There are some excellent books on each aspect of diving, but I have been surprised that there aren't a lot more truly excellent and *current* books - I figured the market for this kind of information would be bigger by 2005 than it seems to be.
In any case, I liked "Diving Science" by Michael Strauss (published 2004). Its focus is on physiology and dive medicine. Here's the table of contents, to give you an idea of what it covers:
Table of Contents
Part I The Underwater Environment
Chapter 1. Challenges of the Underwater Environment
Chapter 2. Types of Diving, Dive Profiles, and Phases of the Dive
Chapter 3. The Inert Gas Load
Part II Physiological Responses to the Underwater Environment
Chapter 4. Adaptations of the Heart and Vascular System for Diving
Chapter 5. The Respiratory System in Diving
Chapter 6. Adaptations in Blood and Muscle Tissues to Improve
Oxygen Carrying and Storage
Chapter 7. Meeting the Challenges of the Cold Water Environment
Chapter 8. Propulsion in the Aquatic Environment
Chapter 9. Orientation in the Aquatic Environment
Part III Medical Aspects of Sport Diving
Chapter 10. Medical Preparation for Diving: Fitness and Nutrition
Chapter 11. Psychological and Physiological Problems of the
Surface
Chapter 12. Other Surface Problems: Exposure and Marine Animal
Injuries
Chapter 13. Problems Associated with Descent
Chapter 14. Bottom Problems
Chapter 15. Ascent Problems
Chapter 16. Complications of Medical Problems of Diving
Appendix A Sport Diving From A to Z
Appendix B Where to Get Additional Information and Help
Appendix C Items for the Diving Medical Kit
Appendix D Luminaries in Diving
On edit: An example of what I mean about the relative shortage of truly excellent and *current* books is that Bret Gilliam's book on "Deep diving : an advanced guide to physiology" etc. dates back to 1992. (At least I am not aware of a more recent edition, although I admit I haven't gone looking recently.)
