best books for divers?

[Kevrumbo]

Best practical book for the basic & novice open water diver:
Amazon.com: Diver Down: Real-World SCUBA Accidents and How to Avoid Them (9780071445726): Michael Ange: Books

 

[nielsent]

Steve Lewis' Book "The Six Skills and Other Discussions; creative solutions for technical divers.

Order Your Copy of Steve's New Book NOW!

 

[DevonDiver]

I'd echo the sentiments about Mark Powell's book.

I think that your (whatever agency you trained with) basic entry-level (i.e. OW) manual is definitely a book that should be kept to hand. The same goes for other courses; such as Nitrox.

There's an awful lot of questions asked here on SB, that are actually answered within those books - which suggests to me that many divers don't preserve and/or reference these books once they are qualified.

The PADI Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving is also a great resource, containing a wealth of information.

 

[FinnWithFins]

Hi,

It seemes that I at least cannot live without Clive Cussler's
NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency) books.
Their are not technical nor specification books, but purely novels.
Altought NUMA is real agency behind Cussler's stories.
Latest I read, was "Arctic Drift" filled with diving

Br,
FinnWithFins

 

[knowone]

Jim Lapenta's book
SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver

Middle shelf left.

 

[tyesai]

I've read a bunch of books in the last year. Deco for Divers gives a good understanding of what actually is going on in your body and is easy to understand. The Last Dive was a great read with lots of technical things and is entertaining as well. The NOAA Manual I've checked out of the library and thumbed through, it has a lot of great info. The worst book I've read lately is Fatally Flawed, don't waste your time, it isn't interesting or educational. The Diver Down book Kevrumbo mentioned has a bunch of good short stories that are both educational and entertaining. The Last Dive was good, as was Shadow Divers. The Blind Descent is about caving but it has diving aspects to it and was mildly interesting. Dark Descent I listened to on audio and it was o.k. and the Dragon Sea was almost not worth reading unless your into the archeaology, I don't think I would have finished reading it but the audio version was ok. Finally The Wave is more a surfing book, but it I enjoyed it. Oh yeah, The Human The Orchid and The Octopus was ok, especially if your a Jacque Cousteau fan boy.

 

[MichelG]

The Great Lakes Diving Guide by Cris Kohl. If you plan on diving this region it's a very useful book to have.

 

[cdean1]

Man thanks for all the replies. As far as where I will dive I am from socal but am currently in Fiji for a year+. I just have an ow but getting my adv next month and been diving alot lately. Made friends with a dive instructor from Jean micheal coustue resort so I got the hook up. Anyone in Fiji in the freindly north hit me up!

 

[vladimir]

As mentioned above, Shadow Divers and The Last Dive are good reads; I enjoyed both.

Dangerous Marine Creatures is accessible to the layman, but provides guidance to the clinician as well, using actual case histories of bites, stings, envenomations, and poisonings. It appeals to my morbid curiosity as much as to my intellectual curiosity and, of course, has useful practical information:
Amazon.com: Dangerous Marine Creatures (9780941332392): Carl Edmonds: Books

I don't plod through books. If it doesn't engage me I abandon it. These two are not about diving, but might appeal to divers. And they read like novels:

12 Days of Terror, about the Jersey Shore shark attacks in 1916, is interesting from a few different perspectives: morbid curiosity (again), historically, and as a critique of journalism and science. It's also as suspenseful as your favorite slasher movie: Amazon.com: Twelve Days of Terror: A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks (9781585742974): Richard G. Fernicola: Books

In Harm's Way is a great account of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis that many of us first heard about from Quint in Jaws. More morbid curiosity, and an important historical event. It's like reading Tom Clancy, but it's non-fiction. Amazon.com: In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors (9780805073669): Doug Stanton: Books

Fish ID books (or software) are indispensable to me. Here are my favorites:

This one is comprehensive and, perhaps counter-intuitively, the drawings are often superior to photographs in deciding between related species:
Amazon.com: Coral Reef Fishes: Indo-Pacific and Caribbean (9780691089959): Ewald Lieske, Robert Myers: Books

Whatever the appropriate book by Humann, Deloach is for where you dive:
Amazon.com: The Reef Set: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral (3 Volumes) (9781878348333): Paul Humann, Ned Deloach: Books

The collaboration between the two great fish-identification teams, Humann, Deloach and Steene, Allen:
Amazon.com: Reef Fish Identification - Tropical Pacific (9781878348364): Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, Ned DeLoach: Books

 

[Wantonmien]

Jim Lapenta's book
SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver

Having won a high bid in a Scubaboard auction Jims book is a worthwhile book to own and refer to for sure.

Also - Andrea & Antonella Ferrari ID book REEFWONDERS.NET - Our Books

Cheers