The Last Dive

[NavyGreg]

Just finished reading "The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent Into the Ocean's Depths"
Excellent book!! It was a sad story to read, but it was interesting in that the book had a lot of background information on the evolution of sport diving as a whole with a great amount of detail on how cave/technical diving became what it is today.

 

[OMFSDiver]

If you enjoyed that you can also try reading Diving Into Darkness by Phillip Finch. It involes cave diving and CCR's

 

[200 Bar]

Or Decent into Darkness by Commander Edward C Raymer USN....About Navy hardhats, removing ordinance and the fallen on board the Arizona and others...

 

[Hyper-limits]

Also Cavern Measureless to Man by Sheck Exley.

 

[Caguama]

You should also read Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. It's a book about the search to discover the identity of a World War II U-Boat. Along with the great historical information, you get a little more insight into the diving and personalities of Chris and Chrissy Rouse, who participated in one of the dives to U-869.

 

[covediver]

I agree. An excellent book that I think really described the very different approaches that cave divers and wreck divers have. It almost read like a well crafted sociology study about risk taking and motivations on one level, and a tragic story about a father-son dive team on a more human level. At the end one could not but help be sympathetic to the Rouses while it left you wondering "what were they thinking." My only regret about the book is that the author did not write another. This seems to have become one of the books that define a serious divers bookshelf.


It was one of a series of books that came out about that time on deep wreck diving that gave new insight to that type of diving, spawned an interest in tec diving for some, and led to a whole new equipment look for the rest of us, dictating that yard-long regulator hoses, backplates and wings, and wearing the mask on the back of the head while on the surface heretofore would be the only acceptable way to dive and become the definitive look for "cool" divers and scuba stylistas.

 

[DennisS]

I agree. An excellent book ...................................


.............and wearing the mask on the back of the head while on the surface heretofore would be the only acceptable way to dive and become the definitive look for "cool" divers and scuba stylistas.

Pffffffffffffffffffffft Key Board

 

[coldwaterswimmer]

I thought the style was pretty dry but it was a worthwhile read for all the history on cave/tech/wreck diving.

 

[FireInMyBones]

I am reading The Last Dive right now. I just finished Shadow Divers a wonderful insight into the depths we seek. I love the reaction Richie shows when John shoes up with "Voodoo" gas.
I am finding great wreck history in Wreck Diving Magazine also.

 

[Rhone Man]

I wonder what it is about diving tragedies that makes books so much more poignant? If Shadow Divers doesn't have the Rouses and Feldman, it is just a semi interesting story about trying to identify a previously unknown wreck. If David Shaw doesn't die in Bushman's Hole, then there is not much more interest in his story than there is in Nuno Gomez or Pascal Bernabe's record setting dives. Instead, Diving Into Darkness is a veritable classic.

I guess we are all just morbid.