Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery

Kindle
$4.50

Available instantly

Paperback
$11.00

$11.00

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery December 27 - 29 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Saturday, December 28

Arrives after Christmas. Need a gift sooner? Send an Amazon Gift Card instantly by email or text message.

In Stock

$$11.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Returnable until Jan 31, 2025

Payment

Secure transaction

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Other sellers on Amazon

New & Used (3) from $11.00 FREE Shipping on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Verna Van Schaik

Follow

Fatally Flawed - The Quest to be Deepest Paperback – January 22, 2011

by Verna van Schaik (Author)

4.0 121 ratings

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$11.00","priceAmount":11.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"WhuiU6v4PYGNJFELlY2AF31cUCcgYl2eTitBQuVqIqJliF%2FoyTSp1EZaXn1bB9CCaNTJ%2FD90xvBv8tfY31kgh3qZGTlCcCW3j%2BKx41cvoINMyhh5E0wqN95F3lkiv7U4EdH5P2e%2FVPI%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Fatally Flawed is an inside look into the world of deep diving and the people who populate it. This is the story of how Verna van Schaik found a way to become the deepest woman in one of the most extreme sports in the world, cave diving. The story follows Verna's start in diving in 1989 when technical diving was in its infancy, follows her journey with Nuno Gomes as a support diver on his record breaking dives and culminates with her experiences on Dave Shaw's dive. It was this dive that allowed Verna to finally see past the carefully edited illusion that is 'being the deepest'. Suddenly her experience with the top divers in South Africa ( if not the world) gave her a unique opportunity to question who deep divers really are. What drives a person to place their life on the line ? Why do they want so desperately to be the deepest ? Are they fatally flawed ?

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liquid Edge Publishing (January 22, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0620404728
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0620404723
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.46 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,217,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,121 in Extreme Sports (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 121 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Verna Van Schaik

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

In 2004 Verna van Schaik became the world's deepest woman with a dive to 221 meters. The dive took 5 and a half hours... the journey took almost ten years and changed not only who she was but how she saw the world and the so-called limits we unconsciously live with.

These days her passion is in Empowering others to shift their own limits. Her first book, Fatally Flawed outlines her journey from normal to deepest and spans not only her dives but those of world record holder Nuno Gomes' as well as the late Dave Shaw's rebreather record attempt.

Verna is busy with her second book, renamed as she starts to really understand what it meant to become Deepest. Claiming Myself, Mastering My Life (What happens when a world record is not enough), takes the lessons she learnt getting a world record and translates them into a daily practice that shifts limits in every day situations.

Connect with Verna on Facebook, twitter (vernav) or Linked In. Verna would love how you connected with her story.

Customer reviews

121 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Review this product

Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the story engaging and well-crafted. They appreciate the detailed descriptions of diving and the learning opportunities provided through doing. Readers describe the book as compelling and unique, offering a valuable learning experience. However, opinions differ on the writing quality - some find it well-written and refreshing, while others report errors in sentence structure and editing.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

Story quality Pacing Learning method Writing quality

9 customers mention "Story quality"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story. They find the balance between the extraordinary story and letting us know what is going on in her head. The factual descriptions of diving are interesting and gripping, with sharp prose. Readers appreciate the detailed planning and technical challenges of a dive. The book provides a good view into the world of deep diving, with a personal touch.

"...relative terms; and so I gave van Schaik 5 stars for writing an excellent story about her quest to be an elite athlete in a very dangerous, extreme..." Read more

"...Van Schaik describes the lure of depth, the progression of deep diving records, the dangers involved, and the price people pay for a record...." Read more

"...has managed to connect, and because of this, my knowledge and understanding of technical diving, the challenges, options to manage problems,..." Read more

"...It has a good balance of getting on with the extraordinary story and letting us know what is going on in her head, while she makes unusual choices..." Read more

4 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and interesting. They appreciate its unique perspective and compelling look into a woman's approach to deep reflection.

"...ahead and bought this book, because the book is very good and is very unique. A few readers were critical of a number of editorial typos...." Read more

"...Flawed" lacks the polish of a commercial production, it is a very compelling look into a woman's approach to deep and technical diving...." Read more

"Really enjoyed reading this book, well written, interesting, very real, and more...." Read more

"Fascinating...." Read more

3 customers mention "Learning method"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the learning method. They say it's their favorite way of learning, and they appreciate being told a real story. The book is well-written and exciting, providing personal growth.

"...Doing is my favorite method of learning, next to that, is being told a real story...." Read more

"The book is well written, and exciting. It tells the authors personall story about her deep diving expirience...." Read more

"Little Diving; Lots of Personal Growth..." Read more

11 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality. Some find it well-written and refreshing to read, showing the author's courage and heart in her writing style. Others mention typos, misspellings, errors in sentence structure, and editing mistakes. The prose is described as painful to read due to excessive use of firstly and while.

"...Could be book be better? Yes, I think that there are some minor typos and grammatical mistakes; and yes in my Kindle version the images of all of..." Read more

"Really enjoyed reading this book, well written, interesting, very real, and more...." Read more

"This awkwardly written record of Verna van Schaik's feelings over the course of her record-breaking deep diving career simply does not do justice to..." Read more

"The book is well written, and exciting. It tells the authors personall story about her deep diving expirience...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

@CyberSpaceSA
Well Written Account of a Female Tech Diver's Journey Into the Deep
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in deep sport diving, and in particular, an "insiders" perspective into the small world of deep technical diving. I agree, to a certain extent, with other reviewers who would have liked to see more technical details, dive plans, gas mixes, run profiles, and decompression schedules; but those technical details are not the mainstream theme of Fatally Flawed - The Quest to be Deepest by Verna van Schaik. Instead of being a deeply technical book, this is a deeply personal book by van Schaik. The author candidly takes the reader on her personal voyage to become the deepest sport diver in the world and "tells it like it is". She does reach that goal and is the current record holder for the deepest dive by a woman, 221 meters on open circuit scuba.

Diving to 221 meters on open circuit (in a cave) is quite an extraordinary accomplishment. However, what makes Fatally Flawed - The Quest to be Deepest by Verna van Schaik special is the fact that she was an insider (part of the support team) to a number of famous divers in their quest also set world sport diving records. Yet, unlike the vast majority of books on sport diving, van Schaik departs from glorifying divers who take risks to set records. van Schaik examines the testosterone driven male ego, their motivations, their tribal behavior in a behind the scenes look at diving, while at the same time weaving in her views a female deep diver in a sport traditionally dominated by men. Truth is often more interesting than fiction as they say, and this is certainly the case in this story. Is it a great story.

Before purchasing this Kindle book, I read a few negative reviews and these reviews caused me to delay my purchase for about a month; however, I was glad I went ahead and bought this book, because the book is very good and is very unique. A few readers were critical of a number of editorial typos. Yes, there are a few typos here and there, but my view is "so what" as I felt very fortunate to be reading the first hand account of a female diver on her successful quest to be the "deepest woman" as she calls herself. I really enjoyed her insider perspective and female view into the mind of the technical diver; and I was surprised at her candor and honesty in such a small sport community.

van Schaik "names names" as they say; and there are those who might be offended by her courage to write her personal opinions and views. I think that she shows both heart and courage in both diving in her writing style. Her book was refreshing to read. van Schaik does hit hard in a number of areas (she does not hold much back); but in retrospect, that is the heart of her story. Her story is certainly a story worth reading; and I would recommend this book to anyone, not only divers, who want to read a direct first-hand account of someone who sets a very difficult goal in a potential deadly sport and achieves her goal(s).

Could be book be better? Yes, I think that there are some minor typos and grammatical mistakes; and yes in my Kindle version the images of all of the dive plans in the appendix are missing. However, these are minor annoyances in relative terms; and so I gave van Schaik 5 stars for writing an excellent story about her quest to be an elite athlete in a very dangerous, extreme sport. It is a privilege to read the story of such a fine deep sport diver and world record holder; after all, this story is not science fiction in our modern world, but if written 100 years ago, it would have certainly been science fiction then. Well done and highly recommended.

This book might just surprise you as it did me.

Read more

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Conrad H. Blickenstorfer
A record-setting woman diver's views on deep diving
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2009
Verified Purchase
In Fatally Flawed -- The Quest to be Deepest, South African diver, dive instructor and prolific tech diving blogger Verna van Schaik describes how she set a new world record for deep diving by a woman (725 feet), what led up to it, and how she views the whole drive and obsession to set ever more extreme records. Van Schaik was also surface marshal for Australian rebreather diver Dave Shaw's fatal attempt at body recovery at the Boesmansgat cave in early 2005, and so readers learn how she experienced the discovery of the body, which took place just days after her own successful record dive, and then the subsequent ill-fated recovery mission.

Van Schaik, who started diving in 1989, specializes on deep and cave diving and presents an entirely unusual picture. Whereas most dive books center on achievements, adventure, equipment, technology and the pursuit of records, van Schaik's "Fatally Flawed" looks at the motivation behind it all. She relates her doubts, her feelings of not being taken serious as a woman and her fears of not measuring up in a man's world. She is both drawn to idols and heroes, and yet feels betrayed when the heroes turn out to be as flawed and ego-driven as anyone else.

Van Schaik describes the lure of depth, the progression of deep diving records, the dangers involved, and the price people pay for a record. Is it a quest to be accepted, respected and loved? She wonders what drives people, including herself, to risk their lives this way. She relates her own history of diving and seeking acceptance in dive clubs run by what she terms "Scuba Gods," and how she joined the Wits Underwater Club with the legendary deep diver Nuno Gomez. She relates feelings of inadequacy and doubt, and how she felt she was excluded by Gomez because she was female.

We learn about the Wondergat sinkhole and its challenges, and expeditions to Boesmansgat, the third largest known water-filled cave in the world, where Gomez dived to 750 feet in 1994 and van Schaik was a shallow-water support diver. However, when Gomez goes back for a 930 feet dive, van Schaik is not invited. Devastated, she strikes out on her own with deep diving at Guinas Lake in Namibia, and then at Badgat, a flooded asbestos mine with many challenging interconnected levels. In 2001 she reaches first 463 feet at Badgat and then 610 feet at Boesmansgat, but by now the female deep diving record was at 692 feet. All the while, doubts persist as do feelings of inadequacy: "I had set out on this quest mainly to change how it felt to be me and to all intents and purposes now that it was behind me, I was still the same scared and unsure person I had always been."

With the record sort of broken (at Boesmansgat's altitude of about 4800 feet, a 610 foot dive equates to about 720 feet at sea level in terms of decompression obligations) van Schaik seeks to leave the world of records behind, but finds that "without my obsession my life was totally empty" A new record attempt is planned and van Schaik has a scary situation at Badgat at a preparation dive. Yet, despite more doubts and frustrations the dive at Boesmansgat takes place, now with Dave Shaw and Don Shirley as support divers. Van Schaik successfully reaches 725 feet and a new women's divers world record, but her thunder is quickly stolen when Dave Shaw, on a record rebreather dive (888 feet), finds the body of Deion Dreyer, a diver who had gone missing ten years prior.

This is where rebreathers come into play, a technology that van Schaik initially views with suspicion as not well suited for deep diving due to equipment failures and the greater chance of carbon dioxide accumulation under exertion. Yet, Shaw's success appears to make open circuit scuba obsolete. Unable to participate in Shaw's subsequent body recovery dive that's reserved for rebreather divers, Van Schaik is asked to be surface marshal instead. The dive becomes a tragedy when Shaw is lost and his primary support diver, Don Shirley, gets seriously bent on his way back up.

The disastrous event further shatters van Schaik's illusion of glory and heroes. She feels "the list of things Dave could have done and did not do is long" and she is appalled that Shirley did not call the dive after an incomplete dive computer repair the night prior practically guaranteed failure at depth. Disillusioned, van Schaik comes to see these heroes' attempts as ego-driven chasing after glory, as deeds to be admired but not worshipped. "I can truly say men are aliens. I do not understand them and I do not understand their rules," she states, and regrets that those seeking female role models mostly find women who are clones of men as opposed to women playing by their own rules.

The closing chapter of "Fatally Flawed" describes van Schaik's moving into rebreathers, a technology she now finds "infinitely appealing" and which she credits with being far less limited than open circuit diving. In fact, her next goal is to exceed her own record on a rebreather.

While the essentially self-published "Fatally Flawed" lacks the polish of a commercial production, it is a very compelling look into a woman's approach to deep and technical diving. It's a dive book about one woman's self-doubt and constant struggle instead of male bravado and story telling, about feeling the need to measure up and prove herself over and over again, perhaps without ever finding any definite answers. Yet, van Schaik's girlish doubts and struggles notwithstanding, she is alive and well, without ever having suffered any hits or injuries on any of her record dives. Maybe she's the real hero. -- C. H. Blickenstorfer, [..]

Read more

19 people found this helpful

Helpful

Report
Tammy S
Just ok as diving adventure books go
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2013
Verified Purchase
This book was not the diving adventure story I expected. While it is centered around diving it seemed to me more about the authors personal struggles and triumphs.

Read more

Helpful

Report
Dave McKinnon, KangaruPeru
Hard to put down, interesting, and lots of valuable learning
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2017
Verified Purchase
Really enjoyed reading this book, well written, interesting, very real, and more.
Doing is my favorite method of learning, next to that, is being told a real story.
Verna has managed to connect, and because of this, my knowledge and understanding of technical diving, the challenges, options to manage problems, continue to grow.

Read more

Helpful

Report
Allison
Profound
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2013
Verified Purchase
Ignoring the proofreading errors, I have to say this was an incredibly open, honest journey by one woman who learns, by the end, who she really is.

I have advanced open water padi certification and read this because I feel the allure of Deep and Tec Diving. My reasons are different, but I understand her thought process too. It didn't change my feelings for the deep at all and I have the utmost respect for this true story about diving, yes, but also about really LIVING life.

Read more

Helpful

Report
Robynn
Fascinating.
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
If you're a diver you will probably find this book fascinating. It has a good balance of getting on with the extraordinary story and letting us know what is going on in her head, while she makes unusual choices for her life. The kind of book you find yourself thinking about later, especially while you're diving!

Read more

Helpful

Report

Top reviews from other countries

Yet Another Reviewer
Oh my goodness; That's deep, very deep
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
Verna van Schaik envelops us in the darkness of a world far beyond recreational SCUBA diving limits were extra seconds on the bottom add to many extra minutes of decompression on the way back to the surface.

In the world of technical diving, that is diving using mixtureas containing Helium, Verna was something unique, a woman that wanted to play the men at their own game but without recourse to special allowances being made for her gender.

Her target becomes the women's depth record which she sets in a cave at 221 metres (the men's record is 330 metres - as deep as The Shard in London is tall!). Her book takes us through all the difficulties - technical, medical and her standing within the dive club she is a member of until eventually she does it in between times taking part in other notable events including the recovery of two diver's bodies who had both pushed exceptionally deep and crossed the narrow safety margin in force at such diving extremes.

There are very few people who will read this book and come anywhere close to what she has achieved, but for the rest of us back on dry land she inspires, demonstrating if you want something bad enough you can achieve it through all kinds of adversity and challenges.

Read more
Report
Peter F.
Great Book
Reviewed in Australia on February 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
Enjoyed this book. I love diving and it was a great read. It took me through her experiences. Having read about David Shaw this was a great book adding to my diving knowledge and the risks of deep diving. A great adventure.

Read more
Report
U. Peaple
A different take
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
This gives a different take on the world of deep diving and blends a very honest account of the emotional struggles as well as the technical challenges of pursuing a quest to dive deeper than others. I have read a few diving books and found this one easy to follow as a non diver. Verna conveyed what was something of a love / hate relationship with the predominantly male diving community. She described very well the claustrophobia of cave diving and rising panic when trapped and then how she overcame this to save herself. Although the book suggests it is exploring what motivates people to risk their lives in very deep dives I didnt feel this theme was core to the book may be because only Verna's assessment is given. It is much more of an intense personal account and does this very well.

Read more
Report
Robert Dyke
Pushing the limits
Reviewed in Australia on July 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the book it is a well written personal experience about the challenges faced in a very demanding, highly technical sport.

Read more
Report
James Neal
For the most part a good read, detracted by a number of grammatical errors ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2014
Verified Purchase
For the most part a good read, detracted by a number of grammatical errors and typos, apostrophes missing etc. But putting that to one side, and having read it immediately after finishing Raising the Dead, I found the continuation of the Dave Shaw story very interesting.

Although I did feel the author was trying to settle a bit of a grudge and make a point at times... which, for me, detracted not only from the story, but also her own record breaking achievements.

Read more
Report

See more reviews

Amazon Prime Free Trial

Return this item for free

Image Unavailable

Follow the author