Memoirs of a Speleologist (hardback)

Memoirs of a Speleologist consists of sixty-six short and lively sketches running the gamut from comedy to tragedy and near-tragedy. The reader encounters cowards and heroes, experiences the deep thrill of rediscovering a cave where man had dwelt thousands of years before, and feels the pathos and joy of de Joly's last cave visit at the age of eighty. Above all, the book displays the dominating personality and eccentricity for which de Joly was known, and conveys a strong impression of the landscape, people, and caves of the causses, the cave-riddled limestone region of southern France.