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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An adventure in Cuba, November 25, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Deep Cuba: The Inside Story of an American Oceanographic Expedition (Hardcover)
Bill Belleville, author of "River of Lakes: A Journey on the St. Johns River," again takes us down to the water to quench our thirst for adventure. In "Deep Cuba," we set sail with him aboard an expedition vessel for a journey that plies the waters of both politics and discovery. Through his poetic telling, the island's previously unexplored waters come to life, populated by everything from mysterious bioluminescent creatures and toothy sharks to the simple souls whose livelihoods come with the tides. We meet a variety of Cubans, among them a harbor master who boards the ship and skillfully guides it to port, two scientists who join the expedition in a rare show of cooperation between Cuba and the U.S., and a group of boys who frolic among the watery mangroves of a distant island during a break from their studies of becoming boat captains. And late in the book, there is Castro himself, who boards the ship with his inquisitive intellect. We witness, too, the dynamics of an expedition driven by filmmaking -- in this case, a documentary for the Discovery Channel, which funded the voyage. Belleville lets his keen observations of the personalities of the expedition ebb and flow through the narrative, and it soon becomes apparent that relations between the filmmakers and scientists are at times as chilly as those between the U.S. and Cuba. We learn first-hand how science can take a back seat to the wants of filmmakers, even on such a rare expedition as this. Throughout the book, there is much high adventure. Belleville descends 2,000 feet under the surface in a mini-sub, and he dives reefs and plunging ledges that teem with fish. In one harrowing chapter, he even loses his way during a night dive in open water. The book is a page-turner, to be sure. But along the way there is much to be learned as Belleville weaves scientific findings and cultural observations seamlessly into the telling. At the very least, this scientific expedition has found a happy marriage in word, if not on film.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unspoiled Cuba, October 30, 2002
This review is from: Deep Cuba: The Inside Story of an American Oceanographic Expedition (Hardcover)
Bill Belleville, environmental journalist, diver and storyteller pulls us out of our easy chairs and transports us to the forbidden waters of Cuba on board the marine discovery ship Seward Johnson. Leading American marine biologists were invited by The Discovery Channel to accompany their documentary film-makers for a rare look at the undisturbed bio-diversity of the Cuban coast and adjoining waters. Belleville, who had participated in a similar voyage to the Galapagos was invited along to transmit the adventure to The Discovery Channel's web site. Tension between the scientists and film-makers was pervasive throughout the month-long voyage. Good film-making (i.e. sunken treasure and toothy barracudas)and good scientific study (i.e. the discovery of new life forms)are not necessarily consistent. Competition for use of the deep-diving minisub, Johnson Sea-Link was intense. Sadly, more often than not the film-makers favored by The Discovery Channel won out over the scientists. Belleville rides the sub twice, and takes us along in that chilly, cramped, dangerous machine into the mezmerizing depths of tropical reefs and underwater mountain ranges. We also visit the benighted island, the haunts of Hemingway and San Juan Hill. We steam past the Bay of Pigs. We meet the people: the woman who escapes poverty by offering herself to the visitors; the proud fishermen whose love of Cuba is palpable; and El Jefe, himself who boards the boat and shares his profound knowledge of his beloved Cuba with the scientists. A good tale--well written.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fidel and the diving bell., January 8, 2003
This review is from: Deep Cuba: The Inside Story of an American Oceanographic Expedition (Hardcover)
Bill Belleville's Deep Cuba book is part Cousteau adventure tale, part natural history, part cultural history, with a smattering of Hollywood documentary drama. It is enjoyable and engrossing to read- a must for those interested in protecting our fragile environments. Belleville's sensitivities and attention to detail give us greater understanding of the pristine waters and lands of Cuba, a place that seems so far away, yet is in reality right next door. Like many readers, I have grown up during a time when Cuba has been "off-limits." Ironically, this embargo has in many ways protected the environment by keeping masses of American tourists away. How lucky we are to be able to visit this magical place through Belleville's enlightening account.
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