CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS

    History of Diving

    Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale. 

    Most of the books listed as Classic Dive Books have some component of history recorded. 
    Some of these books are in print and available. See Oceans Enterprises. 
    See also INTO THE DEEP and THEY DARED THE DEEP by Robert Marx. 

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    .    		 MAN AND THE UNDERWATER WORLD
    Pierre de Latil and Jean Rivoire. 
    Translated from the French by Edward Fitzgerald.
    First published in France, 1954 as A la Recherche du Monde Marin. First published in Great Britain 1956, Jarrolds, London. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 400 pages, mono prints throughout.
    In my humble opinion, this is the best book written on the development of diving from the early ancient myths of the Greek Gods to the development of scuba, and submersible exploration. A brilliant book, a most significant contribution to our knowledge of the underwater world, superbly researched and written. Of great historical value for its content and being relatively rare, the book itself is a collector's item. 

    Cover, far left (blue): British edition. (Jarrolds) [ps]
    Brown: presume USA edition. 
    CONQUEST OF THE DEEP
    Vsevolod Romanovsky.
    DIVERS AND DIVING
    Adam Gowans Whyte
    Published by Sir Issac Pitman and sons, London
    1938. Probably the only edition.
    Softcover, 128 pages, well illustrated with 33 photographs and engravings, size 13 X 19 cms.
    From eBay: 
    Great little book describing early diving techniques, contents include; diving in the olden days, the all metal diving dress, salving the 'Gladiator', Raising an American submarine, The treasure of the 'Laurentic', Tales of sunken treasure'... etc...
    DIVERS IN TIME - Australia's Untold History.
    Jeff Maynard. 
    The author is well known for his many well researchedand fascinating articles on diving history that appear regularly in thediving magazines, as well as his book ‘Niagara's Gold'. The first thingI checked out was to see if there was any mention of Noel and Kitty Monkman- and there was, indeed a very good tribute to these pioneer Australianfilm-makers. The seven major chapters cover: The Standard Dress Divers,The Pearl Divers, The Inventors, The Salvage Divers, Divers at Work, TheNavy Divers, The Scuba Divers. Thus the book covers commercial and militaryoperations, police, pearl and navy divers, and the introduction of recreationalscuba into Autralia. A great read, educational and entertaining. And didyou know - the single-hose regulator, now used by divers worldwide, wasinvented in Melbourne? 
    Softcover, 158 pages, large A4 size, mono prints. 
    Currently in print. Available from Oceans Enterprises.
    DIVING PIONEERS - An Oral History of Diving in America.
    Eric Hanauer.
    Watersport Publishing, San Diego, 1994. Softcover, 266 pages, mono photographs.
    If sport diving did not start in America, it was certainly developed there post war, with the development in improved equipment, promotion through television and film, and remarkable treasure salvage. This is the pioneering era of diving, when innovation and courage was the prime requisite, and achievement the reward. The book commenced with a potted history of diving, and the first US dive club, the San Diego Bottom Scratchers, followed by oral histories from: Walter Davis, E.R.Cross, Dick Anderson, Wheeler North, Andy Rechnitzer, Connie Limbaugh, Jim Stewart, Chuck Mitchell, Dottie Frazier, Zale Parry (remembr Sea Hunt), Norrine Rouse, John Steel, Chuck Nicklin, Bill and Bob Meistrell, Dick Bonin, Bob Hollis, Frank Scalli, Dan Wagner, Ralph Erikson, Lee Somers and Tom Mount. This book will tell you who did the great paintings on the early editions of Skin Diver magazine, who formed the great dive equipment company Oceanic, who played the leading female role in Sea Hunt. A very interesting book. 
    DIVING PIONEERS AND INNOVATORS 
    A Series of In-Depth Interviews. 
    Bret Gilliam and others. Hardcover, dustjacket, 488-page ‘A4 ‘coffee-table' size, with over 400 photographs.
    A remarkeable book, huge physically and in its content, documenting some of the great divers of the world, men and womewn who have contributed so magnificnetly to our humble   enjoyment of sport diving. It profiles twenty divers fromwidely varying backgrounds who have shaped the diving industry through its evolution that continues to this day. And they are not all
      American - Ron and Val Taylor get a guernsey. Others include Stan Waterman, Bev Morgan, Chuck Nicklin, Peter Benchley, Bob Ballard, Michele Hall, Paul Humann, Bob Hollis, Howard  Hall and the editor himself, Brett Gilliam. The conversations in each chapter provide an insight into the oral history of diving that is both exciting and revealing. Lavishly , the reader is  taken inside the fascinating careers of diving's most intriguing personalities. If you have enjoyed your diving over  the years, and are interested in the achievements of men and women who have contributed in some way to your enjoyment, consider this book. 
    EXPLORERS OF THE DEEP
    From the Oldest Divers to the Inhabitants of Underwater Cities.
    Bohumil Kolar and Oldrich Unger.
    Mamlyn Publishing Ltd., England. 1976.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, medium square format, 164 pages, mono and coliur drawings, no index.
    A good read, covering the history of diving.
    [ps]
    HISTORY OF SPEARFISHING AND SCUBA DIVING IN AUSTRALIA. 
    (The First 80 years 1917 to 1997).
    Tom Byron. 
    This was certainly worth waiting for. It is unusuallypresented in that it departs from the normal continuous text concept andrelies instead on hundreds of newspaper-style headings and stories, someindeed condensed directly from newspaper and magazine articles. It is thereforeand eminently readable book as you can skip from article to article asthe interest warrants - from death to treasure, failures and achievements,early equipment and technique, and the pioneers of our sport. A most valuablebook and a must for all divers. 
    Hardcover (laminated boards), A4 size,311 pages, index, many fascinating mono photographs. 
    Currently in print. Available from Oceans Enterprises.

    .    		 MAN EXPLORES THE SEA
    The Story of Underwater Exploration from the Earliest times to Commandant Cousteau.
    James Dugan.
    First published in Great Britain, 1956, by Hamish Hamilton Ltd, London. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 366 pages, 32 mpno plates, situated in two sections.
    The author, a scribe with the Calypso Oceanographic Expeditions, collaborated with Cousteau in his acclaimed The Silent World (and probably wrote most of it), so there is no doubting his credibility. His book is one of the most authorative on the development of diving, which he covers in sixteen independant chapters. It is an excellent read and a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the history and development of diving. [ps]
     
    MAN UNDER THE SEA.
    Adventures of the undersea explorers from Alexander the Great to Captin Cousteau.
    I have no further details, but these two books must be the same, 'Man Under The Sea' being th USA edition. 

    On the immediate left (blue border) is the paperback edition.
    MAN UNDER WATER
    Henry Billings.
    Lutterworth Press, London, 1956. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 190 pages, mono drawings.
    I have to say that this looks like a 'boy's own' book, nicely presented for the teenager inderested in, well, man under water. That is not to suggest that the book does not have merit, but I wonder about that when the author indicates that when 'the diver sinks beloww 150ft the excess nitrogen in his system may act as a mild anaesthetic'. Its an extraordinary diver who is not narked below 100ft, but be that as it may, the description of narcosis is to the point ... until he suggests that 'below 300ft the diver may black out completely for short periods'. The description is based on a hard-hat diver but the symptoms are the same of course with the scuba diver. Still, its an interesting, easy read, but not one that will cause a rush if the book is found on eBay. [ps]
    MEN UNDER THE SEA
    Egon Larsen
    First published 1955. Phoenix House Ltd, London.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 220 pages, mono plates throughout.
    The author is an author, not a diver - or at least, certainly not one of note. He has written several books  on a variety of subjects which places him in a goodd position to research adequately and write well - which indeed he seems to have done. The nine chapters cover a range of topics, from early diving through to the latest contemporary attemps to explor the bottom of the sea. The book in itself is perhaps nopt of significant historical value, but it does cover some important events and is a good read.
    From the fly: In many thousands of years of seafaring, Man has only floated upon the surface of the oceans which cover two thirds of the globe and are the cradle of organic life on earth. But in the last few years intrepid explorers on the ocean bed have given us glimpses of the beauty and adventure waiting there, and of the vast potential riches of the sea which could transform our daily lives. In this book for t'he reader young or old, Egon Larsen surveys the entire vast field of the 'seventh continent' with the imagination and competence we- have come to expect from this outstanding writer on popular science. He traces the exploration of the sea-bed back to Man's first diving attempts, and extends the range of his exciting story into the amphibious future. He recalls innumerable dran:latic adventures which have happened to scientists, divers and treasure- seekers in that silent world. He tells the story of the frogmen, the submarine and the aqualung, sketches the life of the salvage diver and the many \;1nknown jobs which are daily carried out under the water, including television and film-making, and even holiday excursions. He describes the plans for linking the continents by tunnels under the sea and predicts the day when mankind will use the ocean as its inexhaustible larder, power station and store-room of vital materials The book is brilliantly illustrated from Admiralty and private sources. A full bibliography and index contribute to the value of this comprehensive work. [ps]
    Although out of print, contact Oceans Enterprises - they may have a copy.
    . PREPARE TO DIVE! THE STORY OF MAN UNDERSEA
    Jack Coggins.
    Publishers: Bailey Brothers 1973. (Also possibly 1971).
    Story of the submarine, from early diving bells, first divers walking  underwater, Civil War subs (the Hunley and "Davids"), steam and electric powered subs, first U. S subs by John P. Holland in the 1870s, subs in the Royal Navy, World War II subs, nuclear subs, diving apparatus, and underwater research vessels. 
    Hardcover, 128 pages, many illustrations. 
    Immediate left is the 1974 reprint.  [ps]
    SKIN DIVING IN AUSTRALIA
    Edward Du Cros.
    Angus and Robertson (Publishers) 
    Pty Ltd, Sydney.
    First published 1960. No other editions.
    Full REVIEW of book.

    .    		 STARS BENEATH THE SEA. 
    Trevor Norton.
    Who are our underwater heroes? Cousteau and Hass come readily to mind, and to the historically educated, no doubt Gagnan, Dumas and Taillez, Siebe and Davis, Rouquayrol and Denayrouze But what of the man who gave Hans Hass his first lessons in diving, Guy Gilpatrick, or the incredible naturalists Henri Edwards and Roy Miner, the depth-defying Charles William Beebe, or the remarkable English marine biologist and educator Jack Alwyne Kitching? These were truly remarkable pioneers of diving, setting standards and procedures for divers to follow, opening the underwater world to the closed minds of the university academics who could not comprehend what they could not see. Of Haldane, father and son, we, perhaps, know a little, for they set the standards for breathing air at high pressures resulting in the development of decompression tables, and the use of a helium-oxygen breathing mix.  That it should have become a best-seller and acclaimed by all who read it, Stars Beneath the Sea owes its appeal not only in its remarkable subject matter but more so on the succinct and eloquent style of the author, peppered with humour and anecdote. I found it to be one of the most rewarding books on diving I have ever read, providing relaxed entertainment with a wealth of knowledge - a most remarkable book. 
    Top is hardcover.
    Cover immediate left (silver) is softcover: 282 pages, mono prints.  [ps]
    THE HISTORY OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY AND CINEMATOGRAPHY IN ITALY.
    Storia della Fotografia e Cinematografia Subacqquea Italiana.
    Alberto Romeo.
    Editrice La Mandragon s.r.l., Italy, 2009.
    Special foldout plastic cover bound, 430 pages, hundreds of mono photographs, index, bibliography, text and captions in Italian and English. Published with the support of the Historical Diving Society of Italy. 
    We know of the French contribution to recreational diving - Cousteau made sure of that - but few of us have bothered to appreciate the contribution of the Italians, especially in underwater photography and cinematography. They have been at it since 1932, with weird and bulky homemade and later commercial equipment housing the Rolleimarin and Praktiflex, and the Elmo cinecamera. Names such as Raimondo Bucher, Roberto Rossellini, Victor de Sanctis and the author himself are not familiar to us, but they should be for their contribution to the development of underwater photography. And where did the Nikonos system originate? We are however familiar, or should be if we have an interest in the history of diving, with Folco Quilici, Fosco Maraini, Bruno Vailati, Dimitri Rebikoff, and Louis Boutan, all significant players in the development of underwater photographer. The book takes a chronological look at this development, from 1932 to 1989, the latter mentioning contributions from Hass and Cousteau as well as our Aussies Cropp and Taylor. The diving gear is an interest in itself, whereas the photographic equipment seems to have stabulkised in development after a decade or so, its use divided between housings and the self-contained Nikonos system. A very interesting book and a great contribution by Alberto Romeo to the historical record of diving. By the way, has anyone got a copy of the first issue of the Italian Fotosub magazine, published in 1977; look, it is an artistic cover, thats why I want it. 
    THE DEEP-SEA DIVER - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. 
    Robert C. Martin. 
    Published in 1978 by Cornell Maritime Press, Inc. Maryland, USA. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 213 pages. 
    From the fly:
    A very important book for anyone interested in standard dress (hard-hat) diving, and the subsequent move toward light-weight suits and helmets and mixed-gas use. A comprehensive work exploring the world of the deep-sea diver. The primary purpose of this book is to explain the origins, development, cur- rent status, future of the commercial deep-sea diver and the equipment he uses and how it has evolved historically. Furthermore, the text describes in de- tail exactly how the equipment is used by the diver and how different types of diving apparatus are used depending upon the nature of the diver's work. The material is presented in detail using non- technical language. This is the story of how diving apparatus has evolved from simple beginnings into highly-sophis- ticated devices requiring skilled operators and ad- vanced technical knowledge for proper use. Start- ing with the caveman, the deep-sea diver is traced through time to understand how he has studied, invented, and improvised to allow himself to de- scend into the sea and explore its depths. Emphasis is placed on the equipment worn di- rectly by a diver - his helmet, dress, weight belt, and shoes. The initial attempts to provide these devices, their subsequent modifications, and ulti- mate development are described to provide an un- derstanding of the tremendOus difficulties man has overcome to walk beneath the waves. The last four chapters present a photographic and word compilation of diving equipment cover- ing 200 years of development. This information is historically accurate and comprehensive. Contents: A Brief History of the Deep-Sea Diving Outfit - The Physics of Being Underwater - Mark V Diving Apparatus - Diving with a Mark V Outfit - Commercial Heavyweight Deep-Sea Diving - Lightweight Diving Apparatus - Scuba - Keeping Warm Underwater - Mixed-Gas Diving Apparatus - Decompression Procedures - Other Diving Systems - A Summary of Equipment and 118 Usage - Heavyweight Helmets - Lightweight Helmets and Masks - Weight Belts - Shoes and Boots. [ps]

    .    		 THE WORLD BENEATH THE WAVES
    Gilbert Doukan. Translated by A. and R.M. Case.
    First published in Great Britain in 1957 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London.
    Translated from the French, ‘Les decouvertes Sous-marines Modernes', Paris, 1954.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 301 pages, mono photographs and drawings.
    A very interesting book, particuarly on the history of diving which is exceptionally well written. He is the first I have read who specifically mentions diving as a prospect for tourism. Underwater archaeology and photography are covered in some detail. The book is of historic value for its content and rareity. (Doukan is also the author of the acclaimed ‘Underwater Hunting'.)
    From the fly: Thanks to the recent development of apparatus that makes the diver independent of the surface, and of vessels like the Bathysphere to examine much deeper levels, this new world is at last opening up, full of exciting possi- bilities of ~dventure, exploration and discovery. Dr. Doukan, famous for his manual on Underwater Hwzting, and a leading figure in French underSea activity, has written a comprehensive account of sub- marine discovery, its past, present and future. He tells us what is known about the sea's bed and about marine life at various levels and. how such know- ledge was gained; diving in the past and present; underwater hunting; submarine tourism; archae- ology beneath the sea; the exploration of wrecks; the means to explore extreme depths; submarine photography and cinematography; undersea tele- vision; our new knowledge of marine biology; etc. No aspect of underwater activity is omitted; it is equally fascinating and authoritative, equally his- torical and practical. This is the complete answer :' to all that we want to know about discovering the: world beneath the waves.
    [ps-green]
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