Customer Reviews

Fireside Diver

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

 

 

A collection of true, short stories related to the world of scuba diving from the best of the best. The stories told here make divers want to put on their gear and go diving. The same stories inspire non-divers to learn the sport. An easy read, this is a good companion book to take along on the subway or plane when reading time is limited, or as the title suggests, to curl up with in front of a fire on dreary winter's night.

As the editor of DivesafeandOften.com, I see many scuba related books come across my desk; however, this is one of the more outstanding. It is not an instructional book but rather a look at the magical underwater world and the creatures who dwell therein which are accessible only to scuba divers.

A lot of the stories in this book are written by photographers...and a lot of the sories would start as ..'when I was on a shoot for 'Deep Under'magazine I saw ...' They might be good photgraphers - which by the way is hard to judge as all pictures in this book are bad and small black and white pix - but the writing is definitely sub-standard. Also, I get very suspicious when the editor includes stories of her own,and, adding insult to injury, one that isn't about diving at all! i gave it one star because there are two ot three pieces wich were very interesting : the story, written by a navy officer - about a deepdive rescue operation in 1939. A definite no-buy.

The stories in this book are not just amazing, but are interesting and funny. As a dive instructor, I have used some of the stories as tools in my rescue and divemaster classes. I would love to have a dive experience that would measure up to these experiences of the writers and their families.

If you enjoy scuba diving and the excitement, pleasure and special moments connected with the sport then this is a must read. Many of the true greats of diving share some of their best moments and experiances. The kind of book that you can pick up, read a story or two and be proud that you to are part of the diving world.

Wow....the writing in this book is truly awful. I haven't actually quit reading a book, especially one about diving, which is one of my passions in years, but I quit this one about halfway through. The writing is terrible. The stories I read all sounded like "what I did over summer vacation" stories written by 8th graders. I finally had to quit.

Lots of interesting stories, but a few were decidedly not diving related and somewhat out of place. (In particular, a story about gold mining.)