Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving [Paperback]

Jarrod Jablonski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2001

The Fundamentals of Better Diving was written for anyone who wants to get the most out of their diving. From augmenting dive safety to increasing the enjoyment of your family's Caribbean diving trip or planning deep cave exploration, DIR diving is the new foundation for all diving practices. This book outlines not only the essential skills and techniques constituting sound diving practice but also the central elements of a holistic approach to diving.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Global Underwater Explorers ; (September 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971326703
• ISBN-13: 978-0971326705
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,483,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pedantic & Preachy, but a Must Read, June 18, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving (Paperback)

If you are interetd in DIR diving this is the bible. There's quite a bit of useful information in the book. There are good descriptions of many important DIR topics and in many instances there's also a well thought out justification for why something is prescribed the way it is. I learned a lot from reading this book in spite of having done much prior research using the newsgroups and the web. It's easier to understand some of the reasoning behind DIR when you get a comprehensive argument for the overall concept as opposed the fractured discussions you find at other sources. It's much easier to understand the DIR viewpoint, evaluate it, and decide for yourself whether it's appropriate after reading this book.

The downside - The writing is fair. It's over the top when preaching the one true path of DIR. I just don't understand how someone who invents (or at least formalizes) a brand new way of diving believes that the current creation is the ultimate philosophy of diving and can never be eclipsed. You just improved it for the better and now no one else can ever? Well OK. But me - I'll keep looking for better, safer and more fun ways to dive.

One last point. Take the Halcyon equipment plugs with a grain of salt. It is great equipment, but the author is also the CEO of Halcyon and has a vested interest.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pedantic & Preachy, but a Must Read, June 18, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving (Paperback)

If you are interetd in DIR diving this is the bible. There's quite a bit of useful information in the book. There are good descriptions of many important DIR topics and in many instances there's also a well thought out justification for why something is prescribed the way it is. I learned a lot from reading this book in spite of having done much prior research using the newsgroups and the web. It's easier to understand some of the reasoning behind DIR when you get a comprehensive argument for the overall concept as opposed the fractured discussions you find at other sources. It's much easier to understand the DIR viewpoint, evaluate it, and decide for yourself whether it's appropriate after reading this book.

The downside - The writing is fair. It's over the top when preaching the one true path of DIR. I just don't understand how someone who invents (or at least formalizes) a brand new way of diving believes that the current creation is the ultimate philosophy of diving and can never be eclipsed. You just improved it for the better and now no one else can ever? Well OK. But me - I'll keep looking for better, safer and more fun ways to dive.

One last point. Take the Halcyon equipment plugs with a grain of salt. It is great equipment, but the author is also the CEO of Halcyon and has a vested interest.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful intro/explanation for DIR concepts, August 11, 2009

By 

BVI Diver "BVI Diver" (British Virgin Islands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doing it Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving (Paperback)

This book is written as an introductory text to the concept of "DIR diving". DIR is an all-encompassing, holistic approach to diving, and is somewhat controversial within the diving community. Although the book says it is written for all-comers (including non-divers considering learning to dive) in reality it is pitched at experienced scuba divers curious about DIR methodology.

The book is reasonably well written, and argues the case for the DIR approach to technique, fitness, and equipment configurations. All of the core elements of DIR are summarised, and rationalised. The book keeps a good pace - sufficient detail without going too slowly.

However, the book is also slightly schizophrenic. Within the same paragraph it says that DIR is "all-or-nothing" and adopting parts piecemeal can be dangerous, but then goes on to say that any diving system can be improved by incorporating elements of DIR. How much you enjoy the book will probably depend upon the extent to which you embrace the concept. This reviewer certainly finds elements of DIR diving (like the requirement to use helium mixes on all dives below 100 feet) too extreme to be considered useful to the mainstream of the sport, although perhaps the most controversial aspect ("ratio decompression") is not covered.

The book also gets preachy, suggesting non-DIR approaches to diving (despite making up the vast majority of the sport) are dangerous and should be avoided. Wading through the more self-satisfied and elitist paragraphs can be an irritant. For a recreational activity, the book has an almost military emphasis repeatedly emphasising "teams" and "missions", and the requirement that all members of the "team" use identical equipment. The author repeatedly plugging Halcyon equipment (he is CEO of the company) also gets a bit wearing.

Overall, a good read for the experienced diver looking to either pick up tips or get an overview of what DIR is all about. It would be particularly useful for divers considering getting into "technical" diving. Newer divers will just be bewildered. Existing DIR acloytes will probably find little new that isn't covered in more detail in their manuals.