Diver Books

At DIVER Magazine, we love books!  So much, in fact, that our editors fight over who gets to do the next review!  Some of our favourites are below.  If you are looking to pick up a copy for yourself or your favourite dive buddy, you can find many of these titles on DIVER's Books & Back Issues page.

2008 Diving Almanac & Yearbook

I recall when DIVER contributor Jeffrey Gallant confided in me that he was working on a book about which he could not reveal anything at the time except to say that upon publication, it would be unique in the diving world. That was in early 2006 and the volume he produced was the Diving Almanac & Yearbook, launched last fall at the Orlando, Florida, DEMA show. Now, a year later, the 2008 DAY, in acronym-ese, is off the press and it's fatter, filled with more facts, figures and fascinating stuff about our underwater world and is truly earning a place for itself on the shelf as an indispensable reference.

Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest

Reference Book. There are no other words in the English language which convey a clearer image of a dull read, other than perhaps encyclopedia. This latest book from Andy Lamb and Bernard Hanby is a refreshing contradiction.

Since I joined this magazine, we seem to have given a lot of ink over to sharks. This has been (editorial calendar notwithstanding) a relatively spontaneous thing, but it has not gone unnoticed by the editorial staff here - or at least not by me. Inasmuch as I do have some influence on what goes into these pages, I made a mental note to “tone down the shark stuff” where possible, so it was with some hesitation that I picked up the Princeton Field Guides’ publication Sharks of the World when it landed on my desk for review.

The Moon Pool

The question is: why are we reviewing a piece of obvious pulp fiction in DIVER Magazine? And the answer is that this particular piece of trash is actually a pretty good read. Book reviews of this type often start out with some version of “It’s a crackin’ good yarn” – from the same cliché pool as, “It was a dark and stormy night…” This review of Max McCoy’s techno-suspense thriller ‘The Moon Pool’ is no exception, except that it would be more accurate to say that “It’s a crackin’ weird yarn”.

America's Underwater Treasures

So there I was, sitting in the Observation Lounge (the forward watering hole on the vessel 7 Seas Mariner), listening to Hal Fraser’s impeccable piano handling as he played and softly sang the old Aaron Neville hit ‘Louisiana’. We were en-route from Singapore to Bali, lunch was over, and I’d told Jean-Michel I’d meet him in the lounge. The weather was perfect and it was good to be alive and in possession of at least enough residual health to thoroughly enjoy myself. I was thinking about the next day’s diving in Bali: we’d been told it was an unusual dive and I was looking forward to it. My thoughts were interrupted by a heavy flumph! as Jean-Michel  dropped a thick printing proof on the round table in front of me. I picked it up and thumb-fanned through it, noting it was single-spaced, well-laid out, copied one side per page, and full of pictures. Well. Actually, that’s an understatement: it was not just “full of pictures” – it was chock-a-block full of terrific pictures! I glanced back at the title, ‘Americas Underwater Treasures’ and looked back up at Jean-Michel. “So, this is the Marine Sanctuary thing . . . finally?” He nodded, “Yes, it’s finally finished and even though I know that you are the senior editor of a delightful magazine, I hasten to assure you that it is fully and satisfactorily edited!” I grinned. “But,” he added, “I would like you to have a read of this final draft and give me your impressions.”

Dangerous Depths

Kathy Brandt’s latest diving detective adventure, Dangerous Depths, is a fast paced thriller that’s well written, exciting, and, best of all, involves a whole bunch of diving. The story explodes onto the opening page (quite literally) and by the end of the first chapter, Brandt’s heroine is breathless and the reader is hooked.

 

Looking for a good read?