Groupers and Gunmounts: Inside the USS Spiegel Grove

[The Chairman]

I had the pleasure to dive the Eagle with Don Altemus, the co-author of this book just this past week with Conch Republic Divers. It's a relatively short read and it took only an afternoon to go through it. It's got some interesting pictures and I think I finally understood the nature of this ship that I have over a hundred dives on. I would definitely recommend this to anyone diving the Grove and especially to ALL of the dive guides and captains in the Keys. The only criticisms I have of the book are that it's WAY too short and that there is no mention of the other main participants, like Captain Slate, who worked tirelessly to sink her. In reality, this could have been an awesome Coffee Table Book, though I know that it's asking a lot for a self published book. Still, it's more than worth the money.

 

[The Chairman]

Oh yeah, you can buy your copy of the book here: Groupers and Gun Mounts: Inside the USS Spiegel Grove

 

[HowardE]

There are some nice images in there...

Particularly the one on Page 38.

 

[Sam Miller III]

53 pages? A Book?

I wrote longer term papers during my undergrad days

15 photographs!

10 chapters?

Does it have a ISBN or LCCC number?

Is the author in some sort of a competition with Divemaster Dennis to publish the shortest dive book on record with the greatest number of chapters?

SDM

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Sam,

Books don't have to be long to be useful. I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who once commented that the period of time necessary to prepare a speech depended on how long the speech should be. A long speech requiring the last amount of preparation time. While I haven't read the book, I suspect it took work to get the history across in a concise manner.

It does have an ISBN number, which you can see clearly on the Amazon link.

I think the book could make a good stocking stuffer for those who have enjoyed the Spiegel Grove, or plan to soon, and see no reason to poke fun at someone's hard work.

 

[mathauck0814]

53 pages? A Book?

I wrote longer term papers during my undergrad days

15 photographs!

10 chapters?

Does it have a ISBN or LCCC number?

Is the author in some sort of a competition with Divemaster Dennis to publish the shortest dive book on record with the greatest number of chapters?

SDM

I agree. For the ~$20 the book has surprisingly little content. More photos and a hard cover would have made this a nice conversation piece. What's there is very good. Just left me with buyers remorse as I feel it could have been so much more.

 

[Sam Miller III]

I suspect there was a rush to publish...To be the first--It was....There will probably be more

I also suspect the target consumer is an impulse buyer who was going to make a first dive or had just dove the ship and wanted something to share wth friends, the God's frozen people of the north.

Never the less 53 pages is a book?

SDM