Recommend a good dive book

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sourcearun

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Hi folks, I have the PADI dive manual. Apart from it, I would like to own ONE good book, doesnt matter if it costs high. As I said, it would be the ONE book I would like to have on scuba diving. ANy suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks !
 
If you are looking for a one-size-fits-all diving manual, I would say that you won't find one. The US Navy manual is good. There are a few other decent manuals out there. If you are looking for some amazing non-fiction stories, there a many out there that may actually be more helpful to your diving than a PADI manual :):

-Shadow Divers
-Deep Descent (about the Doria)
-Dark Decent (about the Empress of Ireland)
-The Last Dive
-Beyond the Deep
-Raising the Dead

... to name a few
 
The NOAA Diving Manual
 
Well, since you're not certified yet and seem to be interested in recreational vacation diving, I suggest PADI's Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving. At this stage you'll get more out of it than you will the heavy hitters like Navy and NOAA.
 
It's hard to know what to recommend to you, because I don't know anything about you and what kind of diver you intend to be.

If you are interested in an accessible reference with a lot of information on a variety of topics, the PADI Encyclopedia is actually a very nicely put together book.

If you are looking for something to fill in some knowledge "holes" after an OW class, Clay Coleman's Certified Diver's Handbook is a very nice book, with a lot of good information to help a new diver get out there and actually DO some diving.

The Navy manual and the NOAA manual are excellent, thorough references, but not particularly readable. And if you are interested in specific topics (decompression theory, diving physiology, etc.) there are other, more focused books that could be recommended.

If you like books, I suspect you will end up with more than ONE book on diving . . .
 
Do you want a book that teaches you about diving, or do you just want to read about diving? If it's the latter, there are several good ones out there but I would recommend Fireside Diver by Bonnie Cardone.

For most aspects of diving having a reference book around isn't very handy. The only areas I can think of where it would be, most of the materials out there deliberately leave out the details to make sure you don't try to sidestep training.
 
Some of my favorite books when I was just starting diving where:

"Scuba Diving Explained: Questions and Answers on Physiology and Medical Aspects of Scuba Diving" by Lawrence Martin

"Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving" by Jarrod Jablonski

"NOAA Diving Manual"


I have never found the "Just One Book" to have on diving.
 
Thanks! Is this the same as NOAA Diving for Science & Technology Manual 4th edition? thats what is says in Amazon...
 

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