Scuba book suggestions

[shoupart]

I found an old 1955 book called "DIVE!" written by a husband and wife scuba pioneering team. Pretty cool stuff!

 

[jupitermermaid]

Shark Trouble by Peter Benchley was an interesting read.

 

[av8er23]

anyone read this one?

"the certified divers handbook"

Amazon.com: the certified divers handbook

 

[Adgie]

Well, it just goes to show how these scubaboard posts just keep giving and giving. I stumbled across this thread 2 days ago because I was also interested in some good diving books having exhausted all the good ones at the local Barnes and Nobles.

So I stopped into a local Used Book Store and JACKPOT...I found:
The Silent World (hardback)
Life and Death in a Coral Sea (hardback)
and...
The Ocean World of Jacque Cousteau (hardback, 20 Volume Set)

all for <$50!

WooHoo!

-Adrian

OrangeLion03,

You have a good start in developing a presentable modern diving library - Please continue with your collecting.

Modern Recreational Divng is only a few generations old, therefore much of that which has been printed is still avaliable and collectable but increasing in value at a very rapid rate. Some of the 1930 and 1940 items are quite expensive, those from the
1950s to 1970s are becoming rare and difficult to locate but those items prented from the 1970s to present still maybe found at bargin prices..Might want to visit your local used books stores and or check on E bay.

About 15 years ago, prior to or at the bigining of the electronic revolution, I presented the very frist US diving bibliophile meeting in my home which was well attended by affictionados from California and the western states along with several telecons from collectors in the eastern US. At that initial gathering we predicted that the older books would soon fly off the shelves and they certainly have, but there are still a treasure tove of books out there.

On Vintage Double Hose web site there is a thread dedicated to old & new diving Bibliophila, Magaphilia and Epherma. Might want to drop in on that site for a look see or even joining the tribe.


Good luck!

sdm

 

[shoupart]

It's not exclusively about diving, but Jacques Cousteau's last book, "The Human, The Orchid, and the Octopus" is a great, thought-provoking read.

 

[leabre]

anyone read this one?

"the certified divers handbook"

Amazon.com: the certified divers handbook

Yes, I have this. It is okay. It covers a lot of diving material that you cover in OW and in AOW but it gets into a little more details about gear and stuff. It's not a deep book full of revelations, but straight from OW I think someone who's interested could read this and learn some. I like the book, personally, because of its very easy to read style but there isn't much more in there than your favorite agencies already written training documentation and about 3 months of diving experience wouldn't teach you.

This is, of course, just my opinion.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

[Adgie]

Started reading "The Silent World" by Cousteau....amazing. Those guys were absolutely out of their minds!

-Adrian

 

[shoupart]

Yeah, I like to think about what went through their heads whenever they encountered a new sea creature. I imagine it was always like "Ah, merde, I hope this one will not want to hurt me."

Can you imagine being a pioneer in that realm and having to discover, through trial and error, stuff like oxygen being toxic below 20 feet or so?

 

[Beachlover]

Check out "Bluewater Gold Rush" by Tom Kendrick. It is about a California sea urchin diver. Pretty interesting stuff.

 

[Backscatter]

"The Living Sea", Cousteau's followup to "The Silent World", is also a good read. It details his acquisition of the Calypso and the formation of Calypso Oceanographic Expeditions. It also describes his ventures into wreck exploration and excavation, as well as his experiences with "diving saucers".