CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS

    Marine sciences.

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

    FOR A LIST OF CURRENT AUSTRALIAN AND GENERAL MARINE LIFE BOOKS, link to Oceans Enterprises- Marine Life.
    See also Marine Sciences - Australian authors.

    It would be ridiculously ambitious to claim tht this list is anything but superficial. It simply lists a few of my own titles and those that I have become aware, without any claim to the scientific or monetary value of the book. 
    A FISH CAUGHT IN TIME: THE SEARCH FOR THE COELACANTH
    Samantha Weinberg.
    Fourth Estate, 1999.  Paperback;  xiii + 239pp. 
    ABYSS. The Deep Sea and the Creatures That Live in it. C.P.Idyll. 
    Published by Constable & Co. Londdon, 1964. 
    The author is a well known oceanographer and icthyologist, Professor of Marine Science at the University of Florida. This book is an excellent introduction into the formation of the oceans, the topography of the seabed, ocean currents, early deep sea exploration and the creatures that inhabit  the oceans, particuarly aat depths beyond that which we will ever visit. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 396 pages, mono photographs and line drawings, charts. Index and extensive bibliography.
    [ps]
    ADVENTURES IN MARINE COLLECTING
    Robert Straughan.
    Published by A S Barnes 1973. Hardcover, dust jacket, 237 pages, mono photographs.
    Skin diving; treasure hunting; marine biology; snorkeling; sharks. The author collects marine specimens for aquariums around the world and loves danger - deep water adventure, Hammerhead sharks, Tiger sharks,  Mako sharks, Manta Rays, Moray eels, Barracuda.
    Parts of this book appeared in his 1965 book Sharks, Morays,Treasures.
    ANIMALS WITHOUT BACKBONES
    Ralph Buchsbaum.
    The Univeristy of Chicago Press. 
    It appears that the first edition of this classic came out in 1938, with a second edition in 1948 and a reissue with additions and revisions in 1976 9as shown left). ISBN 0 226 07870 1. 
    My edition as shown is softcover but no doubt hardcovers initially for the first two editions, and probably also for the 1976 edition. 
    Of course not all invertebrates are marine animals, but this has long been the standard text on the subject. It may well be still in print. 
    CREATURES OF THE SEA
    Being the Life Stories of Some Sea Birds, Beasts and Fishes.
    Frank T.Bullen.
    Published in 1909 by E.W.Cole, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide. (My copy Third Impression).
    Hardcover, colour printed board, 430 pages, forty illustrations. 
    Twenty-eight chapters cover the marine groups.
    [ps]
    DANGEROUS MARINE ANIMALS
    That Bite - Sting - Shock - are Non-Edible. A Handbook for Skindivers, Swimmers, Physicians, First-Aid Workers, Shell Collectors, Biologists, Explorers and Everyone who works or plays in or on the Seven Seas.
    Bruce W. Halstead, MD. 
    First published 1959 by Cornell Maritime Press, Martland, USA, in 1959. Library of Congress card # 58-59799.
    Hardcover, dustjackt, 146 pages, mono photographs, mono drawings, one colour plate of drawings.
    This appears to be the first of the popular "Dangrous Marine Animals" books and is so well respected that it is still in print. No dounbt later editions have been updated with new discoveries and treatments, but the first edition (left) is excellent for its content. A very important book. [ps]

    Most of the following information is kindly provided by Dr. Sam Miller of California. Dr Miller first met the author Dr. Bruce Halstead in the mid 1950s. 
    DANGEROUS MARINE ANIMALS -THAT BITE, STING -ARE NON-EDIBLE.
    This was revised and enlarged in  1980; ISBN 0- 87033-268-6, 208 pages, picture cover, no dustjacket. 
    Dr Miller also advises that there is also another published edition A COLOR ATLAS OF DANGEROUS MARINE ANIMALS by  Bruce Halstead, Paul Auerbach and Dorman Campbell. Published in 1990; ISBN # 0849371392 & ISBN # 9780894371994. It is an illustrated photo edition that might also be of interest to the traveler.  Dr Miller advises that with advent of international dive travel to remote locations often devoid of modern medical assistance it would behove the modern dive traveler to obtain one of the later two books for their reference library. 

    Dr. Halstead's original work is a huge three-volume book set:
    POISONOUS AND VENOMOUS MARINE ANIMALS OF THE WORLD.
     Dr Bruce Halstead.
    Published by the US Government printing office in 1965. Hard picture covers without dust jackets. 
    Three volumes - Volume 1 is 994 pages, Volume 2 is 1070 pages, Volume 3 of 1006 pages for total of 3007. Each 8 -1/2 X 11 page is lavishly illustrated with drawings and underwater and topside photographs of the animals. This work is the base line which all present and certainly future research will be based. There was nothing like it published prior to his research. It's original publication price was $160.00 (US). The 3-volume set is generally available - in January 2010 a set could be obtained for (US) $250 to $375. It appears there was a reprint in 1967. Also, it appears that there was later printed a huge single book with a spine width of 8cm which, presumably, held the three initial volumes. 

    Dr Miller advises that there is another book based somewhat on Dr Halsteads original work titled POISONOUS MARINE ANIMALS by Findlay E. Russell, published 1965 by T. F. Publications Ltd, Hong Kong, no ISBN or LCCC numbers,distributed by TF publications office in Neptune City New Jersey, 176 pages, picture cover, no dust jacket. Russell was associated with USC and the USC Medical center. His correct title or position is unknown. Much of the verbiage and illustrations are from Dr Halstead's previously mentioned work. It is noted that the book was also distributed in England, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. 
     
    DANGEROUS SEA CREATURES
    Thomas Helm.
    Published by Funk & Wagnalls, New York. Book Club edition, 1976.
    Hardcover, dut jacket. 
    A complete guide to hazardous marine life. Eighty-five photographs.
    Size: 8 1/2" x 5 5/8" - 278 pages.
    [ps]
    ISLAND AT THE END OF THE WORLD
    Bernard Gorsky.
    Rupert Hart-Davis, London. 1966.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 171 pp. plus 44 pages with 66 colour photos.
    English version of La Dernière Ile (qv on Foreign webpage). A year through the outposts of the French Pacific: Tahiti, Wallis, New Caledonia (Loyalty Islands, Isle of Pines). 
    The author is well respected for his marine science books.
    KINGDOM OF THE OCTOPUS. 
    Frank W. Lane. 1957.
    First published October 1957 by Jarrolds Publishers (London) Ltd. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 286 pages, many mono prints, and a few colour plates.
    How much ore we have lernt of the Cephalopods in the past half century I do not know, but this would have been the definitive work on the subject in its day, and even 45 years on it is still a valuable reference. Chapters include a general overview of Cephalopods, food, enemies, locomotion, behaviour, colour, luminescence, reproduction, danger. 
    [ps]
    LIVING FOSSIL : THE STORY OF THE COELACANTH 
    Keith Stewart Thomson.
    W.W. Norton, New York. 1991 
    Hardcover.  No further details.
    MAN AND DOLPHIN
    Dr. J.C. Lilly
    Published in 1962 by Victor Gollancz Ltd, London.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 240 pages, mono photographs.
    The author is known for his pioneering work on communication, commencing prior to 1949 with land animals, then from that date with whales, and in 1955 with dolphins, for which he is best known. The book covers the anatomy, physiology and psychology of dolphins and iss written in layman terms. A wonderful book.
    [ps]
    MAN'S PLACE - Intelligence in Dolphins, Whales and Humans.
    Karl-Erik Fichelius and Sverre Sjolander.
    Translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal.
    Published by Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, 1972.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 205 pages, the occasional print and drawing, bibliography. Surprisingly, no index.  From the fly: 
    Considering the way the world is at the moment, I would have expected that ‘humans' would take up only a small part of this book but we do get a reasonable look-in. 
    'Two-thirds of the earth's population is at present under-nourished, if not starving.  In India, every year, 14,000 children go blind from this cause.  If human society had freedom of choice to the extent we like to believe the authors of this challenging book assert--then of course we would never permit such a state of things to have come about.  But in mankind, as in all other nimal societies, choice is still extremely limited.  In principle, human society's means of communication and control are the same as those of the ant community, or even of the jellyfish-stimulus and response. This book begins by outlining man's place on earth: by tracing the course of biological evolution, andcontrasting it with man's infinitely more rapid cultural evolution --which has now given rise to the central environmental problem of the future, the population explosion.  "If we become too numerous." they write, "we will be forced to devastate the earth's resources" and "disturb the biological balance to the point that we will in all probability meet with enormous catastrophes." A basic element ol' our problem is that, biologically, we are equipped for life in relatively small groups but live in supertribes, in which our leaders must constantly fight against the tendency towards disuion.  It is urgently necessary that we should reconsider our situation: and it is as a  contribution to this rethinking that the book goes on to a study of the world's other large-brained animals. The authors speculate fascinatingly on the function of the large brain in whales.  We must not forget, they point out, that Homo sapiens had his large brain and its potential for at least 35,000 vears before he suddenly began to cultivate the soil and develop a written language.  Do dolphins have their own form of language, which is outside our awareness?  And are human beings the more intelligent, if by intelligence we mean, say, the capacity to alter behaviour into different patterns in response to changing information from the environment? The book's final section relates this capacity to the mounting crisis faced by today's world - the threat of nuclear war, of worldwide famine, of administrative breakdown.  The authors believe that we will never work out our serious problems of co-existence until we recognise our limitations both on individual and group levels. In attacking the deeply-rooted notion that man is the most intelligent species on earth, they demand a complete re-assessment of man's place.  Their study of the behaviour of whales and dolphins shows the extent to which these other large-brained mammals have adapted to their environment.  They believe that scientific methods plus massive mobilisation on a wartime scale must be employed to tackle our ecological problems.  But first, they say, let man see himself as part of the whole living earth, learning respect for it through biological insight which, in turn, might help him to stop sawing at the branch on which he is sitting."
    I wonder if any of our leaders have read this remarkable intuitive book. In nearly forty-years haave we taken heed of what the author's recommend and forecast. We have famine on a global scale, we have a constrant threat of nuclear war, and you only have to look at the number of wat currently in progress to question our administrative (and thus political) ability. We seem to have learnt nothing of social survival over the last half century. I shudder to think what the world will be like when my son is my age.   [ps]
    MARINE LIFE
    AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INVERTEBRATES IN THE SEA
    David and Jennifer George.
    Lionel Leventhal Ltd, London; G.Harap & Co. Ltd. 1979.
    (Also John Wiley & Sons, USA; Rigby Limited, Australia; and in Canada, France, Netherland, Spain.  ISBN 0 85368 333 6. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, A4 size. 287 pages, colour, index.
    This used to be the 'bible' in the 1980s, and is still a very valuable book. It is an excellent book for identification, with some ten to twelve colour photos on each colour plate page, with a cross-reference numbering system to the text. It isbroken up into Phylum, with sub-groups lists and describes the characteristics of the animal. Although British-based, it is a world wide guide, relevent to tropical and temperate species. 
    [ps]
    Oceans Enterprises occasionally have second-hand copies.
    MIND IN THE WATERS
    A Book to Celebrate the Consciousness of Whales and Dolphins.
    Ed. Joan McIntyre.
    Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1974. Sierra Club, San Francisco. ISBN 684-13995-2 (cloth).
    Hardcover and softcover, A4 format, 240 pages, index.A superb book of a collection of essays by some of the main players in the study of marine mammals: Farley Mowat, Charles Doria, John Lilly, Joan McIntyre, Victor Scheffer, Lee Talbot and many others. In five parts: Myths and Beginnings, Brains and Consciousness, Living in the Sea, Dicovery and Response, Let Us Act.
    [ps]
    OLD FOURLEGS. The Story of the Coelacanth.
    J.L.B.Smith.
    First published 1956, Longman Green & Co, London, New York, Toronto.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 260 pages, mono prints.
    One of the most sensational discoveries in natural history, told by the icthyologist who was directl;y involved in its first capture off the South African coast in 1938. Prior to this, the fish, although known to scientists, was thought to have become extinct at least fifty million years ago. There was of course professional scepticism that it was indeed a coelacanth and Professor Smith had many battles ahead of him before proof could be found. A great story in itself. 
    [ps]
    PYCNOGONIDS
    P.E.King
    Hutchinson & Co, London, Melbourne, Sydney etc. 1973. Hardcover, dustjacket, 114 pages, mono drawings, charts and maps, bibliography, index. 
    "The Pycnogonida are a group of marine arthropods often referred to as 'sea spiders'
    because of their superficial resemblance to true spiders. A general account of this group of
    animals has not been published in the English language since 19 9, and Dr King reviews all
    the literature, including material from recent research and his own unpublished work using
    the electron microscope. The text is generously illustrated and includes a key whereby zoologists
    can easily identify to family level any adult specimen of a pycnogonid."
    [ps]
    SECRET LANGUAGES OF THE SEA
    Robert F. Burgess.
    Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, 1981.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 244 pages, index, bibliography, mono photographs and sketches.
    From the fly: The underwater world is a network of complex communications between its creatures, which are only recently being understood by scientists.  Visible sound patterns have been developed to classify and interpret the grunts, croaks, pops, snaps, and drum beats emitted by inhabitants of the deep.  Some messages are conveyed through vivid color changes, others by posturings of ruffled fins and arched bodies, while creatures without ears receive vibrations on sensors that line their bodies.  These communications serve every eventuality of life, from courtship or identification to warning or navigation. In this fascinating volume, Robert Burgess brings his knowledge of the underwater world to an inquiry into the many mysteries and bizarre methods used by marine creatures without vocal chords to transmit information to and interprets what is signified.  Towith a revelation of the complexity of ath the sea is the story of the scienho have learned what little we know this phenomenon of the deep and who i determine whether indeed man and mariat mammal will be able eventually to exchange freely abstract ideas. [ps]
    THE FISHES OF NEW GUINEA
    Ian S.R.Munro.
    Published by Department of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries, Port Moresby, New Guinea. 1967.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 650 pages, 78 mono plates and 6 colour plates; comprehensive index. Long regarded as the definitive work on the spewcies in New Guinea waters. 
    THE GENTLE SEA
    From Friendly Octopi to Genial Groupers, the Intimaate Guide to the Gentle Inhabitants of the Gentle Sea.
    Dee Scarr.  A PADI publication, Santa Ana, California, 1990. 
    Softcover, 146 pages, full colour throughout, no index.
    Hardly a classic at the moment but it may bewcome so as it is an exceptionally book,  well written with passion and knowledge. Although it has to be compulsory reading for any north American diver, it is also interesting and of value to anyone who enjoys the marine world, especially the creatures of the temperate waters that we frequently see. Dr. Eugenie Clark writes of this book: "I never knew that sponges, worms and the classification of marine invertebrates could be so funny! The underwater world, seen through the educated eyes and friendly fingers of Touch-the-Sea Dee, takes on a special sparkle and magic in The Gentle Sea. The unusual sea secrets Dee Scarr has discovered enliven this humorous and scholarly book. Mark Twain or Will Rogers might have written one of the chapters in this book if they had become scuba divers."  [ps]
    THE SEA FISHES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
    Professor J.L.B.Smith.
    The coast of South Africa is subject to a range of oceanographic conditions and habitats, and this translates into a wide diversity of fishes. Indigenous people knew of, and used, some of these fishes long before the arrival of explorers and naturalists from Europe, who subsequently described many of the species in the scientific literature. The appointment of J.D.F. Gilchrist as the marine biologist to the Cape Colony in 1895 started a tradition of ichthyology in South Africa that was fostered by K.H. Barnard at the South African Museum. The discovery of the coelacanth in 1938 put South African ichthyology firmly on the world map, and J.L.B. Smith produced the first edition of the remarkable volume Sea Fishes of Southern Africa in 1949. Subsequently, in 1986, with the assistance of numerous local and international contributors, M.M. Smith and P.H. Heemstra compiled Smiths' Sea Fishes, which documented >2000 species from the region. With the information in this volume as a basis, the coastal and shelf ichthyofauna of South Africa is examined at a biogeographic level. Diversity and endemism are discussed and complementarity analysis used to address the suitable location of marine protected areas to conserve the ichthyofauna of South Africa.
    The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa has had many revised editions through to 1986. It has long been the definitive work on the icthyology of South African waters, covering the east and west coasts of southern Africa, Mosambique and the then Portuguese East Africa. The first 34 pages cover general 'notes about fishes', their classification and nomenclature, ancestry, and environmental comment. The majority of the book covers the verious species with mono photographs, drawings, and full page colour plates. The text is extensive with detailed descriptions for positive identification.  [ps]
    THE SEA SHORE
    G.M.Yonge.
    First published by William Collins London, (no date, probably 1959).
    The by Readers Unon Ltd, London - cover as shown.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 308 pages, index, 61 colour and 62 mono plates, drawings.
    Author weas Regius Professor of Zoology in the University of Glasgow, and Chairman of Council of the Scottosh Marine Biological Association. 
    Regarded as the foremost book on the British seashore, much along the lines of Dakins Australian Seashores. Still a most valuable book on the intertidal zone.
    [ps]
     
     
    THE SEARCH FOR THE GIANT SQUID
    Richard Ellis.
    An Authoritative look at the biology and mythology of the world's most elusive sea creature.
    The Lyons Press, New York. 1998.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, mono prints and photographs, 322 pages, index, extewnsive bibliography, listing of authenticated sightings. 
    Brilliant illustrator and equally so as a writer, Richard Ellis has written a number of marine naatural science books on sharks, whales, and dolphins. 
    From the fly: In The Search for the Giant Squid, one of the foremost authorities on ocean life, Richard Ellis, provides the first definitive study of the most mysterious and elusive of all sea creatures. Ellis uncovers almost everything that is known about the giant squid, revealing both the facts and fictions surrounding this remarkable beast. Delving into myth, literature, and science, he brings us face-to-face with Architeuthis as it terrifies sailors and fishermen throughout history, causes medieval clergymen to swear they have seen a horrifying sea serpent, and battles for its life against the great sperm whale. Ellis continues his exploration of the fabled cephalopod into the modem era - when scientists rush to study the rare carcass, and film-makers and writers feature this monster in horror stories. He also provides a thorough, compelling study of what is known and what is still to be discovered about this exotic animal, which has never been studied alive. Interweaving his engrossing narrative with a wealth of fascinating illustrations and photographs, Ellis gives us the first comprehensive history of the only living animal for which the term 'sea monster' is truly applicable. [ps]
    THEATRES OF GLASS - The Woman Who Brought the Sea to the City.
    Rebecca Scott.
    Published by Shoert Books, London, 2003. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 160 pages, a few drawings and mono photographs, notes.
    From the fly: In the winter of 1847, the cloisters of Westminster Abbey enjoyed a sudden growth in popularity, as naturalists travelled from all over the country to see the very first marine aquarium in England - a large collection of madrepores and sea sponges kept in glass cases in the Sub-Dean'es drawing-room. In Theatres of Glass, Rebecca Scott tells a remarkable unknown story, which offewrs a magical insight into the world of 19th-centurry natural history. The aquarium was set up not by the Sub-Dean, but by his wife, Ana Thynne, a great beauty aand mother of ten, who by a process of serendipity had discovered how to keep and breed her pet sea creatures at home in London. Anna's invetion of the aquaroum coincided with a major philosophical turning point in history. This was a decade before Darwin would publish Origin of Species by Natural Selection, but in drawing-rooms across Europe evolutionary ideas were a subject of heated debate. Anna's theatres of glass stimulaated interesting questions. According to the fossil records, her madrepores had existed on the planet long before man, outliving the great mammoths and iguanadons. How could one reconcile this witrh the story told by the Bible? In fact, what was Nature and how did it work? [ps]
    SEAWEEDS AND OTHER ALGAE
    C.L.Duddington.
    Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1966.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 208 pges, mono photographs, glossary, index.
    "This book deals with the freshwater and mrin algae. After describing the structure and life histories of algae of all kinds, it goes on to describe in a general way their physiology, their habitat relations and their uses."
    [ps]
    SOMETHING RICH AND STRANGE
    Robert E. Schroeder.
    A pioneer night diver and marine biologist reveals the marvellous spectacle of underwater life, the remarkable changes between day and night. 
    THE SEA AROUND US.  Rachel L. Carson. 1951.  See Oceanography
    THE SEARCH BENEATH THE SEA
    J. L. B. Smith
    Publisher: Henry Holt and Co, c 1956
    Hardback, dustjacket, 260 pages, dimensions: 5 3/4" x 8 1/2", illustrated with mono photos and drawings.
    What an adventure! In the 1938 a strange fish was pulled from a trawlers net off of South Africa. A drawing of the fish was sent to reknowned icthyologist Smtih, who was stunned by what he saw as the strange fish had been thought extinct for more than 50 million year. It took 14 years of searching to find another specimen - off the French Comores Archipelago. This book is the story of these 14 years of searching for the illusive Coelecanthe. (Ebay description).
    [ps]
    THE UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE
    Carleton Ray & Elgin Ciampi.
    First published by A.S.Barnes & Co, Inc, New York in 1956, then published in 1958  by Nicholas Kaye Ltd, London. Some copies of the US edition have a stocker over the A.S.Barnes name, the sticker showing Kaye and Ward, London. This im;ies that a batch of the USA books were sold to Britain for distribution. The cover (as shown) appears to be the same for both the British and American editions.)
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 336 pages, mono and colour photographs, and line drwings.
    The region covered is predominantly the west coast USA, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska and the Mediterranean. 
    One of the early 'popular' books on marine life written by two very expereinced divers and underwater photographers, written when both were completing their PhDs at Columbia University.
    [ps]

    .    		 THE UNDERWATER NATURALIST. 
    Pierre de Latil.
    First published in France in 1951 as L'Homme Chez les Poissons.'
    First published in Great Britain 1954, Jarrolds Publishers (London) Limited. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 268 pages, mono plates throughout, drawings.
    'It is written lightly and witttily, with all the grace of a cultivated Frenchman.'
    Published 1955 by Houghton Mifflin Co, Boston (USA) - dust jacket bottom. 
    Dustjackets: far left - UK edition; left USA edition. 
    See other titles by de Latil:
    Sunken Treasure - with Jean Rivoire.
    Man and the Underwater World - with Jean Rivoire. 
    [ps-both]
    THE YEAR OF THE SEAL
    by Victor B. Scheffer.
    First published in the USA by Charles Scribner's Sons. 
    First published in Great Britain 1971 by Souvenir Press, London. ISBN 0 285 62027 4
    Harcover, dust jacket, 206 pages, mono drawings (woodcuts?) throughout.
    On the life of the Alaska fur seal, and the biologists who study them. 
    An early important marine natural science text.
    [ps]
    THE YEAR OF THE WHALE.  Victor Scheffer.
    WINDOW IN THE SEA
    Ralph Nading Hill
    First published 1956, Victor Gollancz Ltd, London.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 240 pages, mono photographs.
    Based on observations of dolphin and sharks in an oceanarium, with an aim, inter alia, of fidning a rellant to ward off shark attack. Covers also the catching and transporting of large marine animals (sharks and dolphin), anaesthesia, and 'hints for mrine housekeeping'.
    [ps]

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