Book Description
An Introduction to Technical Diving CD-ROM introduces the realm of technical diving through the experiences of the expeditionary team El Proyecto de Buceo Espeleologico Mxico y Amrica Central, led by world record holders Jim Bowden and Dr. Ann Kristovich.

Technical diving departs from normal recreational diving limits as established by recreational training agencies, and it incorporates the use of specialized equipment and techniques.This realm of diving increases the requirements for risk acceptance, equipment, knowledge, skills, and preparation, as well as the level of danger.Despite this increased level of risk, technical diving continues to be a challenging, exhilarating, and rewarding endeavor.The various types of technical diving offer their participants a chance to experience worlds otherwise unseen - a labyrinthine cave system, the mysteries in the depths of a frozen lake, and the history of a sunken shipwreck.

This CD-ROM defines, elucidates, and pictorially portrays the various types of technical diving, as well as the equipment and skills needed to safely participate and/or pursue certification.Although it is not intended to be a substitute for formal training, An Introduction to Technical Diving CD-ROM provides comprehensive detailed information in a beautifully illustrated format and can be used as either a reference source or an educational aid for divers of all training levels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An expensive postcard
Having met nearly all of the people involved in making this CD, I must say that it is extremely disappointing--they have more interesting stories posted for free on the net.

Most of what is contained in this CD can be found in greater detail in product manuals--in other words, stale.Furthermore, there is information I would classify as misleading and even dangerous in some cases.This CD is an impressive example of how to use Shockwave Macromedia, but lacking in substance

The products recently available from gue.com, such as "Getting Clear on the Basics: The Fundamentals of Technical Diving" actually cost less and are far more appropriate for those looking into technical diving.

a must see for those interested in technical diving!
as a new cave diver i was delighted to find a CD ROM on technical diving. this was a nice exploration of the many facets of technical diving. well written and well produced, this CD is worth the time and the money. for what it's worth, as a fairly new "technical" diver, i have been overwhelmed by the political nature of the sport...and i was suprised by the negative reviews posted for such a great product. you be the judge

Terrible. Unsafe information.
This author clearly has a limited view of technical diving techniques and safety. It's difficult to get much at all from this extremely short 'book', but what material is there is lacking discussion of any accepted modern techniques employed by the technical diver. Those active in the sport have learned to 'do it right' and opt to stay away from most of what is presented by this author.

Little more than a brochure...
The CD is woefully short on content.I figure that if you were to print it out on paper, it might add up to no more than 25 or so pages. There's very little the CD actually says outside of what you could learn if you were able to chat with a technical diver for 10 minutes.I went through the CD in all of 20 minutes, and started scrounging around if there were any sections I missed.There were none.

I can't help but shake the notion that the CD was just slapped together with no real fore-thought.There are a lot of nice photographs, but even then the captions are rarely informative. Don't expect a National Geographic, where it can be enough to just view the photos and read their captions.

The interface is visually engaging, but otherwise, the CD seems a bit empty to me.There are no in-depth discussions on the equipment used, and what makes them different from recreational type equipment, neither are there discussions on the special techniques or considerations for the type of diving involved.

Neither are there enough anecdotal information about actual technical dives done.There are no real stories, which would have made the disc completely worth it.

Perhaps the title is all too apt.It's what I would expect of the introduction chapter to a book about technical diving.I can imagine that a non-diver, or a diver who's really new into diving might find it very worthwhile.

Sadly, I find it not worth the value.More can be learned by simply surfing the 'Net for maybe an hour or so.Or better still get a real book on the topic.

If you're interested at getting into this type of diving, and expecting a searchable reference to serve as a means to jumpstart your knowledge base, this CD isn't it.

My two cents: skip this CD, and move on to something better.

Dive safe and often!

taj d.

divemaster

just great, it's a 7 star CD
I'm waiting for the other's CD's about diving. This one is just great, it was that I was loking for. ... Read more

Product Description
A SCOUTING APPROACH TO WILD CAVES The NSS has long wished it had a good video introduction to caving. Well, the Scouts have beaten them to it! This very thorough production looks at everything from caving equipment and techniques, to cavern genesis, to vertical work and self-rescue. And it's all neatly packaged into 10-minute chapters. This program is very professional and won a Merit Award at the 1999 Video Salon. ... Read more

Book Description
Caverns Measureless to Man is the story of the passion of an extraordinary individual who spent his life exploring underwater caves. For nearly 30 years Sheck Exley was the leader. He set records, he developed the techniques, and he maintained the highest standards of excellence. Sheck lived a life of adventure, danger, and excitement of a degree that few people can ever dream of, or, if they do, those dreams are nightmares. If you participate on the highest level, you know that some of your best friends are going to die. If you continue to push yourself and your equipment to the limits--if you persist in being a world class diver as Sheck was--the chances are very high that you, too, will die.

This book may terrify you, but it will unquestionably fascinate you, and in the end, Sheck Exley will convince you that his death came to him in the midst of the incredibly intense joy he took in diving into the depths of the earth. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The Best book on cave diving!
This is an absolute must for every technical/overhead diver but also an intriguing super enjoyable book for all divers and non-divers alike. Exley was not only the best cave diver ever but a great writer too. You will not put it down!

A Must Read for Folks Interested in Cave Diving
Hard to put down. It's an exhilarating ride for an autobiography. The history of cave diving is the history of Sheck Exley. He pioneered many of the cave diving protocols and risked his life testing the theories. All divers owe Sheck our gratitude.

Highly recommended.

Excellent book from a talent taken too soon
I read this book from front to back in about 4 days. It was a very enjoyable read and very hard to put down. Exley did a very good job describing the early years of cave diving and how it evolved to it's present state circa 1993.
I didn't want the book to end, for I knew that one more turned page was one step closer to the end of Exley's life.
I have read many books on diving-The Last Dive, Submerged, The Cave Divers, Final Descent, etc.- and I have to say that Caverns... was one of the more descriptive,better moving books of all that I have read. It was fascinating to read about all of the research, preperation and logistics that went into Exley's record setting dives. I also found it interesting to read about Exley's incredible luck through 20 plus years of diving. Of all the envelope pushing that was a part of cave diving and deep diving's infancy it was very apparent that Exley was incredibly lucky to not die or get seriously bent in his record breaking pursuits. Others around him, even partners, seemed to succum to the deep while Exley remained unscathed. Incredible luck or Incredible talent? Probably a lot of both.
What needs to be written now is an addendum to the book that discusses Exleys fatal dive at Mante and how and why it happened.
One thing is for certain, had Exley not lived, many of the safety measures that are a part of everyday life for a scuba diver would not have been invented. We scuba divers, won't fully realise the contribution that Exley made until we read this book.
A Great book, a keeper to be re-read many times.

A must read for cavers by the leader in caving.
Sheck Exley is without a doubt the best cavediverin the world, probably unchallened in that title. Here we are invited into his world to share in his unharnessed thrill of the dive. You are welcomed to see through his eyes the beauty of what awaits. Many of todays standards in cave diving were set by Exley he has set many records that today stand still unchallenged. If you have the tiniest of desire to cave and explore the wonderous beauty of caverns or understand the desire of those who do, this is the book you need to read.

A fine book on cave diving by the world's premier cave diver
Sheck's book delves deep into what drives people to pursue an activity that most "sane" people shudder even to think about. Written by the one individual who was recognized as the finest cave diver in the world, he has both the experience and breadth of knowledge to write a truly superlative text on cave diving. Included in his narrative is a history of cave diving, related by one who helped set much of it. During his life, Sheck helped set the standards for safe cave diving, and was responsible for pushing many of the limits of the sport. In fact, many of those barriers he broke still stand as records or significant milestones. With the publication of this book, Sheck, even after his unfortuanate, untimely death, continues to contribute to an endeavor that epitomizes the nature of man... the curiosity, drive, and willingness to explore the environment in which he lives, even though the price of that knowledge may be death. If you are interested in caves, diving, or just man's willingness to explore, this book is a "must read." ... Read more

Product Description
During the fall of 1987 a team of some 20 explorers and scientists from the United States, Great Britain, and Mexico gathered at Wakulla Spring, Florida, for ten weeks to work on an unusual project. There were three principal objectives:1. To explore and map Wakulla Spring to the limit of existing technology.2. To test an experimental computer controlled diving system that held promise to extend significantly the capability, and to enhance the safety of explorers and scientists working underwater.3. To conduct a comprehensive study of the hydrology, geology, and biology of Wakulla Spring, and the artesian aquifier that feeds it. ... Read more

Book Description
This is Sheck Exley's exciting story of the discovery and mapping of the beloved Peacock Springs Cave System - at that time thought to be the world's longest underwater cave.

His manuscript was incomplete when he met his untimely death in 1994 on a dive in Mexico.It has now been completed and expanded with the many new sections he had planned:

1.History of Peacock Slough including a social history plus the creation of a state park to preserve the cave and its surroundings as Exley had hoped.

2.Florida geology and biology.

3.Cave diving eqipment.

4.Peacock Re-Survey, a five year project that updated Exley's original map. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A true classic
The Slough was unfinished and it is not as good as the Caves Measureless to Man as a result of this. However it is considered a classic as a standard textbook for underwater cave exploration techniques.

Peacock Springs
It is what it is - a detailed book about Peacock Springs and some of the other U/W caves of north Florida.It is detailed, well researched book on a specific cave system, from a scuba divers point of view.If you want to learn about this area - might be the ONLY book you can get - hence it is invaluable.Has sections on the biology of caves, geology, maps of caves, past explorers, etc.
I wish they'd spend more time on specifics of all the divers who died in these caves - just to keep the many amateur divers out of them and alive! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Telling it like it is.
As I have already said in another review of this man's work, for those who knew the late Rob Palmer, as I once did, I think most would agree he was difficult to like but easy to respect for his work. In life he always sought to be different - and in many ways that was from where his great gift of being a diving pioneer came. Until his early death just a few short years ago (already!) Rob Palmer was the one man who knew more about true Blue Holes than any other person on earth.

In 1985 I was appointed Chief Diver for Operation Raleigh and Rob was one of the Diving Officer's responsible for a specific diving project out in the field. Because of his own particular skills and experience, I was aware that he at least "knew what he was doing."

Today, all divers who call themselves "Technical Diver" because of their use of mixed gases, Nitrox etc, owe something to the Rob Palmers of this world for their pioneering work in testing different gases to different extents - so that we who follow may dive ever deeper and ever further - in greater safety.

This book puts into perspective his work with regard to the Blue Holes over many years. It explains the successes, the disappointments and the excitement that went hand in glove with this particular sphere of exploration. It is well written and tells a very important story. Whether or not you personally get to dive the Blue Holes of the Caribbean - this is a book which every scuba diver should read.

Having personally "been there, done that and got the T-shirt" (Really!) I fully recommend the Blue Holes if only because they offer a different type of diving from anywhere else in the world. Should you feel the same way and want to learn more about these incredible phenomena - especially the Blue Holes of the Bahamas, then this book becomes essential reading.

NM

Rob Palmer's Legacy
Deep Into Blue Holes is a great read if for nothing more than the adventure of going where no man had gone before. It is much more than that if the readers involve themselves in understanding the technology used in Palmer's efforts to explore deep and stay long. Cutting edge at the time and very expensive, it's now available to all cave divers. As an aside, Palmer, now deceased, is rolling over in his watery grave if he can see the ecological damage done (and still being done) to those beautiful Bahamian inner spaces. Having dived some of these myself and seen their mysterious beauty, cave divers and ecologists everywhere should unite in their efforts to prevent similar abuses to resources like these wherever they may be.

Honest history ofdiving the deep holes and caves of Andros
Palmer uses a fine documentative approach, weaving the evolution andaspects of technical diving with the biology and history of the Andros Island blue holes and caves. The challenging, sometimes fatal experiencesof diving these beautiful caves is described in a smooth almostconversational style. A great read for divers, and anyone interested in theCaribbean.

FANTASTIC for the adventurist diver!
I once had a copy of this book; sadly, no longer. I loaned it to afriend who moved to higher places and well, I never got my bookback.

Although not a caver or a cave diver myself (I am too scared oftight little dark holes), this book is very appealing for that very fact -the "squeezes" that the divers go through to find the"ultimate" cave makes for terrific reading.So much so that itcould (almost) make me take to cave diving. The book has numerous fullcolour plates showing the terrific underwater scenery of the Blue Holes (ofAndros Island in the Bahamas).If you're into diving pictures, they aloneare worth the book.

Rob Palmer is one of cave diving's greats.He'sdived with pretty much the who's who in the world of cave and 'extreme'(depth) divers.While the book tells in detail hopw each dive isconquered, sobering thoughts jump to mind when a story relates how thedivers turn a bend in the channel they think they are the first todiscover, and find the body of a previous explorer who got lost andcouldn't find his way out.....

Gripping stuff.Wish I still had my copy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Underground Adventure
Good scary reading. Great book. Journey underground into the dark depths of the earth, to a world that few dare to tread. Read this book if you dare! For other underground adventures read, Steward's "Tales of Dirt,Danger, and Darkness." ... Read more