Customer Reviews

Coral Sea Reef Guide

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I was searching for a book to help identify all the non fish creatures we took photos of on our dive trip to the Coral Sea. This book has all of it including the fishes and includes the common names as well as the latin names. Another book I looked at had only the latin names. Great Reference book.

Many Americans could not find the Coral Sea on a map, even many who scuba dive. If you asked them instead to find the Great Barrier Reef many more divers would be successful and most would say they wanted to dive there. But the Great Barrier Reef is just the western edge of this marvelous chunk of ocean and possibly not the best dive destination in the area albeit the easiest. Open the cover of this fabulous book and you will immediately see what I mean. From New Caledonia in the south, to the Solomon Islands in the east, to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the north, this place is one great dive destination, and more Americans should go exploring there.

But the man who really explored it first with a scuba tank on his back, especially around New Guinea is Bob Halstead , the author of this book and diving legend. Bob was the first full time dive operator in PNG and he has reconnoitered the region systematically and thoroughly. I discovered this book when he pulled it from the shelf in the lounge of the FeBrina, the dive boat on which we were touring the waters north of New Britain out of Walindi bay. Bob was helping me figure out what species we had just seen on our last dive. And that is just what this book is for. It is a catalog of critters, from sharks to shrimps, from anemones to angelfish, from corals to crocodiles grouped together in their scientific families. Each critter has a concise little biography detailing habitat, distribution, reproductive traits and unusual features and each has a truly spectacular photograph, most taken by the author. The photos are close-ups in vivid color with sufficient detail to easily identify the species if you see it underwater. The fishy bios are introduced with the common name, the species name is under the picture for those who like to follow up discovery with more scientific understanding.

Anyone going to this region to dive who cares about seeing more than just sharks and turtles needs to buy this book before they go. Doing so will allow you to determine ahead of time particular species you would like to hunt for and habitats you would like to find. This book will allow you to understand not just experience this rich, wonderful and underappreciated diving destination. And maybe if you are really lucky you will get to dive with Bob Halstead.