|
 |
|
Subterranean Twin Cities Greg Brick Table of Contents EVENTS: PRESS |
|
|
Don’t try this at home—read the book instead! (it smells better) We tend to send things underground that we are not interested in ever seeing again. Sewage. Garbage. In the past, we have used the underground to age such provisions as cheese and beer. In Subterranean Twin Cities, geologist, historian, and urban speleologist Greg Brick takes us on an adventurous, educational, and—thankfully—sanitary tour beneath the streets and into the myriad tunnels, caves, and industrial spaces that make up the Twin Cities’ fascinating and surprisingly vast underground landscape. In this groundbreaking tour, the first of its kind of the Twin Cities, Brick mines the stories that lie below the city surface. Beginning with an accessible history on the geology of the area—including the giant cone-shaped mollusk Endoceras, whose thirteen-foot-long fossils are found in the Mississippi gorge—Brick guides us into a series of astounding firsthand expeditions. We follow him into St. Paul’s historic Carver’s Cave, with its stories of sunken treasure; through the many caves constructed for brewing, cheese ripening, and mushroom farming; and into the world of nineteenth-century show caves for tourists. We even find ourselves in the “Shangri-la” of urban caves: the extensive Schiek’s Cave seventy-five feet beneath the busy streets of downtown Minneapolis. From spending the onset of Y2K in Carver’s Cave (just in case) to long hours wading in underground rivers, Brick proves himself a knowledgeable, wry, and daring guide. Subterranean Twin Cities shines a headlamp (with extra batteries, of course) into the captivating labyrinths beneath the Twin Cities and reminds us that what we see aboveground is really only half of the story. “For those who grew up here, Subterranean Twin Cities is a treasure—a book for the Tom Sawyer in all of us. There seems no place under the earth Greg Brick is not willing to explore, nor any dark opening where he fears to go. He is one of those few persons with the unique talent to write expertly about his adventures, bringing readers along with him on hands and knees.” —Steve Thayer “Subterranean Twin Cities is a well-written and very interesting account of a rather little known and under-appreciated side branch—or subspecialty, if you will—of underground exploration. Brick provides a rich and colorful history of Minnesota’s urban underground and a detailed account of its exploration. He paints a vivid, if not always alluring, picture of the world beneath the city streets. Readers will likely turn each page in anticipation of what will be coming next or scratch their head in astonishment at the things some people are willing to endure for the sake of satisfying an insatiable curiosity.” —Danny Brass, NSS News “Subterranean Twin Cities is an enjoyable plunge, sprinkled with fascinating historical side trips, into a netherworld that sane people wouldn’t want to make a destination. . . . Brick leads us to the buried guts of our cities and brings us back wanting more.” —Star Tribune “Subterranean Twin Cities is a book loaded with wit, local history, and adventure, proving that much more lays beneath the surface than the sewage we flush.” —City Pages “It’s a tour made all the more remarkable for Brick’s wry storytelling skills and the fact that we don’t have to get our feet wet.” —Minneapolis Observer Quarterly “A comprehensive, enlightening history.” —Minnesota Magazine “A great introduction to the debatable pleasures of a whole new branch of caving. Greg tells it all with an irresistible wry humor. Only the most inflexible calcareospeleologist will put this book aside without finishing it.” —Journal of Spelean History “Cavers and mine explorers will enjoy Subterranean Twin Cities and its wry humor. Don’t worry that these might be two cities you never visit; it’s a damn fun read. And you never know, as told by Greg: at least one of the legendary tunnels has already attracted international visitors. Illegally, of course.” —Descent Greg Brick has been exploring, researching, and writing about the St. Paul and Minneapolis underground for more than two decades. The author of Iowa Underground: A Guide to the State’s Subterranean Treasures, he has worked as a hydrogeologist and geologist at environmental consulting firms around the country. His work has been featured in National Geographic Adventure Magazine as well as on the History Channel. 256 pages | 33 b&w photos | 6 x 9 | 2009 Acknowledgments Introduction The Geology of the Sewers I. The Early Caves II. Buried Rivers III. The Great Sandbox IV. The Milling District V. Utilities VI. Pluto’s Kingdom Sources and Further Reading |
||
