Shadow Divers – Exposed U 869

[Scott L]

That first post was a bit much. Perhaps you rephrase your main questions and we will begin again more civilly.

 

[Xray99]

Good edit.
Civility is a 2 way street, I give civil as I get it, and sling back mud when it is slung at me.

I'm obviously am an outsider here, was bound to take some heat, and I altogether am not very sensitive.
Still, you shouldn't assume my purpose is to stir things up ,,, For whatever reasons.
I had just got done reading the book for the 2nd time the very night I first posted, the topic was of course fresh in my mind, and was perplexed at why
Gary seemed so vindictive.

 

[paulthenurse]

This message is hidden because RJP is on your ignore list.

Hate to do this on only my 10th post, but you obviously have nothing to contribute save for witty 1 liners.

Not for nuttin' and not taking any sort of stand on this well beaten horse, but that right there is some funny.

Now, can't we all just agree to send this thread go back to Trollville and leave it there.

PTN

 

[RJP]

I had just got done reading the book for the 2nd time the very night I first posted, the topic was of course fresh in my mind, and was perplexed at why Gary seemed so vindictive.

My opinion? Before "Shadow Divers" came out Gary Gentile was known as "wreck diving legend Gary Gentile" and in his mind HE should have found and identified the U-869. If he had, in his mind, he would have had a book published about him (instead of needing to publish it himself) and he would have hosted "Deep Sea Detectives" and he would have a to-be-made movie done about his exploits...

"That should have been me!"

 

[Scott L]

Good edit.
Civility is a 2 way street, I give civil as I get it, and sling back mud when it is slung at me.

I'm obviously am an outsider here, was bound to take some heat, and I altogether am not very sensitive.
Still, you shouldn't assume my purpose is to stir things up ,,, For whatever reasons.
I had just got done reading the book for the 2nd time the very night I first posted, the topic was of course fresh in my mind, and was perplexed at why
Gary seemed so vindictive.

Post #91 in this thread probaly helps to answer one of your questions.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/wreck-diving/207695-truth-u-869-a-10.html#post4488753

 

[Buoyant1]

My opinion? Before "Shadow Divers" came out Gary Gentile was known as "wreck diving legend Gary Gentile" and in his mind HE should have found and identified the U-869. If he had, in his mind, he would have had a book published about him (instead of needing to publish it himself) and he would have hosted "Deep Sea Detectives" and he would have a to-be-made movie done about his exploits...

"That should have been me!"

I agree! Don't get me wrong, I truthfully LOVE Gary's books! His writing style is very amateur, but he does enough to get the point across, and makes it enjoyable from a 'diver-novel' standpoint. I like to call them epic dive reports (but not quite as funny as the one's I file with my local diving group) And to the OP, if you like reading this sort of stuff, you would be served well to read some of his books. Don't let our distaste for his opinion on this subject detract from that. You WILL find that he does seem to stray from topics at times, but who doesn't (I also recommend reading Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury, it has some further info regarding Chris and Chrissy Rouse the Father/son team that passed away while diving the U-869.)

Anyway... you certainly can't take away what the man has accomplished, his records speaks for itself, and I can't begin to shine his dive boots, he has more dives on the Doria than I have lifetime, so I DO have respect for him in that aspect..but after reading SDX (or SDE as some refer) I have to call sour grapes also! He's also put forth a second 'section' in a book called Shipwreck Heresies where he pretty much calls out a bunch of people on this board (myself included for a review I did on Amazon.com) for our panning of his SDX book, and disguises it under "more tangible evidence proving SD wrong". He continues to claim that JC and RK shouldn't be praised for their discovery, yet still fails to make a solid case against it. Once again, I call BS on his part. I've read both books a few times, and there doesn't seem to be that much compelling evidence to disprove a lot from the first one, and if you question JC's sanity, IM him here, as someone else suggested, I'm sure he'd shed some light on it, from my experience he's a pretty easy to approach and personable guy.

Enjoy!

 

[mike_s]

I think it's funny that Gary claims he never reads Scubaboard in one of his publications/email-newsletters, yet he quotes me in one of his books when I talked about on here his website having a virus on it. So it's pretty clear he reads SB and other forums. Not sure why he had to lie about it?

I think it's kinda sad he got obsessed with Shadow Divers. People had a lot of respect for him and his diving abilities before he 'went off the deep end'. oh well.


(I can post the screenshot of my virus software blocker showing his site if anyone wants to see it... I'm also sure he fixed the problem most likely also... so it's prob not an issue anymore...)

 

[Xray99]

Post #91 in this thread probaly helps to answer one of your questions.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/wreck-diving/207695-truth-u-869-a-10.html#post4488753

Outstanding, thanks.
I'll have to give the whole thread a read.

 

[Xray99]

I agree! Don't get me wrong, I truthfully LOVE Gary's books! His writing style is very amateur, but he does enough to get the point across, and makes it enjoyable from a 'diver-novel' standpoint. I like to call them epic dive reports (but not quite as funny as the one's I file with my local diving group) And to the OP, if you like reading this sort of stuff, you would be served well to read some of his books. Don't let our distaste for his opinion on this subject detract from that. You WILL find that he does seem to stray from topics at times, but who doesn't (I also recommend reading Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury, it has some further info regarding Chris and Chrissy Rouse the Father/son team that passed away while diving the U-869.)

Anyway... you certainly can't take away what the man has accomplished, his records speaks for itself, and I can't begin to shine his dive boots, he has more dives on the Doria than I have lifetime, so I DO have respect for him in that aspect..but after reading SDX (or SDE as some refer) I have to call sour grapes also! He's also put forth a second 'section' in a book called Shipwreck Heresies where he pretty much calls out a bunch of people on this board (myself included for a review I did on Amazon.com) for our panning of his SDX book, and disguises it under "more tangible evidence proving SD wrong". He continues to claim that JC and RK shouldn't be praised for their discovery, yet still fails to make a solid case against it. Once again, I call BS on his part. I've read both books a few times, and there doesn't seem to be that much compelling evidence to disprove a lot from the first one, and if you question JC's sanity, IM him here, as someone else suggested, I'm sure he'd shed some light on it, from my experience he's a pretty easy to approach and personable guy.

Enjoy!

Thanks for your impressions, seem well thought out and from the heart.
I am indeed going to explore some more diving books, and I wouldn't rule out any by Gary if I can find em.

I wouldn't pm JC, I think that would be a bit presumptuous & intrusive of me, not my style.
He'll no doubt eventually notice this thread has been resurrected, and if he feels like enlightening me, that would be fine.

 

[Buoyant1]

If you want to order some, check Albris for used copies Alibris: Used Books, Used Textbooks, Rare & Out-of-Print Books
I do alright there...

If you like NEW, Give this guy a check, free shipping! Scuba Diving Books Aqua Quest Publications

Like I said, the books aren't literary masterpieces by any stretch, but they are better than a lot of the stuff you get in the regular old dive magazines. (mostly travel stuff)