Aquanaut

A Life Beneath The Surface – The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue

By: Rick Stanton

Narrated by: Don Gilet, Rick Stanton

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE ENTHRALLING INSIDE STORY OF THE THAI CAVE RESCUE

'They were utterly alone inside the mountain, isolated from the rest of the world. They might as well have been on another planet . . .'

In July 2018, twelve boys and their football coach disappeared into Tham Luang Cave in Thailand.

Trapped miles beneath the surface, not even the Thai Navy SEALs had the skills to bring them to safety. With the floodwater rising rapidly, time was running out . . .

Any hope of survival rested on Rick Stanton, a retired Midlands firefighter with a living room full of homemade cave-diving equipment. As unlikely as it seemed, to those in the know, Rick and his partner, John Volanthen, were regarded as the A-team for exactly this kind of mission.

The Thai Cave Rescue was the apex of a lifelong obsession, requiring every ounce of skill and ingenuity accumulated by Rick through a near forty-year pursuit of the unknown.

While the world held its breath, Rick, John and their assembled team raced against time in the face of near impossible odds. There was simply no precedent for what they were attempting to do . . .

In Aquanaut Rick reveals the real story of the cave rescue for the first time. And of a life lived without compromise in which any mistake could have been his last. It's an edge-of-your-seat story of courage and conviction that will take you deep into the most remote and unforgiving places on the planet, told with humour, unflinching honesty, and a relentless drive for adventure.

©2021 Rick Stanton (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The British divers are all heroes." (Clive Cussler)

"A case study in courage." (Ron Howard, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13)

"The Thai cave rescue was phenomenally dangerous, and the work of true heroes." (inews)

Absolutely Excellent!

Seldom is a book worth my time to write a review. This one is.
We all know the story of the kids rescued from the cave in Thailand but this story takes us beyond and into the past of the rescue team.
We learn how they gained the skill set that made such a rescue possible. We also learn details that were not reported by the media during the rescue.
This author had my attention from the beginning and did not disappoint providing details balanced with back story and well represented the struggle of balance between the parties that had responded to the emergency.
The persons that read the story were also excellent in delivery.

I will, after a period, return to listen to this story again.

Amazing first venture into memoirs!

I really enjoyed this. I don't read memoirs ever, but I'm glad I started here. The narration worked well and had a great flow and I do like how it built up, with stories being told between the Tham Luang rescue, which made for great pacing. The stories were fascinating, the problem solving, the danger. Actually I thought it was very, very similar to The Martian in a million ways: A man who constantly navigates a hostile environment that is constantly trying to kill him. The only way out is through that hostile environment is by solving one problem at a time. Better here because it's real. The adventures are the type I couldn't fathom having first hand because it all seems sort of miserable to anyone who doesn't have the acheivement-earned mindset or the do-it-to-say-you-did-it mindset, but then his mindset is very clearly built up so I was able to see his drive and motivation. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes entertainment to make brain-food go down. ;-)

Great story about a real person

We think of heroes as extraordinary people, but Rick Stanton could be any one of us. He lived his life, went to work, chose a hobby and spent a great deal of time honing the skills his hobby required. And then…someone (13-someone’s to be more accurate) needed his help and he was able to use the skills he had honed through time and attention, and through his commitment and skill, and he saved those kids and their coach’s lives, and impacted the whole world, or anyone who read about or heard about or will read or hear about it. This is an amazing story, because it’s about all of us. It’s about us using what we have, what we know, what we do, to help someone else in a time of need. Incredible. And Rick still seems very humble through it all. I’m very touched by this story. Thank you for telling it.

Excellent story. Reads like an adventure novel.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I knew the basics of the Thai cave story, but not the details. This book told that story and so much more! It reads like a fictional adventure ( in a good way). Rick Stanton has led a very interesting life. His telling of his role in the rescue as well as the many explorations in his life that led up to his role in Thailand came across as modest and sincere.
The narrator does an excellent job and the author does an excellent job with his part of the narration.
I highly recommend this audible book.

Thrilling and True

Rick Stanton uses the Thai cave rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach as the framework on which to hang a lifetime of underwater cave diving stories. He is open about his successes and failures and the real risks of cave diving as he goes on many rescues of other divers and the joy of exploration for its own sake. I was on the edge of my seat with every chapter.

Stanton reads the introduction and closing chapter with excellent narration by Don Gilet for the bulk of the book. A good choice by the publisher, as Stanton’s more halting style could drag down the excellent narrative if used for the entire 16 hrs.

Highly recommended.

Wow I couldn’t put it down!

An absolutely fascinating dive into the world of some truly nutty people. If you are on the fence about this book just go for it.

Fantastic!!

Couldn't stop listening. Fascinating, heartfelt, exciting! Highly Recommended for divers or non-divers. Learned a ton...

Title is misleading

Rick Stanton is a world-class cave explorer and sump diver. If you want to learn about his background in cave exploration, and hear the rescue story from his pov, you’ll enjoy this book, though it is long winded at times. But if you’re attracted by the title “Aquanaut” to hear about a world-class scuba diver, like I was, you might be a bit disappointed. Caves are Rick’s first and only major love, and if they don’t get your blood pumping, there will be some pretty dry stretches in the narrative.

Gripping true life tale

Having just seen the Ron Howard production of Thirteen Lives, I was already captivated by this incredible story. Rick Staton's weaving of his life journey was skillful in laying the foundation of understanding why he and his partners were not only the ideal group to effect this rescue, but clearly the only group who had the skill set and experience to have been successful. The story is told in a way that held my interest throughout, and made it difficult to hit the pause button when I had to set it down to attend to my own life duties. This is defiywoeth your time to listen!

Thrilling and engaging!

I am a bit of a cave geek, so I really enjoyed this book.