Customer Reviews

Down Time: Great Writers on Diving

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my new favorite book of the past five years. The stories are varied, interesting, and real! It will put your mind in an underwater state. Often times, I imagined myself diving along side each storyteller. A must read for all divers.

I remember the first time I dove. I came home and tried to tell all my friends and co-workers how great it was. The problem was that I couldn't explain it... No one got it. When I read Down Time I knew that I had finally found someone or something that could illustrate the joys and highs of diving to anyone, divers and non-divers alike. There is something for everyone in here. Shark encounters, cave diving, scary stories, funny stories and delightful poems are just a sample of what lay in store for the readers of Down Time.

I loved this book. Diverse writing styles, coupled with humor and drama make this book addictive. I thought Dave Barry's story was a crack up! Buy two because it's the kind of book you loan out to share the joy and never get back! If you like diving and diving tales, this is the book you've been waiting for.

Anyone who's been diving knows the frustration of trying to share the experience with non-diving frineds. Here, at last, is a collection of short pieces, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, that solves that problem.

I started this book with a bit of concern that it might not actually be that interesting...how wrong could I be! The Kittrell's manage to captivate at ever page turned and inspire both non-divers, new divers and veteran divers alike. The range of authors and time range is massive, vivid images are formed in your mind on actually being there. A must to read and has certainly earned a proud place in my library of books...

Stephan Whelan [Editor], Deeper Blue The Online Magazine for Scuba Divers

This book is an anthology of great writing about the experience of scuba diving. It includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry from some really fine authors writing about things they obviously care deeply about. The selections were carefully chosen and artfully arranged. The writers include some obvious choices, like Peter Benchley of "Jaws" fame, but they also include some less-obvious choices, like the humorist Dave Barry. All in all, it is a great book for anyone who loves to dive -- or thinks they might love it.

Because I've never dived, Down Time had work to do to win me over fast. Co-editor Ed Kittrell's introduction did. As absorbing as the pieces within, it invites us all to dive -- inward to ourselves, as well as reefward toward the teeming show below.

The ensuing prose and poetry delivers on his promise. While variously tense, funny and reflective, its sum message hints that submersion itself -- in water, in thought, in work or play -- has always been our paradoxical ticket to higher awareness. Ultimately, Down Time's muted world screams the very mystery of breath -- above or below sea level.

This anthology is a nourishing addition to the shelf of any lover of fine writing. Dive in and soar!

As a a proto-diver (certifying next month), I am hungry for any literature on Scuba. The stories here helped quench my thrist. I especially was moved by the shorter non-fiction stories in the book. A large range of stories insures you will find something you will like (as well as a couple you might not enjoy). I recommend you pick it up if your profile matches mine.

For the cerebral diver, this book makes it possible to re-live your best moments under water and hang on in the real world until your next dive trip. The articles selected provide both a glimpse into the history and amazing development of the dive industry and also the associated beauty of diving that we all experience. This anthology is creatively crafted and a joy to read.

With "Downtime", the Kittrells have selected well-known and obscure works by a wide range of good writers. For a non-diver, like myself, the selections evoked some feeling for what it must be like out there in the deep. For divers, the selections must bring back great memories. This is a wonderful book!