Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks [Paperback]

Henry Keatts (Author), Brian Skerry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 2002

This comprehensive guide is for both beginning and advanced divers. It tells how to find wrecks, details the equipment and techniques needed, explains safety concerns, and teaches how to recover artifacts and preserve them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Keatts and Skerry brilliantly cover the spectrum of wreck diving with fascinating data and background material. -- Clive Cussler, author

About the Author

Henry Keatts is a professor of biology and oceanography at Suffolk Community College on Long Island, New York. In addition to being widely published in his field, he is the author of New England's Legacy of Shipwrecks, Field Guide to Sunken U-Boats, and Guide to Shipwreck Diving: New York and New Jersey, and the co-author of the Dive Into History series (U-boats, warships and U.S. submarines). Keatts is a fellow of the Explorers Club, an associate member of the Boston Sea Rovers, and an honorary member of the Gillmen Club and the Adirondack Underwater Explorers. He is president of the American Society of Oceanographers. His photographs have been published in numerous books and magazine articles.

Brian Skerry is an assignment photographer for National Geographic Magazine specializing in elusive underwater subject matter. Working in diverse environments, including the open ocean, beneath ice, inside caves and in saturation, Brian has photographed a wide variety of subjects. One of his primary subjects has been shipwrecks having explored and photographed hundreds of wrecks, such as the Andrea Doria, USS Monitor, the pirate ship Whydah and the wrecks of the D-Day invasion off Normandy. His images have appeared in numerous magazines including People, Sports Illustrated, US News and World Report, Smithsonian, Esquire, Audubon, Outdoor Life, Wildlife Conservation, Yankee, Maxim, and Men's Journal. He lives in Massachusetts.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Aqua Quest Publications (July 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881652300
• ISBN-13: 978-1881652304
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,122,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Confusing and disappointing., February 7, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks (Paperback)

My very first reaction on receiving this book was one of considerable disappointment. According to the brief biographies on the back cover, the two co-authors were set to compliment each other in providing an excellent product with Keatts being the oceanographic and historic expert and Skerry the National Geographic standard photographer. In addition, I personally regard books produced by Aqua Press as being amongst the world's best on the subject of scuba diving. Unfortunately, on this occasion, all three have fallen a long way short of the mark.

None of the photographs within the book are in colour, few are sharp. Furthermore, the reproduction of those pictures is of an inferior quality. The type set is large and the paper quality also poor. These are the standards of scuba diving books from over 40 years ago and are no longer acceptable. Not a very good start and anyone browsing this book in a bookstore is unlikely to purchase.

Had this book been about a specific collection of wrecks in a certain area or about artefacts taken from wrecks, I might have understood the purpose of the product. Instead, the book seeks to teach the reader about Wreck Diving and I took delivery in the expectation of learning something about that subject. I may have been an active wreck diver for well over 30 years, but all experience is relative and I am always willing to learn from others. In many instances throughout this work, the co-authors are reliant on poorly reproduced photographs to convey a message. If I were to summarise that message in one word it would have to be "obscure!"

Quite frankly, these authors have both the experience and the abilities to provide a much better product and I suggest they go back to the drawing board and start again.

NM

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Good, November 28, 2006

By 

B. Chapin "MidAtlanticNewbie" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks (Paperback)

When I first leafed through this book, I mistakenly thought that it would be a dry read. I was wrong. This book provides a wealth of information: particularly on finding and identifying wrecks. It gave great insight into where to find information about wrecks; right down to the places and addresses where maritime archives are stored and how to perform research. Informative descriptions of equipment give the reader a good foothold of knowledge to start planning dives & searches.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in wreck diving, especially if you've dreamed of finding that virgin wreck site but didn't know where to start or what resources are available.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book...However..., March 27, 2001

By 

Kyle Lerfald "mainsail67" (St. Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks (Paperback)

This is a well written overview of techniques and information on wreck diving:that being said, it will never replace a decently taught course from an organization such as NAUI, PADI, SSI, or BSAC. By all means, buy this book! It's a teriffic addition to any diver's library. It does *not* take the place of a wreck diver's certification course.