of errors, which every book ever published most likely includes. However, the minor errors identified do not take away from the enormous value of the Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. As anyone would testify, a tremendous amount of hard work, and most likely added pressure and frustration, was involved with the preparation of this collection of our current knowledge about karst environments. In that respect, the Editor, Advisory Board, and authors have done a great job.
Many of the world’s karst regions, settings, and important caves are mentioned in the Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. Some examples include articles written about the Mammoth Cave Region, Carlsbad Caverns, Lechuguilla, Wind and Jewel Caves, Patterns and Hydraulics of Caves (Arthur Palmer), Fluviokarst, Quarrying of Limestone (John Gunn), Inception of Caves, Speleogenesis Theories Post-1890, Geoscientists (Dave Lowe); Speleogenesis in Deep Seated and Confined Settings, Gypsum Karst, Caves in the Ukraine, Evaporite Karst (Alexander Klimchouk), Speleogenesis in Coastal and Oceanic Settings (John Mylroie), Micro-organisms in Caves (Diane Northrup), Forests on Karst (Tom Aley), Burren Glaciokarst (Dave Drew), Speleogenesis in Unconfined Settings (Derek Ford), Dinaric Karst (Andrej Kranjc), Dolines (Paul Williams), Mathematical and Conceptual Models of Groundwater in Karst (Steve Worthington and Chris Smart), Cone Karst (Mick Day), and Littoral Caves (Dave Bunnell).

The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science is a useful tool that should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in learning more about the fragile environment known as karst. All of the articles I have read are well written and should be understandable to non-specialists as well as to the seasoned veteran. However, some articles are more technical, and additional reading would be required. Currently, the book is listed for $195.00 at Amazon.com and $150.00 from Speleobooks (www.speleobooks.com).

David M Bednar, Jr.
Michael Baker Jr. Inc.
White Hall, Arkansas, USA.
June 2004