History of diving books

[emoreira]

I have just finished reading the Sealab book from Ben Hellwarth. It's an amazing book and I highly recommend it.
Though there are lots of scuba related books, both from the technical point of view and as puntual story or fictious, I would like to know if some one could recommend a series of books related to the history of the scuba and diving in general.

 

[Akimbo]

Cousteau’s Silent World and The Living Sea are classics.

Sea Lab is not Scuba diving, are you interested in the history of diving other than Scuba?

 

[emoreira]

Thanks. Diving in general.

 

[Akimbo]

If you enjoyed SeaLab you would probably like Papa Topside: The Sealab Chronicles of Capt. George F. Bond

This predates Cousteau but is a great read:
The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History by Peter Maas

Unfortunately there isn’t much of a market for diving history books right now. There were tons of them in the 1960 and 70s when everyone thought that the Man-in-the-Sea program and NOAA would be the next NA$A. A lot of books by James Dugan are pretty good but out of print.

 

[covediver]

A couple that I like are

I Thought I Saw Atlantis: Reminiscences of a Pioneer Skin and Scuba Diver by Albert Tilman
Diving Pioneers: An Oral History of Diving in America by Eric Hanauer

 

[emoreira]

A couple that I like are

Diving Pioneers: An Oral History of Diving in America by Eric Hanauer

Do you mean this book ?
Diving Pioneers and Innovators: Bret Gilliam: 9781878348425: Amazon.com: Books

I could not find the mentioned book from Eric Hanauer

 

[Akimbo]

Speaking of Bret Gilliam, you can download his History of Deep Diving (through 1995). It runs from Page 29-62 of the first issue of Tech Diving Magazine. It is a pretty good summary, though oriented to Scuba and Tech. It might help you identify areas you want to investigate in greater detail.

Tech Diving Mag | Free online technical diving magazine

 

[emoreira]

Following one thread I came to know the book from Michael Smart Into the Lion's Mouth.
Nice reading.

 

[Blue Quaker]

Try "The Darkness Beckons" by Martin Farr if you can find a copy. It is a history of cave diving around the globe.

 

[SEALAB Author Ben H.]

Thanks for this thread, emoreira, and for the kind words about my book. And we can all wish a happy anniversary to SEALAB I, whose four aquanauts were getting ready to surface 50 years ago this week. I was recently invited to write a brief tribute to SEALAB on the occasion of its 50th, a milestone most media are missing. In case anyone's interested, here it is:

Zócalo Public Square :: Is the Final Frontier Under the Sea?

I was also grateful to see Bob Barth the other day at a Florida State University symposium, where he and I both spoke as part of a commemoration of SEALAB's 50th. Bob, as some may know, is the sole surviving aquanaut from SEALAB I, and he also took part in SEALAB II and III. Definitely fits the definition of unsung hero.


Historically,

Ben