Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World [Paperback]

Tim Ecott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2002

In Neutral Buoyancy, journalist and diver Tim Ecott takes you on a guided tour of the history of undersea exploration and the emergence of diving culture. He tells the extraordinary story of man's attempts to breathe underwater, from the sponge divers described by Aristotle, to the development of sixteenth-century diving bells, to the invention of modern scuba equipment. Along the way, Ecott intersperses the story with his own thrilling adventures, from the waters of the South Pacific to the remote islands of the Seychelles, from explorations in the clear, flowing tides of Sardinia to a near-death experience in the cold gray depths of the English Channel. Filled with engaging stories of humanity's conquest of the undersea world -- and heart-pounding action that will leave you breathless -- Neutral Buoyancy is a compelling blend of history and adventure, an exciting overview of the world of undersea diving. "As elemental, entertaining, and stimulating as the environment it traces." -- Kirkus Reviews "Engaging ... Neutral Buoyancy will certainly become cult reading for divers." -- Alexander Urquhart, The Times Literary Supplement "Ecott's encyclopedic recounting of diving history ... should be awarded a place on any diver's reference shelf." -- Paul McHugh, San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Neutral Buoyancy, BBC journalist Tim Ecott recounts his ongoing adventures in the "liquid world" of scuba diving, from battling rip tides off the Dorset coast in southwest England to exploring the shark-rich waters of the Caribbean, musing along the way on the history and meaning of humanity's fascination with diving and reflecting on how his underwater experience has reshaped his life.

Four days after my mother's funeral I went scuba diving for the first time.... Surfacing from a dive ... I often think it strange that this mind-cleansing, emotionally charged experience is one that my mother never knew I had. It is something akin to the sense of regret I feel that she never met my daughter, born a few years after her passing. How odd that something so wonderful was not part of our shared experience.

Be warned: if you are already a diver, Neutral Buoyancy will heighten the sense that you are wasting far too much precious time on dry land. For the rest, even if your underwater ventures are largely confined to the bath, this book will have you contemplating a trip to your local swimming pool at the very least. Truly inspirational. --Alex Hankin, Amazon.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Plunging off the shores of Florida, Australia, the Western Pacific islands and other coastal locales, BBC world service reporter and producer and certified dive-master Ecott provides a fascinating, albeit uncritical, look at the fast-growing world of undersea diving. Vivid descriptions of what's to be seen show skeptics what they're missing: coral as green as a "fine piece of carved jade," as scarlet as a "humming-bird feather" and as pink as the "petals of a carnation in a buttonhole." Along the way, he recounts the history of the sport, which has grown from a risky enterprise practiced by a brave few to a far more mainstream, increasingly high-tech recreational endeavor. In interviews, the sport's pioneers (crusty individualists, not surprisingly) express some resentment toward Jacques Cousteau; they believe he stole glory due others. Though Ecott at times suggests discomfort with the diving world's competitive ethos, he seems reluctant to criticize it outright or to question the sport's cult of extreme risk-taking. And while mindful of the sport's dangers (in one particularly terrifying incident, Ecott nearly dies in the English Channel), he emphasizes its spiritual appeal: the title refers to a state of equilibrium that scuba divers aspire to a feeling of weightlessness. Agent, Natasha Fairweather of A.P. Watt. (July)Forecast: Ecott's journalistic acumen his pieces have appeared in Esquire, the Economist, National Geographic and elsewhere makes this an above-average look into a microculture. Lifestyle magazine coverage, plus word-of-mouth recommendations or summer-oriented displays, will lead fans and curious readers alike to this title.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (June 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802139078
• ISBN-13: 978-0802139078
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #168,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Scuba

More About the Author

I am a journalist and a keen diver. I lived in different countries as a child because my father was in the army. While working for the BBC World Service I reported from Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean states - and eventually ended up living in Seychelles, partly because I wanted to be able to dive more frequently. I travel a lot and have just realised a long held ambition - to visit Aldabra Atoll. Being underwater is something I have always enjoyed, and I never get tired of watching fish, or coral or sponges or sharks or even starfish. My last book - 'Stealing Water' - was a memoir about growing up in Ireland, the Far East and Africa. It shocked a lot of people. But it's a book I felt I had to write.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reading about diving, August 14, 2004

By 

John M Walker (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World (Paperback)

It's a little hard to imagine that any thinking person who is a diver, or maybe wants to be a diver, would not enjoy and be informed by this book.

I know I learned lot. There is a lot of history of diving, combined with modern diving anecdotes. I would say the history part I found most interesting and informative was the discussion about the bends. Of course all divers today take this knowledge for granted, but if you stop and think about it, the connection between working in a tunnel, for example, and pain in the joints, and sometimes painful death, is not obvious. The author does a good job of telling this medical detective story.

His visit to volcano-ravaged Rabaul is also particularly interesting, and I would have thought the topic of free-diving was of no interest to me, but it turned out his treatment of this subject held my attention completely.

I first got certified to dive in 1967 when PADI and NAUI were both infants. I recently got re-certified, and now dive actively in the Philippines. Diving is a great sport, and this book is a useful and delightful addition to the literature on the subject. I will almost certainly re-read this one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and Incredible Insight..., February 7, 2002

By 

S. BETHUNE (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World (Hardcover)

Tim Ecott's love for diving comes through these pages in myriad ways -- it should be read by everyone interested in man's experience in the undersea world, from the beginning recreational diver to the experienced marine scientist. These 'adventures in a liquid world' trace the history, motivations, and science of our efforts to be free under the waves -- from Aristotle's 4th century BC sponge divers, to the diving bells and barrels of three hundred years ago, through the development of scuba equipment in the 1900s and today's very modern technical and deep sea free divers.
Throughout Ecott brings us to the source -- he takes us with him to Tarpon Springs, for years a major center of sponge diving; we meet with him the veterans of Sealab; we're with him to talk and dive with Umberto Pelizzari, a legend in the world of free diving.
Ecott weaves and intersperses the history of man's adventures beneath the surface, the science of changes in the body at varying depths, and the subculture of the modern sport of diving with his own very personal experiences of the wonderful silent weightlessness to be found under the waves. He shares with us his open and soul revealing delight -- the mustering of courage needed as he enters the sea in the dark of night, the awe of the underwater city-like arches deep off the coast of the Seychelles, the bewitching peaceful calmness of a chance meeting with a pod of gray-steel dolphins hunting mackerel in the shimmering blue space -- certain that this is their first encounter with man.
Rarely does a writer capture the spirit and color of the experience so well. Read it -- he's been there -- he knows...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master wordsmith contemplates on the world underwater, October 1, 2006

By 

Conrad H. Blickenstorfer (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World (Paperback)

Understanding Neutral Buoyancy requires understanding the author. Tim Ecott is a reporter and producer for BBC World Service and has been writing for numerous prestigious international magazines and papers. He is a certified divemaster and a marine environmentalist. However, unlike the ultimate expert divers that have authored other diving books, Ecott is almost a reluctant diver. His father was a military man, and so young Ecott, a sickly, bronchitic child in his early childhood Wales fared much better in Malaya where his father was stationed for several years. A return to Ireland was a return to "varying shades of grey" for him. Though a lifelong swimmer, he came to scuba relatively late and his first experience was "just, well, fine." That daramtically changed later, but it's clear that this is a man who views diving as an emotional thing much more so than macho daring, socializing, or a scientific quest.

Tellingly, those who picked up Neutral Buoyancy with the anticipation of finding educational or instructional content regarding that important and celebrated aspect of diving will find it described in just one paragraph, an introduction to a chapter. The technical aspects are incidental; this book is really a collection of a wide variety of thoughts on diving, recorded by a deep and different soul, organized by an experienced journalist's mind, and crafted in exquisite language. Ecott, unlike many diving book autors, is a true writer, a professional, a master of language. Journalists and writers master the art of reporting facts and perhaps adapting them to the medium in which they will be published. In this instance, the medium is Ecott's own book where he is free to not just report, but also give his thoughts his personal spin.

Neutral Buoyancy is organized into a dozen chapters that each center on one general aspect of of things under the sea. There's, for example, a 30 page chapter entitled "Organic Gold" dedicated entirely to the sponge. Another deals with underwater habitats. There's "Flickering Images" that centers around Austrian diving pioneer Hans Hass and his wife Lotte, whom he seeks out and interviews. There's "Diving Free" that examines breathdiving record attempts and the whole experience around it. Or "In the Shadow of the Fire God" that describes a trip Ecott took to the Bismarck Sea. "Advanced French" deals with the various findings and advances a number of French pioneers brought to diving, most importantly, though not necessarily in Ecott's eyes, Jacques Cousteau (who he largely sees as a publicity grabbing egotist). There are other chapters dealing with underwater dangers, diving history, underwater warfare, pioneers, all presented in beautifully crafted language.

Ecott is a true citizen of the world. His world only, for sure, but of the world nonetheless. He travels to the places he seeks, delves deeply into them. His research is not just academic, no, he seeks out and interviews the pioneers, visits the places where things took place, and weaves it all into his words and descriptions.

Despite all this, I found the book an acquired taste. During the first half, I was often put off by what I found an overly negative view of things, one dismissive of essentially anything that wasn't old and untouched or at least made in the olden ways. I tired of the endless references on man's cruelty and thoughtless carelessness, and the somewhat manipulative hangdog way those thoughts were presented. That led me to becoming an overly critical reader who approached each new chapter with some bias, to the extent where I began faulting the writer for putting clearly British words like "programme" into an American's mouth. I actually put the book down for several weeks.

Then I picked it up again and I am glad I did. Having accepted Ecott's deeply personal view of the world and his tendency to craft personal biases into his accounts, I was finally able to appreciate the true magic of this book, the wealth of information and experiences it conveys without ever once falling prey to that old authors' vice, that of talking down or showing off, at least not in a technical sense. Neutral Buoyancy can be read and enjoyed by people who do not know diving, have never dived. His skillfully crafted brief explanations of diving basics explain without putting off experts while his gift of describing details, of truly painting with words, of conjuring up pictures and thoughts in a masterful way, will thrill even the most advanced diver.