Scuba Diving Books

This is the 3rd dive travel book I have purchased writen by Lawson Wood. He covers all the information you will need to plan a dive trip to Cozumel, Cancun and the Mayan Riviera. Besides the 160 dive and snorkel sites there is a brief history of the area and lots of travel tips. If you are a diver you will like the dive site discriptions and underwater photography. This is one of the best books of its kind on diving in the Mayan Riviera area.

The dive sites of COZUMEL AND THE YUCATAN, the comprehensive coverage of diving and snorkeling by Lawson Wood is a decent generalist travel guide covering the history, climate, maps, travel tips, basics of diving and snorkeling, brief rating of selected dive sites, nice photos and descriptions of underwater marine environment and animals, ..etc...Four regions are covered: Cancun, Isla Mujeres and Isla Contoy, Cozumel, the Caribbean coast (Cenote dive sites described)in 176 pages. There is some basic travel info(places to eat, stay, and play) however, no reviews are provided to base a decision...lots of phone numbers though.

The book rates dive sites by the following factors: Location, Access, Dive Conditions, Min. Depth, Max. Depth, Average Visibility, Basic description of what you may see at the dive site. There are 55 dive sites rated for Cozumel, 14 for Cancun, 12 for Isla Contoy and Isla Mujeres, and 72 along the Caribbean Coast. Each review is about 120 - 150 words.

Page 3 of this book acknowledges all the organizations used for the info in this book and the photograph equipment used for the underwater pictures...a good source of contacts.

This book is great if you are thinking about traveling and diving for the first time to the Yucatan and want to know what to expect when you get there. Advanced divers looking for more dive site descriptions and dive maps may be disappointed...therefore 4 stars for a GENERAL Travel guide and dive guide together.

This is a good book for someone visiting the Quintanna Roo Coast and Cozumel who is going to use commercial dive operators for most of their diving. For the true adventurer however it is not really adequate. Why? Well say you need to find a reef on your ocean kayak and you are without a dive guide. This book will not really help you find that reef because it does not go into exact reef location detail, it just says like 100 yards off beach X. Well those beaches in Cozumel are long white strips of sand and are prettty much indistinguishable from one another. Also, no information on where to camp on Cozumel and on the Quintanna Roo Coast. It does however have good reef descriptions, general travel info and helpfull advice for tourists.

This book is very nicely arranged and designed. The writing is clear and concise and well thought out. The sections on the marine environments and diver safety were great. Not so great were directions getting to some of the dive locations. The author may have visited most of the dive sites on a dive boat and never attempted to reach the locations by car. We are snokelers and tried unsuccessfully to reach some of described locations on the Mexican Riviera. The map of the Mexican Riviera was not good. The scale was off by an order of magnitude. A few of the roads listed in the book on the map were not actually there. Some of the actual roads were not on the map. Most roads going from Highway 307 toward the shore are hotel private property. We repeatedly got turned around by uniformed personnel at hotel gates and had to give up reaching dive sites. It might be useful in future editions to tell how to get to a location by car. Giving GPS coordinates would be good too. This is a good book for planning a diving trip to the Yucatan area. But not so great once you get there.

Dominica was a beautiful island but this guide was not all that helpful and some info. was outdated or incorrect.

Good guide except that we couldn't find one of the snorkling sites described just by following their directions.

With so few informative guides available on Dominica, this guide is truly a gem written about a gem of an island. Descriptions of some of the finest and most unusual dives in the Caribbean, including down the crater of a volcano and through hot bubbling springs called "Champagne." The sea life in Dominica is more prolific and untouched than anywhere else in the Caribbean and this guide tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about getting to this offbeat destination, staying there, and seeing the sites both above and below water.

Not quite as thorough as the Lonely Planet Diving in Puerto Rico, but very helpful for deciding where to start. An added bonus is the short chapter describing inland hikes in Dominica, an island as stunning above water as below. I like the organization or these guides, with excellent icons placed conspicuously to help me skip what I don't need to know.

The author attempts to cover an island as large as the state of connecticut in only 21 dives. Puerto Rico is so vast that the author should return to cover it better. But he does a decent job in the few words he used. He also tells it like it is, not like much of the travel stories you read in dive magazines.

This book provided a pretty good overview of diving and snorkelling in Puerto Rico. We picked two diving sites and one snorkelling site based on it. It over-estimated the difficulty of one of the dives, and did not warn us about several factors that degraded our diving experience.

This book does have some great tips but when it comes to specific locations it falls short. When I went to several towns looking for the locations mentioned in the book, I fould many locals unaware of them. Some have never heard of them and I could never find the location. Maybe if a specific departure location was givin (city or port) instead of a bay or area, would be helpful. Great photography by the way.

A pretty complete review of the best diving sites around the island with exceptional photographs. It is really a shame that the author did not provide the GPS coordinates information which he refers to on page 9. That would make it an outstanding value!!! José Amador Aguadilla, Puerto Rico e-mail: casagra2@caribe.net

great book with excellent coverage of different dive sites all over micronesia. the only problem i have is that it has not been updated since 2000, but that is only a minor thing.

Diving Micronesia was an easy to read guide book that will not go into great detail , I certainly did not base my travel on it , I would definately recomend the lonely planet guide by Tim Rock , it is much more informative

Throughout the world of diving, there are a few Divers who are able to provide their Publishers with excellent material for their Guide Books and Eric Hanauer is one of these.

"Diving Micronesia" measures 10" x 7" and is another guide in the medium size format favoured by Aqua Quest. This is a worthy addition to a first rate series of books - throughout which, these publishers have maintained the highest standards in terms of quality of information and photography.

As with each of these guides, this book is clearly laid out with chapters on the overall subject area (complete with all the relevant information required), an overview of diving in the South Pacific and specific detail with regard to the individual countries visited (Guam, Mariana Islands, Yap, Palau, Chuuk (formerly Truk Lagoon), Pohnpei, Kosrae and the Marshall Islands (including Bikini Atoll)). Chapter 1 begins with a précis of the region's geography and history coupled with details of the present day. This is followed by a map and all that essential information such as credit cards, cuisine, currency, dress, electricity, getting there, entry/exit requirements, mail, telephone, time, post - and anything else the prospective visitor wishes to know.

Chapter 2 is an overview of the Diving in general and includes all the relevant information the diver requires - such as: facilities, water/weather conditions, visibility, flora and fauna and lots more besides.

As one might expect, there then follows a chapter dedicated to each of the aforementioned countries within the catchment area of this book. Being separate countries spread over a large area of the Pacific Ocean, these chapters contain a wealth of information on diving and non-diving topics. The diving details commences with a map of the specific island complex where all the relevant dive sites are clearly numbered and displayed. This is followed by a description of each site with adequate narrative, relevant depth and grade-of-diver information.

With everything lavishly supported by underwater and surface photography of the highest standard, the book then concludes with Appendices containing Emergency Information and what appears to be a very thorough list of local (South Pacific) diving contact details.

With a total of 92 dive sites to set the heart racing, the book also includes 3 dive sites from Bikini Atoll. Clearly the Publishers were leaving the very best to the very last by including the USS Saratoga (the only diveable Aircraft Carrier in the world), HIJMS Nagato and USS Apogon which combine to form three of the world's most important dive sites.

For me, it was nice to find a book where some of the world's most historic sites from the WW2 Pacific theatre of War were placed together - rather than allowing, say, Truk Lagoon (sorry - just can't get used to that new name.), or Bikini Atoll to dominate the book.

Altogether, a well-rounded book with everything supported by some pretty stunning and imaginative photography. For anyone considering a trip to the South Pacific, I do believe this is the only book you will require - and it is one for which I have been waiting for some time...

NM

A thorough explanation of the Micronesian islands and what to expect, both on land and under the water, on each of them. The history is fascinating. Our first visit to Micronesia, so we'll see how true the information the book presents is!

My first reaction to this book was one of excitment, this came from my first perusing the pictures. I was, however, severly disappointed when I actually got into the information that the book contained. The first quarter of the book is devoted to a breif and very lacking overview of Puerto Rico. Although not that useful it didn't hurt. However, there were two things that really bothered me about the book. First was that almost all of the dive sites listed need a guide. The second was that despite the fact that it claims to be a snorkel and dive guide book there is virtually zero snorkel information and of the few sights mentioned only 3, I believe, were actually not seemingly impossible to get to. In fact, my old budget travel guide for puerto rico had over three times as many snorkelnig sites, with, as I was dismayed to see, a lot of sites that were not even included in the SNORKEL and dive guide. How a guide on underwater adventure can be outshown by a general travel guide is beyond me but it is. Do not buy this book if you are planning to mix dives with snorkel and are looking for an all inclusive, it just doesn't have the info. Also, as I said most of the dives require a guide which makes the information in the book rather pointless as the guides will know where the great sites are and a quick conversation can lead you to your next guide and site. This, it seems is probably what the guy who wrote the book did, just went from guide to guide. The main dive areas are well know on the island and you aren't really getting any information that you couldn't just by being here get yourself. My vote, Not worth it.

It covered most of the island with greta details and information. it is a shamed that it di not cover mona Island the best dive site in PR. Also, it lacks enough info on shore dive in the island. But overall it gives you enough information to keep you wanting to go back to Puerto rico to dive.

One previous reviewer suggests that if you are on the ground (or in the water) in Puerto Rico, you won't need this book, you can just "ask around". This is surely true. The chief use of such a book is for planning a visit to Puerto Rico; that is, you use the book at home and perhaps leave it there. The pictures are enticing, the information is well-indexed and quickly comprehended, and I found nothing incorrect in the one usage I made of the guide. I had one day free in a business visit to San Juan, I used to book to decide that Fajardo should be my starting point, I snorkeled at sites around the offshore island of Palominos, and I had a superb experience. No doubt the same info could have been found elsewhere, but this book allowed me to feel confident in my choice.

THE SNORKELING MANUAL, "SNORKELING;HERE'S HOW" IS NOW PUBLISHED BY - THE LONELY PLANET 155 FILBERT STREET SUITE 251 OAKLAND,CA 94607 PHONE (510) 893-8555 FAX (510) 893-8563 1-800 275 8555

THIS IS STILL THE ONLY SNORKELING HOW TOO MANUAL IN THE DIVE INDUSTRY.

I wanted a book to teach me how to snorkel. This book teaches you how to evaluate and purchase the equipment to snorkel, and how to wear the equipment, but not how to USE the equipment!!! I see pictures of people diving underwater while wearing a snorkel - how do they do that without the snorkel filling up with water? Oh sure, I can figure out that if I lay on the water face down and have a snorkel in my mouth I can still breath, but I wanna know how to do more... This didn't even really touch on the basics...

But in fairness - It is a very good guide on how to purchase, wear, and maintain your first set of snorkeling gear...

I just finished reading this book, and found it to be very helpful, from how to purchase snorkeling gear, to how to snorkel. It also teaches you how to take care of the gear you buy. I would recommend this book to anyone who is new to snorkeling. Now to put all this information to the test when I actually try it in Hawaii next month.

A non-stop account of a man of the sea and the adventures and dangers encountered, not only alone at times, but with other mates in the commercial diving trade, doing what most land bound men would never dream of doing. Bob Wick is a diver un-daunted by the hostile elements of tides, currents and zero visibility to complete any work assigned, being that of harvesting abalone from the clear cold waters of the "Channel Islands, off Californias West Coast, to the black polar depths of, "Cook Inlet",on Alaskas South shore and beyond for the ever growing oil exploration companies.
A, "Must Read", for those who want to recount similiar memories and for those who think they might want to follow in his undersea foot stepts.

This was an great book to read. It had some wonderful deep sea diver stories, and lots of excitment. I enjoyed the entire book.

The book was more a collection of "old sea dog" anecdotes written down than it was a book. I was interested to learn about the early abalone harvesting in California, but had to wade through too many "above-water, hell-raising" stories that, frankly, bored me. It felt a bit like being trapped next to the wrong person at a high school reunion.

I like this book because it is right on with the dives we went on. Very Accurate. They don't chum the blue hole anymore though, thank god.

This book has great information, but be aware that it doesn't even begin to cover 1/2 the Cayes in Belize. In fact it only mentioned one that we visited while sailing for 7 days. Use this guide as an accompaniment to other info.

The Passport dive guides are attractively laid out, with lots of maps and high quality, glossy printing. As an amateur underwater photographer, I particularly appreciate dive guidebooks with high quality underwater images that show the reader what to expect in terms of both marine life and scenery. Unfortunately, Jack Johnson has relied on his own underwater photographs for this volume, and they are some of the worst I have seen published anywhere. Several of Mr. Johnson's underwater photos are over-exposed and washed out (pp. 4, 31, 51, 56, 95), several are marred by backscatter (reflections from particles in the water -- pp. 117, 133, 156), and only a few of are well-composed and in sharp focus. It's hard to imagine a competent amateur underwater photographer spending even a week in Malaysia and having so little to show for it. While the images may not be as important to most readers as they are to me, it does raise questions regarding the care and effort that Mr. Jackson and his publisher put into this volume.

As for the text, it appears to be thorough and fairly well-written, so I would recommend this book for readers who are not interested in high quality underwater images.

Jack Jackson not only did a great job in this book describing the greatest dive sites of Malaysia, but he also clearly had a great time diving! I read his guide to ensure enjoying my dives, and I can highly recommend it any diver, of any level (Open water, advanced, or dive master).

Naturally the book is concentrated on the many great dives you could have in Malaysia (don't expect too much from Singapore, Malaysia has much nicer sites). Their are tips, descriptions of the area, species one might spot and ratings on the most famous dive sites of Malaysia. But there is also a quick reference on which hotels, PADI resorts, and general travel information (ie hospitals, decompression facilities, travel arrangements etc). I highly recomend this book to any diver planning a first trip to Malaysia!

What the book doesn't mention, is that Malaysia is also a shopping paradise for all those who want to buy diving equipment, prices are more than resonable and there are plenty of good brands, in the cities Penang and Kuala Lumpur

There aren't many books written about altitude diving. This book is a good reference source for understanding altitude diving.

Not a lot of books out there on diving at altitude, and this one is needed! Divers need to change their regimens for altitude diving and this book helps divers to do just that. For all divers who dive and train in mountainous and high plateau regions this book should be studied and understood. Changes must be accounted for in dive tables, weight, exertion, air consumption and more. I recommend this book for all divers who may encounter any of these situations at any time.