Customer Reviews

Beating the Bends

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every diver owes it to himself to understand the problem of decompression sickness. Brylske has done a masterful job of dissecting this complex topic and presents the issues in an easily understood and practical format. I've read this book twice, and will probably read it several more times.

If you take this book as its author states its intent: for the lay diver to get a basic understanding of the physiology of humans diving - you'll be very happy.

Its certainly not a place to end your study, but it is a fantastic start.

This the best book I have ever read on decompresion sickness and its prevention. It is a must read. I am thinking about requiring it of all my students.

This book goes into much greater detail about decompression sickness (aka "the bends") than you normally find in diving books that cover many topics. The more you read this book, the more you appreciate how little is really known about what causes DCS.

As important as the author's diving credentials are (and they appear to be impressive), more important is the fact that the author is a professional writer. The book is enjoyable to read and goes quickly.

The only reason I give this 4 stars instead of 5 is the date of the book. Although Amazon indicates the book has a 1999 publication date, the copyright notice and the author's preface are dated 1995. This means that 11 years have passed since the book was first published (as of 2006), and there have been advances in the learning about decompression sickness since then that of course can not be covered. For example, recently the prohibition on diving reverse profiles has been modified a bit, and the most current recommendation for maximum ascent rate is slower than the maximum set forth in the book (though the author does state that slower is better).

Notwithstanding these minor deficiencies, the book is still a valuable resource for understanding decompression sickness. The few advances from the 1995 state of the art can be gathered from a careful online search. The knowledge gained from this book will encourage the careful diver to make better use of dive tables or computer and hopefully beat the bends.