Scuba Diving Books

This book is ok. The drawings showing the signs seem fairly complicated, there's a lot of extra detail that doesn't pertain to the sign and just distracts from it.
I wish there was a better universal underwater sign language book available for avid divers. All the books I've investigated seem to come up short in one way or another.

For those in the SCUBA industry, this is a good book to have in the library for reference. It's always good to know something about people you might meet. You might even learn something new about a person you already know. There are some errors in the BIOs however.

Whoever thought of the "for Dummies" concept ought to get an extra-special award. Sure, there are some who won't touch one of those books with their trademark yellow and black covers just because of the "for Dummies" designation, but they are wrong. The "for Dummies" books are anything but. I mean, they have "Calculus for Dummies"! And quite a few of the "for Dummies" books are on my bookshelf, though I do not necessarily consider myself one.

What you do get in every "for Dummies" book is a no-nonsense, friendly and sort of jovial piece of reading material that treats you like a friend. They all follow a formula, of course, but it is a good one as long as the somewhat silly graphics (paragraphs are usually marked as "dive talking," "save diving," "tip," "technical stuff," and so on; it gets old quickly) and the occasional rather forced attempts at being simple and friendly without talking down to the reader doesn't turn you off. If you can see beyond that, "Scuba Diving & Snorkling for Dummies" is a very useful introduction to diving that covers everything.

Make no mistake, this book is serious. Everything you need to know is there. But instead of presenting it in a lecturing tone or making things look as complicated as possible (all too many authors like to do that in an effort of coming across as true experts), this book tries to explain everything in simple, everyday language. And succeeds admirably.

It starts with an introduction to all diving equipment and how to use it. Then explains what you need and what to look out for. It then explains dive training and all the basics and more advanced matters it covers. It then goes into setting up your gear for real world diving, how to enter the water, navigate, and dive. Physics and physiology are explained, as well as all the potential problems and illnesses that can happen. All of the world's oceans are described, as well as waves, currents and general water behavior. The book also goes into what to find and expect underwater (and that includes a nicely done 14-page color photo section), how to behave, and what can be dangerous. It explains how to find trips, how to travel, and the different kinds of dives, as well as the major locations and what they offer and require. The book closes with recommendations and pages of links and resources.

As many "for Dummies" books, this one includes a CD. In this case one that contains the PADI "open water diving" lectures, but not all of them. You do get a taste of what it's like, but for now an incomplete one, and one that dates back to 1999 (the latest version of the PADI Open Water course includes a DVD with much more video). In my case, that only fueled my resolve to get the real thing!

If you're okay with the special "for Dummies" formula, this book discusses everything you need to know about diving. I do wish, though, that they'd update the book with a new CD. Even dummies like current stuff.

I'm not quite sure why this book got such terrible reviews...okay, so it's not extremely detailed, but what did you expect? It's for beginners, not advanced divers. I just got it as a refresher, plus it has some good information on dive sites. I recommend!

I found this book to be totally useless. I just tells you how to go to a dive shop and get certified. There is almost no useful instruction in the whole book. Just go get certified and you can skip the book. I expected info on using the dive tables or other specific info, however, I found it completely lacking anything you don't get in a basic open water class. I guess if you want to be told the kind of things you will learn in a dive class go ahead. This book does not compare with the other books in the "Dummies" Series. Don't waste your money.

This book is a very poor textbook probably because it was not even written by an Instructor. They should have at least chosen an author who was certified as an Instructor. The information given is bare minimum and does not cover all topics you really need to know. There are much better entry level books available here.

I found this book to be totally useless. I just tells you how to go to a dive shop and get certified. There is almost no useful instruction in the whole book. Just go get certified and you can skip the book. I expected info on using the dive tables or other specific info, however, I found it completely lacking anything you don't get in a basic open water class. I guess if you want to be told the kind of things you will learn in a dive class go ahead. This book does not compare with the other books in the "Dummies" Series. Don't waste your money.

The CD is woefully short on content. I figure that if you were to print it out on paper, it might add up to no more than 25 or so pages. There's very little the CD actually says outside of what you could learn if you were able to chat with a technical diver for 10 minutes. I went through the CD in all of 20 minutes, and started scrounging around if there were any sections I missed. There were none.

I can't help but shake the notion that the CD was just slapped together with no real fore-thought. There are a lot of nice photographs, but even then the captions are rarely informative. Don't expect a National Geographic, where it can be enough to just view the photos and read their captions.

The interface is visually engaging, but otherwise, the CD seems a bit empty to me. There are no in-depth discussions on the equipment used, and what makes them different from recreational type equipment, neither are there discussions on the special techniques or considerations for the type of diving involved.

Neither are there enough anecdotal information about actual technical dives done. There are no real stories, which would have made the disc completely worth it.

Perhaps the title is all too apt. It's what I would expect of the introduction chapter to a book about technical diving. I can imagine that a non-diver, or a diver who's really new into diving might find it very worthwhile.

Sadly, I find it not worth the value. More can be learned by simply surfing the 'Net for maybe an hour or so. Or better still get a real book on the topic.

If you're interested at getting into this type of diving, and expecting a searchable reference to serve as a means to jumpstart your knowledge base, this CD isn't it.

My two cents: skip this CD, and move on to something better.

Dive safe and often!

taj d.

divemaster

as a new cave diver i was delighted to find a CD ROM on technical diving. this was a nice exploration of the many facets of technical diving. well written and well produced, this CD is worth the time and the money. for what it's worth, as a fairly new "technical" diver, i have been overwhelmed by the political nature of the sport...and i was suprised by the negative reviews posted for such a great product. you be the judge

I'm waiting for the other's CD's about diving. This one is just great, it was that I was loking for.

Having met nearly all of the people involved in making this CD, I must say that it is extremely disappointing--they have more interesting stories posted for free on the net.

Most of what is contained in this CD can be found in greater detail in product manuals--in other words, stale. Furthermore, there is information I would classify as misleading and even dangerous in some cases. This CD is an impressive example of how to use Shockwave Macromedia, but lacking in substance

The products recently available from gue.com, such as "Getting Clear on the Basics: The Fundamentals of Technical Diving" actually cost less and are far more appropriate for those looking into technical diving.

This author clearly has a limited view of technical diving techniques and safety. It's difficult to get much at all from this extremely short 'book', but what material is there is lacking discussion of any accepted modern techniques employed by the technical diver. Those active in the sport have learned to 'do it right' and opt to stay away from most of what is presented by this author.

I felt a lot of this book was a waste of my time. I skipped over a lot because it doesn't really apply any more. I bought it through a dive shop for an equipment specialist course sight unseen, without knowing the title. I thought it was a PADI manual and paid 21.99 for it. They mailed it to me, and when I looked it up on Amazon I found copies for a penny! Almost cried! Wouldn't be so bad if it were a fresh, current manual. I kept waiting for Lloyd Bridges to pop up. I did learn a couple of things I had never been told during my training.

I found this book written by Michael Farley to be quite thourogh in it's approach to looking after your scuba gear. In the most part it is very comprehensive although common sense is a big issue in the majority. I did find it lacked very slightly in the repairs area. However if this is a book for a reletively new diver, then I would highly reccomend it. It is always a good idea to not get into any bad habbits as far as gear maintainence go's, once you have it is very hard to get out of them!

When you bought your equipment at the dive shop, did you ask the sales clerk how to take care of it? Well, unless you completely forgot the answer, this book adds nothing new. Same old, same old, common sense gear care, things like rinse it off after a salt water soak, don't leave rubber in the sunlight. If you were expecting any really interesting information, like the gauges needed to properly set the breathing pressure on a regulator, forget it, all you get is the tired old "better left to factory trained representatives" rhetoric. This guy assumes that the average diver has never seen a screwdriver or wrench in their life and cannot possibly adjust or repair anything more challenging than a flashlight. Unless you have two left thumbs and zero mechanical aptitude, you don't need this book.

In recent weeks I have become most concerned about 2 books by Capt. Dan Berg because the content simply does not match their titles.

I have been an active diver for well over 30 years and am regarded as something of a shipwreck authority within the UK. In short, I study and then write about shipwrecks for a living. I do not, however, claim to know anything about any shipwreck - anywhere in the world, which I have not studied in great detail. Sadly, the modern shipwreck diver is being openly ripped off by so-called authors who get into print without checking every single fact before so doing.

The work of this author is full of factual, grammatical and other errors. Even the names given to several species of fish are simply wrong.

Any person purchasing a book with the title; "Tropical Shipwrecks: A Vacationing Diver's Guide to the Bahamas and Caribbean," would expect to learn far more than is provided by this so-called author. Truth is, he appears to have rushed into print with a little information picked up from somebody who heard it from someone else who got the whole story from yet another person.

Instead of using this product as an opportunity to "teach" the vulnerable diver (i.e. the diver who is hungry for information) something about the subject, Mr Berg has revealed his complete lack of knowledge by simply repeating false details which may have been published elsewhere. I would suggest Mr Berg's time would have been better spent in learning something about the basic fundamentals of shipwreck research.

NM

This book had some nice photos and did include a bit of information on the wrecks and dive sites, but is definitely not a book for a serious wreck diver. For example, no information is given on the locations of the wrecks so anyone interested in seeing the wrecks is forced to find a local dive operation. Since most local dive trips cater to casual, recreational divers who normally follow the recommendations of the operator and have little input on the destination anyway one wonders about the usefulness or potential audience for this book.

I have read almost all of the Bergs books and those penned by Daniel Berg solo. The Bergs are well known wreck divers. The book has many really exellent photos and hits most of the highlights of Island wreck diving. It is broken down by Islands and gives a little blurb about history and conditions for each wreck. What the book lacks are, the exact locations of the wrecks and the accessability, e.g. shore dive, dive charter, 1 hr. trip or 2 hr. trip? A good photo book to get psyched up for your vacation.

As the editor of a new, fully revised edition of this title that is currently in process, I would like to say that New Holland Publishers have been made fully aware of the errors contained in this book, and apologise sincerely to readers of the exisiting edition. The revised edition has been worked on throughly by Jack Jackson, the renowned author of numerous other diving books that have received 5-star reviews by Amazon readers, and shall be available in bookshops at the end of the year.

I would also like to thank Ned Myddleton for his specific comments, and would like to assure him that these had been picked up on and that they have been corrected. However, if Ned would like to send any further corrections to myself (kate@nhpub.co.uk) then please do so over the next two weeks (until May 1).

Kate Michell (Senior Editor, New Holland Publishers)

If I was judging this book purely on the underwater photographs, I would have no hesitation in awarding a 5 Star rating. Without that standard of photography, the book would have received nothing at all.

I ordered this book because I needed to know more about certain areas of the Egyptian Red Sea I was due to visit. Since then, I have conducted professional assignments to three different regions and each time I found the book to be of limited value. This is purely a reference book and, with 52 pages devoted to the principle sites of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Eritrea combined and a full 64 pages devoted to Egypt, I began to wonder about how much original information I would find in this book... The answer was "Not a lot."

The layout is generally very good but, for those photographs that are captioned, descriptions such as "A wave breaking on a healthy reef of stony corals" (stony corals. What are they?) or "Divers exploring the wreck of a cruising yacht in the Deep South" (a yacht, incidentally, that is not mentioned anywhere else in the entire book.), left me somewhat bemused.

The book is packed with the sort of information one needs to know. Unfortunately, I soon found myself mistrusting almost everything written. All writers and publishers have a duty of care towards the reader and it is vitally important that the "general information" on such topics as Culture, Religion, Climate, Visas etc are correct. It is also important that the Diving information is accurate and well-researched. Because this latter element of the book (and after all, it is a "Diving Guide.") is lacking in so many areas, it brings into question the accuracy of all the information given.

Take for example the Sudanese shipwreck described as the "Labanzo." For the record the correct name is "Levanzo" - a vessel built in 1901 and lost in 1940. The book also contains that perennial favourite the "Sarah H" in Egypt. When this shipwreck was first discovered her true identity was unknown and the finders promptly named her after their own diving guide Sarah Hillel. The ship's real name is, of course, the "Kingston" - something that has been known to Divers with a knowledge of the area for something like 10 years before this book was published...

On the "Up" side, I did find the vast majority of the underwater images to be quite outstanding - almost all of which are by Alex Misiewicz - whose work I have long admired. Sadly, many of the surface shots appear to be very old and out-of date and the only photograph attributed to the author is one of a camel...

This book has the potential to be an excellent guide but somebody needs to go back to the proof reading stage, remove the glaring errors, double check all the facts and update the surface photography before we can put our faith into this product. As I said "Very Disappointing."

NM

It is a fact that far too many books about shipwrecks which are aimed directly at the Scuba Diving market are poorly researched. In addition, many writers of such books are only too willing to accept previously published information without checking whether or not the original source was accurate. Unfortunately, this book is no different.

The book contains questionable historic data and some of the photographs are actually blurred. Furthermore, according to the publisher's note on Photo Credits, it is claimed that "all unattributed photographs are by the author - Martha Watkins Gilkes." Two of these include the burning cruise liner Bianca C - a photograph taken in 1961, and a photograph of the Antilles a few years after she was wrecked in 1971. I don't think so!

In order to make this book useful to any scuba diver, somebody would have to check and double-check all the information contained within it's pages and then publish a list of what is factually correct and what is not.

This should have been a four-star product but, because the reader will not know which information may be trusted and which may not, it loses another 2 stars.

NM

Disapointing, it is not about the Carribbean only about the some of the islands especialy the English speaking islands.
The spanish, french and dutch speaking islands are not in it.

There are a number of books currently available claiming to show the "top" or "best" dive sites of the world and one gets the impression that this publisher has thrown together whatever was available from the 6 contributors in order to add something on a similar theme. Sadly, if this is the best they can deliver with such an all-encompassing title, they simply should not have bothered.

Of course, any personal selection claiming "the best of" will always be subjective. My list will be different from yours and neither of us is either right or wrong - it is simply a matter of personal choice coupled with our personal diving experiences. That said, the title of this book really is making a very big claim and not for the first time with this particular parent publisher, the content of the book fails to live up to the promise of that title.

The Best Dive Sites of the World is a hard-back coffee table book slightly larger than the well-established format we expect to see from this publisher. 50 dive-sites have been chosen from the Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Each section commences with an introduction and each specific dive site with an artistic impression of the entire site followed by a written description supported by page after page of excellent photography. Sadly, however, the overall standard of artwork has seriously declined since they were first seen and some images look as though they might have been drawn by schoolchildren.

Otherwise, there is no doubt that this is a very beautiful book containing some really stunning photography. When it comes to the "Best" Dive Sites of the World, however, this is not a book to make you reach for the telephone and call your travel operator - because they are simply not here.

The book commences with a General Introduction which likens the earth to a tennis ball filled with water - with the ball being the land and the water being the sea. Yes, I know, I am also still trying to work that one out. This is then followed by page after page of close ups and wide-angle shots of reefs, many different species of fish, plenty of Soft Corals, Gorgonians - and yet more Soft Corals and yet more Gorgonians - and then there are even more Soft Corals and... You get the idea.

I would have thought that at least one shipwreck - even if it had to be the Thistlegorm, would have been included in any divers selection of best dive sites - but not in this book. Not one. Furthermore, not only are some of the world's outstanding reefs missing from this book, countries such as Fiji and Hawaii are excluded altogether and Malta does not even appear on their own map of the Mediterranean.

In conclusion, therefore, a change of title is much needed - something like "Good Dive Sites for Gorgonians and Soft Corals" or even "Good Sites for Colour Photography (Underwater - Still Life)" would have scored better for being an honest title. What I cannot accept is the inference that for any dive site - anywhere in the world, to qualify as one of the "Best," that site must have an abundance of Gorgonians and Corals - especially colourful Soft Corals, which is clearly the criteria for this book. Readers can only study so many photographs with a very similar theme before boredom sets in.

Two stars retained for the photography and overall presentation of the product, 3 stars lost for artwork, repetition and misleading title.

NM

I had high hopes for this book but it's extremely limited in scope and way overpriced.

This book is isn't really anything more than a pamphlet of information that is readily available off the internet. More importantly it's way overpriced for what you do get, had this been $20 rather than $50 plus shipping, it would be acceptable.

My wife, a non-diver, starting looking at book and noticed numerous layout errors which I wouldn't expect in a $50 book.

Save you money and purchase Mastering Rebreathers, it's a much more in-depth text on the subject.