Scuba Diving - 4th Edition [Paperback]

Dennis Graver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2009

Scuba Diving provides a clear, thorough, and captivating learning experience for all who want to take the plunge. Packed with beautiful full-color photographs and detailed diving instruction, this updated edition is the preferred guide for recreational divers, diving instructors, and students around the globe.

Renowned diving instructor Dennis Graver sheds light on the undersea world and how to experience it safely with essential details on skills, techniques, and planning. In Scuba Diving, you'll learn how to

-select, outfit, and care for diving equipment;

-equalize pressure in the ears, sinuses, and mask;

-use dive tables and diving profiles;

-follow boat-diving and buddy-check procedures for safe diving; and

-prevent or manage underwater emergencies and hazards.
In this new edition, Scuba Diving demystifies the complex topics such as gas laws and the physics and physiology of diving. As an added bonus, you'll find recommendations on top diving sites around the world—sites ideal for divers at any level.

Whether you're a beginning or intermediate diver or diving instructor, make sure you have all the bases covered before you go underwater. Scuba Diving will ensure a safe, successful, and rewarding dive every time you take the plunge.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-A colorfully illustrated, authoritative, and comprehensive guide to this appealing sport. It covers all aspects of diving from equipment selection and maintenance to the risks and hazards involved. Included are easy-to-read charts and clear explanations about relevant scientific concepts such as buoyancy, gas pressure, and dive tables. Teens will enjoy this book even if they don't go near the water.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Graver easily achieves his stated goal "to create the most complete, up-to-date text available for entry-level scuba diving and to improve diving safety through education." Study guides in the margins of the text prompt the reader to constantly focus on important points, and the writing provides in-depth elaboration and direction--for the more advanced scuba information seeker--on topics such as equipment, management of physical problems during a dive, the aquatic environment, and general planning in preparation for dives. Appendixes include lists of diver training organizations, the tenets of the "Responsible Diver Code," and equipment inventory. The book serves dual roles as student text and basic introduction. Recommended, especially if your collection is limited to a single title in this subject area.
- David M. Turkalo, Social Law Lib., Boston
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics; 4 edition (November 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736079009
• ISBN-13: 978-0736079006
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Water Sports > Swimming
  • #18 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Scuba

More About the Author

Dennis Graver has more than 30 years of experience as a scuba instructor and instructor trainer. He has authored 27 books and manuals on scuba diving, including three previous editions of Scuba Diving from Human Kinetics. In his position as director of training for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), he designed the PADI modular scuba course and wrote the PADI Dive Manual, which revolutionized scuba instruction. During his tenure as director of education for the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), Graver wrote several diving texts, including the NAUI Openwater I Scuba Diver Course Instructor Guide. He has also contributed hundreds of articles on diving to magazines such as Skin Diver, Sources, and Undercurrents as well as several NAUI technical publications.

From the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt to the barrier reefs of Australia, Graver has spent the past 32 years photographing many wonders under the water. He has won numerous awards from the Underwater Photographic Society, and his photos have graced the covers of numerous magazines and illustrated several diving texts and audiovisual educational programs.

Graver and his wife, Barbara, live in Camano Island, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource and Preperation, July 27, 2000

By 

Melody (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scuba Diving (Paperback)

I took a 7 week open water certification class, and this was the required text. I read the entire book front to back in one sitting because it was very interesting and contained all of the information needed to pass the written examination.

Graver especially makes a great effort at explaining difficult information so that anyone can understand. Learning dive tables, how to plan dives, gas laws, physiology, physics, rescue techniques, and how to treat injuries was painless using this book. The text is also loaded with clear, colorful pictures to help explain some of the things he talks about such as how to don equipment, how the moon and sun effect tide, swimming techniques, what equipment looks like, and how waves and other concepts such as thermocline affect your dive.

This is a wonderful book for anyone beginning to dive, and it's a great resource for anyone who is ready to refresh after a long absence from diving.

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent preparation for the PADI open water certification, June 17, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scuba Diving (Paperback)

I bought this book to prepare for the PADI open water certification. I found it to be a very well organized book that did an excellent job of explaining everything from the concepts of boyancy, diving physiology, to the dive tables. It will serve as a great resource the next time I plan to dive. The opening chapter discusses the the sensitivities of the underwater world and the importance of respecting this environment. I really appreciated this chapter after my first dive where I witnessed a group of reckless divers whom were basically out of control in the coral reef. I highly recommend this book to any beginning diver that wants to prepare for open water diver certification.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent preparation for scuba diving, September 1, 2004

By 

M. Coppedge (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scuba Diving - 3rd Edition (Paperback)

A very comprehensive theoretical manual that discusses the ocean environment, how the human body reacts and adapts to that environment, and everything a diver needs for a successful diving experience. The author spends a lot of time on equipment and discusses every part in detail: what it is, how it is used, how it is maintained and cared for, what to consider when buying it, how different products compare, etc. He also explains different diving techniques, pressure problems and solutions, entering and exiting water with full diving gear, hand signals, and emergency skills. It is the perfect companion to a scuba diving class.