What is your favorite printed material

[SpyderTek]

hello again all. recently spent an entire day in Manhattan (the supposed cultural capital of the world) going through the shelves of various book stores looking for SCUBA related material.

I was very disatisfied with my results to say the least. Major chains like Barnes & nobel had a total of 7 books having ANYTHING to do with SCUBA and of those 7 only one seemed worth reading:
Diving Cozumel (Aqua Quest Diving Series) by Steve Rosenberg (c) Dec. 1992

I would have bought it except 1992 seemed a little to out of date.

However, I find a multitude of books available online. Unfortunately, you can't browse a book unline. So the question begs to be asked:

When you look at your book shelf of covetted diving manuals, dive travel guides, underwater photography collections / tips, etc... What two publications do you think are "must haves" or you'd force on your close friends to borrow if you only trusted them not to do something stupid (like dive with it ) before returning it?

Litteraturaly,

SpyderTek

 

[diverjohnz]

THATS EASY IT WOULD BE THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RECREATIONAL DIVING and my NAVY DIVE MANUAL

 

[Rick Murchison]

For me, it'd be Paul Humann's Reef series.
Rick

 

[Ed Jewell]

Without a doubt it would be the 2001 edition of the NOAA Diving Manual.

 

[Greg G.]

This is definately region-specific, but Northwest Shore Dives by Stephen Fischnaller is considered the diving Bible in the Seattle area.

 

[Norm]

It would have to be my USN Dive Manuals and the NOAA Dive Manual.
My favorite publications are Immersed and Advanced Diver Magazine.
Norm

 

[lakesdiver]

Chris Kohl's books.

 

[SDAnderson]

NOAA Diving Manual
Must have book. If you have a question about diving, it’s the first place to look.

Doing It Right: The Fundamentals of Better Diving - Jarrod Jablonski
A short, simple and non-threatening look at the DIR school of thought. Jablonski does a terrific job with the material and avoids the preachy/insulting tone that often seems to accompany DIR diving. Remember: it's okay to steal good ideas, no matter who had them!

The Reef Series - Paul Humann & others
These books are filled with great pictures, great descriptions, and (above all) great fun. Humann is the guy for fish ID.

 

[Swamp Rat]

Playboy!
You ask what that has to do with diving. Well I let you know. If you end up with a Dive budette that looks as good as one of those playmates. No matter how much Defog you put on your mask it stays fogged up.

 

[Green_Manelishi]

"The Compleat Goggler" by Guy Gilpatrick

"The Darkness Beckons" by Martin Farr

"Diving to Adventure" by Dimitri Rebikoff

"Perception and Performance Underwater" by J Adolfson and T Berhage (a bit dated but since human physiology is the same
now as it was in 1974 the results of the experiments are
fascinating)

"On The Bottom" by Commander Edward Ellsberg