Scuba reads .... 3 quick reviews

[Sansho]

Did some reading over the holidays....

Shadow Diver, by Robert Kurson. Story of John Chatterton and Richie Kohler detailing their obsession to identify the WWII U-boat discovered off NJ at 230' in 1991, which took them 6 years. Very well written book - story keeps moving, hard to put the book down. Introduction and transition to tri-mix about half way through the book. Something they kept stressing ... when there are one or more problems, focus and fix one problem at a time, don't get overwhelmed by multiple issues. There are several situations where this approached saved a life. Highly recommend this book, it's a great read.

The Best of Lessons for Life, Scuba Diving magazine and DAN. This CD has 5 years of the column from Scuba Diving magazine, which details dive accidents, analyzes what went wrong, and what could have prevented the accident. Some of the situations you want to just scream 'idiot(s)' and others are not so obvious, however, there's something to be learned from each article. It comes on a CD which works on OS X or Windows.

Scuba Diving Safety, by Dan Orr and Eric Douglas. Three basic areas it covers are safety planning, rescue techniques, and special environments and situations. The first 48 pages on dive planning is good, and anyone would benefit reading it. The next 65 pages on rescue techniques is a good review for rescue divers, however, someone shouldn't read that section and think they can do the techniques without taking a rescue/CPR/first aid class. The last 31 pages on special environments and situations is interesting and informative reading.

There are some great author experiences sprinkled through the book in 'safety stop' sections. One amusing story involved Dan Orr and a student who vehemently claimed to be certified but had no card or log. So Dan was going to take him out on the lake for an open water evaluation. He became suspicious when the person did everything Dan did right after he did it. Along the way Dan spit in his mask, then the other person spit in his mask, then Dan spit in a fin, and the other person did that too, at which point Dan called him out ... turns out the other person had no experience ... and Dan avoided diving with divers who spit in their fins.

[Lulubelle]

Thanks Sansho. One of my weak spots is that I haven't been diving long enough to have navigated through too many tough situations yet. These pieces will be very helpful for a diver at my stage to learn how to avoid most and deal with all effectively.

Thanks again

[chicken]

A few more...

Diver Down
The Taming of the Slough
Shadow Divers Exposed
Andrea Doria, Dive to an Era

[sea princess]

Thanks for the great book reviews! I think they all sound like good reads for sure. I have heard of Diver Down but have no clue on its review. I am sure if i search here on the forum i will find out.

so warning..Never trust a diver who spits in his or her fins!

[Desert_Diver]

"The Last Dive" also deals with the U-Who dives (Kohler and Chatterton sub). It focuses on the two fatalities (father-son dive buddies). The author was Bernie Chowdhury.

"Helldiver's Rodeo" by Humberto Fontana is about scuba spear fishermen who hunt the oil rigs off of New Orleans. This is supposed to be true and is a screaming laugh. Rather than expensive wet suits, these guys dive in old disco suits which they don't care if they get torn up. They take insane risks but somehow survive. This is NOT a how to book. But if you don't laugh your butt off, I will pay for the book.

Art

[chicken]

I have Helldivers Rodeo in my stack "to be read", just the jacket description looks good.

Diver Down is essentially several stories about people dying or being severly injured while diving. At the end of each "accident" are strategies for survival. It is a great reminder to any diver about the risks involved especially if you don't follow established safety practices.

[kjvander]

thanks for the list.....now i have a list to go get...need new reading material

[Jay_SMART_Diver]

Here's the books from my library:

The Dive Sites of the Bahamas: comprehensive coverage of diving and snorkeling by Lawson Wood. ISBN # 0-8442-0140-5

Jacques Cousteau The Silent World. ISBN # 0-941130-45-2

Water and Light: A Diver's Journey to a Coral Reef. Stephen Harrigan. ISBN # 0-87156-453-X

Reefs, Wrecks, & Rigs: Diver's Guide to the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Tom Bailey. ISBN # 1-878561-18-9

Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach. ISBN # 1-878348-30-2

Top Dive Sites of the Caribbean. Lawson Wood. ISBN # 1-85368-790-1

Chatterton and Kohler Autographed Copy of Shadow Divers.

Dive: The ultimate guide to 60 of the world's top dive locations. Monty Halls. ISBN # 1-555297-996-2

Diving the Pacific: Volume 1: Micronesia and the Western Pacific Islands. ISBN # 962-593-499-5

Diving Guide to Underwater Florida. Ned DeLoach. ISBN # 1-878348-39-6

Underwater Wonders of the National Parks. Daniel Lenihan, John Brooks. ISBN # 0-679-03386-6

Diver Down: Real World Scuba Accidents and How to avoid them. ISBN # 0-07-144572-2

The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to SCUBA Diving. Karen Berger. ISBN # 0-393-31944-X

Down Time: Great Writers on Diving. Kittrell. ISBN # 0-9658344-4-1

The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks. Clive Cussler. ISBN # 0-671-00180-9

The Sea Hunters II. Clive Cussler.

The Universe Below: Discovering the secrets of the deep sea. William Broad. ISBN # 0-684-83852-4

Dark Descent: Diving and the Deadly Allure of the Empress of Ireland. Kevin McMurray. ISBN # 0-07-145630-9

Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria. Kevin McMurray.

The Helldivers' Rodeo: A deadly, extreme, Scuba-Diving, spear fishing adventure amid the offshore oil-platforms in the murky waters of the gulf of Mexico. ISBN # 1-59077-005-6

Hiding on the Bottom: Mid Life Misadventures Down East. James Rosemond. ISBN # 978-1-4303-0071-7

The Last Dive: A father and son's fatal descent into the ocean's depths. ISBN # 0-06-093259-7

The Discovery of the Titanic. Dr. Robert Ballard. ISBN # 1-85797-660-6

Deep Blue: stories of shipwreck, sunken treasure, and survival. ISBN # 1-56025-313-4

Submerged: adventures of America's most elite underwater archeology team. ISBN # 1-55704-505-4

And Yes I even bought Shadow Divers Exposed: The "Real" saga of the U-869 by Gary Gentile, because of the controversy I decided to read it myself and make my own opinion.

Caverns Measureless to Man, by Sheck Exley. ISBN # 978-0-939748-25-9

Solo Diving 2nd Ed: The Art of Underwater Self-Sufficiency, Von Maier. ISBN # 978-1881652281

Texas Coral Reefs (Gulf Coast Studies), by Jesse Cancelmo. ISBN # 978-1585446339

Reef by Scubazoo. ISBN-13: 978-0756631222

No Safe Harbor: The tragedy of the Dive Ship Wave Dancer. Joe Burnworth. ISBN-13: 978-1578602193

[Vercingetorix]

I just ordered Scuba Diving Safety from Amazon ($10) because of your recommendation. It should help remind me of my NAUI Rescue training (along with the NAUI Rescue text).