The Cayman Islands: Dive Guide [Paperback]

Stephen Frink (Author), William Harrigan (Author), Diving Science and Technology Corp. (Compiler)

Book Description

Series: Dive guides | Publication Date: November 19, 1999

This is a guide to the Cayman Islands for divers wanting to plan and book their itinerary in advance. It can also be used on site as a guide to the actual dives themselves, and includes detailed data on depths, sizes, currents and animal life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...the nearest thing to a dive you're likely to experience on dry land.... Like having a dive instructor at your elbow as you read.... -- Chicago Tribune, 3/12/2000

Product Details

• Paperback: 167 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press (November 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789206099
• ISBN-13: 978-0789206091
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Nature Travel > Adventure > Scuba

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cayman Dive Book, April 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cayman Islands: Dive Guide (Paperback)

This is the absolutely best Cayman Island Dive Guide I have read and seen. It gives great details all of the best dive sites to visit. Has excellent detail on where to exactly go, water depths, plant and aquatic life in certain areas... An absolute must for the Cayman diving enthusiast.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Marginally better than most other Guides in this series., April 5, 2009

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Cayman Islands: Dive Guide (Paperback)

Stephen Frink enjoys a high reputation as an underwater photographer and author. I have not previously heard of William Harrygan. I do feel their undoubted expertise would be better suited to another publisher because White Star have a habit of letting their authors down.

Unlike other Guides in this series, these authors have set out to describe the Cayman Islands in great detail. In addition, and most unusually, the text is quite readable. White Star publishing is based in Italy and, for whatever reason, books submitted in "English" are often translated into Italian before being translated back again. The results of this change and change again often make the text quite laughable. Not so in this case.

Altogether, we have a total of 36 sites from around Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Each site is well described and supported with above average photography. On those occasions where the pictures are not quite up to standard, I honestly believe these are printing faults and not down to the photographer. Nevertheless, they do exist.

Each dive site is afforded a two-page spread of artwork which exists to explain each dive site more clearly than any words. Quite frankly, the standard of such paintings in diving books has improved to almost photographic quality in recent years whereas the benchmark set by this company continues to decline to abysmal levels. One star lost here.

Right at the end of the book, the publishers have insisted on adding those obligatory 24 pages of regurgitated padding from other books in the same series. This is unapologetic page-filling repeated ad nauseum in the form of artist's impressions of fish and invertebrates that look as though they are drawn by a child. The detail is not always accurate, the list of fauna is never complete and one often sees the same picture used in different books to describes different fish! This is where the publishers get to sell those same pages of bumf over and over again. Nobody is seriously identifying fish from these pictures. Another star lost.

Altogether this book has the qualities for a 5 star publication were it not for two important factors - both of which relate to the artwork.

NM

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cayman Islands Dive guide., October 15, 2008

By 

S. Clarkson "Samstress46" (MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cayman Islands: Dive Guide (Paperback)

What a great book to read. Tells all the dive spots on Grand Cayman.
This is a must for divers to review prior to diving.