Book Review: Caverns Measureless To Man

[Ste Wart]

I just got around to reading Sheck Exley's classic "Caverns Measureless To Man".

I'm sure it was interesting in the doing for him but I didn't find it particularly interesting to read about.

The only thing I took away from it was that he was lucky to have survived long enough to become accomplished given his early dives.

I'm still waiting to get my hands on a 'reasonably' priced copy,but:

I had a similar issue with Mark Ellyat's; Ocean Gladiator. The writing style was interminable and I struggled with the prose for the first few chapters. Eventually I began to disregard this and read the book for what it was; a diving book by divers for divers. So even though I baulked at Ellyat's cavalier attitude in his early years as a diver (100m on a single tank!!!!!) and his ability to get 'bent' on nearly every dive; I ended up liking the book. It boiled down to the fact that although he his a shamless self-promoter, his skill is undeniable and his feats unquestionable (first man to dive to 300m/1000ft).

 

[Buoyant1]

Awesome book! It's another on my "read again" list!

 

[ChrisMan]

Anyone know if this is available on kindle? Also looking for "The Last Dive: A father and son's Fatal descent into the Ocean Depths" and "Raising the Dead: A True Story of Death and Survival"

Links appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[BluewaterSail]

Great literature it might not be, but a fascinating peice of history it is. To get a glimpse into what it was like before the equipment and training that we have today, and to see how the equipment developed over time held my attention for everything but the lists. My main takeaway was not that he pushed the limits of his personal safety, but how he developed techniques to increase safety. For example, the rule of thirds.

 

[USdiver1]

I read it a couple of years ago, and what struck with me was a man obsessed by guilt, the guilt of having carelessly contributed to the death of his younger brother when the two were experimenting with free-diving and hyperventilation exercises. It seems to me that much of the obsession and drive that Sheck put into making world record attempts, be it surveying the longest underwater cave in the Americas, to attempting the deepest scuba dives in the cenotes and springs of Mexico, was in response to that horrible experience of having lost his brother. He was driven, to be sure, but that drive was not necessarily a healthy expression of a man in love with all things diving, it seemed to me to be more of a catharsis for his self-imposed demons.

 

[SeahorseDeb]

Great literature it might not be, but a fascinating peice of history it is. To get a glimpse into what it was like before the equipment and training that we have today, and to see how the equipment developed over time held my attention for everything but the lists. My main takeaway was not that he pushed the limits of his personal safety, but how he developed techniques to increase safety. For example, the rule of thirds.

And that is the reason I bought it a few years ago, to understand how he developed techniques that are still standard procedure today. I still wish they had used doppler on him after a dive.....

 

[godschildohappyday]

Anyone read Deepest decent by Robert m.Tabor? Am only half way in cannot wait to get back to it.