CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS

    USA Recreational, historic and scientific diving.
    Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale. 

    See Lieut. Harry E. Rieseberg.
    See Robert Marx.
    See Robert Burgess.

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    Handbook for Hydronauts.
    Hank and Shaney Frey.
    Designed to give all skindivers- beginners, initiates and pros - basic information they ned to explore securley the underwater world. 
    No image.
     (Do you have one?)    		 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO SNORKEL AND SKIN DIVING.
    Al Thompson. 
    Coles Paperback. 
    A MANUAL FOR FREE DIVERS USING COMPRESSED AIR
    D.M. Owen
    Second edition was apparently published in 1955.
    Hardback, dustjacket, 60 pages.
    No further details. 
    ADVANCED SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    Including a Curriculum for a Scuba Diving Training Program
    Instruction Manual by E.R.Cross, Master Diver. Copyright 1961.
    Marine Research Publishing Company, Hawaii.
    Softcover, 88 pages, Mono prints and drawing throughout.
    This was one of the standard texts in the USA, and indeed the rest of the world, during the sixties. In concept, it followed on from the author's Introduction to Skin Diving. Although I cannot compare the two books (not having a copy of the latter), it appears that the word ‘advanced' is a bit ambitious as it does cover the basic of diving -equipment, physiology, medicine,techniques, sperfishing, deco tables. Of high historic value due mainly to its popularity at he time and the credibility of the author. (Sorry about the poor quality of the cover, buts thats all I have.)  [ps]
    . ADVENTURE UNDERWATER. 
    Bill Barada. 1959.  There is a Trend book puiblished in 1959 called Underwater Adventure, so that may be it. See Trend books. 
    ADVENTURES IN UNDERWATER RESCUE.
    Liam F. Rooney.
    Published by North Forty Press (Fort Collins,   Colorado),  1986.
    Softcover, 115 tight pages, size 6 x 9 inches, illustrated with b/w photos and illustrations by Ann Blackstone. 
    According to the eBay seller, it is a rare diving book. 
    ADVENTURES UNDER THE SEA.
    Jim Thorne 
    Published by Walker & Co., New York, 1965. Dustjacket
    "This book provides a tantalizing glipmse of the extraordinary life Mr. Thorne leads. In a relatively brief period beginning in the summer of 1961, Thorne searched for the lost arms of the Venus de Milo, discovered a forgotten city under the sea, made a movie, assisted at an underwater wedding, was married himself, helped salvage the wreck of a Civil War ironclad ( USS Cairo ) from the treacherous bottom of the Yazoo River, Mississippi and opened and closed a skin-divers' resort in Puerto Rico."
    The author is the founder of Adventure Inc. Contents include: Arms of Venus, Weddings Up and Down, Raising of the Cairo,Puerto Rico..and more. Mono photographs.                             1

    ..    		 ALL ABOUT UNDERSEA EXPLORATION
    Ruth Brindze.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 170 pages, sixty photographs. 
    The development of men and equipment, in the pursuit of conquering the Depths of the Ocean. It provides extensive history on the development of commercial diving for both scientific and monetary gain.
    ALL ABOUT UNDERSEA EXPLORATION
    An Allabout book by Ruth Brindze. Published in 1960.
    Hardcover, 145 pages and filled with vintage early 1960s photos. 
    Fascinating underwater account for kids. Contents are: The World Beneath the Sea;  Fathoming the Ocean's Secrets; Scientists at Sea; Helmet and Scuba Diving; Descent by Bathysphere; Bathyscaphe Exploration by Submarine; Treasure Hunters on the Bottom; Underwater Photography; The Search For Oil Beneath the Sea; Wiring the Oceans Earth's Last Frontier. 
    Of the dust jacket images, I presume one is British, the other USA, but not sure which is which. 
    For Italian language edition. 
    AMPHIBIAN
    The Adventures of a Profesional Diver.
    Jim Gott with Norman Lewis Smith
    Playboy Press, Chicago, 1976.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 204 pages, mono prints, no index.
    I thought there may have been a few naked mermaids in the book considering the publisher but unfortunately not. 
    This book is a biography of a man who took up diving 'in New York's murky East River' and subsequently dived Vietnam with the Marines, was a commercial diver in the Gulf of Mexico, and then an easier and no doubt more pleasurable job as a dive director at a number of of resorts on the US west coast and the Mediteranean. "Gott's adventures make thrilling reading: death-brushing encounters with sharks... getting lost at night on the bottom of a river with North Vietnamese soldier above him .....working offshore oil rigs as a hard-hat diver .... being trapped while exploring a shipwreck....."  Gott's an intewresting read with some interesting insights into the wworld of sport and commercial diving.
    [ps]
    No image.
     (Do you have one?)    		 AN ACCOUNT OF ADVENTURES BENEATH THE SEA
    Diving; Dredging; Deep Sea Sounding; Latest submarines explorations, etc.
    Published by J. W. Lyon and Co of Ontario, Canada. Date ?
    Hardcover, ornate embossed leather covers with gold printing for the title and the 7 maritime designs on the covers, 785 pags, over 250 illustrations, many of them full page mono illustrations.
    . AQUA EXPEDITIONS : A GLOBAL TRAVEL GUIDE FOR THE SCUBA DIVER AND SNORKELER
    Wendy Canning Church.
    Aqua Expeditions, 1995. Soft cover, 8vo - over 7" - 9" tall, illustrated throughout. 
    "In the beginning there was the sea. And man rowed and sailed upon the water fearing the mysterious creatures hidden in the deep. Not until Jacques Cousteau and Emil Gagon designed the SCUBA regulator was mankind able to experience the beauty of the underwater kingdom. In 1984 Wendy Church and her family attempted to explore the waters around Martha's Vineyard, a beautiful island off the south coast of Massachusetts. Even with assistance from a local scuba instructor, the family never experienced a good dive because no one on the island could share knowledge of "good dive spots". Taking the initiative, Wendy Church founded Divers Exchange International to assist divers throughout the world in obtaining information about dive sites and resort/boat operators. Someone from Maine can now get information about Australian diving. Information is constantly being added and updated by the members. We now have a publication which can be used by divers internationally to advise them of new dive sites and be informed about the physical layouts as well as safety-oriented operators for locations worldwide."
    BASIC SCUBA - Self  Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, It's Operation, Maintenance and Use.  The Sport Diver's Bible. 
    Fred M. Roberts.
    Published in 1960 by D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc, New jersey, USA.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 386 pages, mono prints and drawings. (top)
    Covers the usual themes - equipment, theory and practical skills required, ‘self-rescue' and water safety, in such detail that even today this is a useful text, for little has changed when it comes to scuba on air. Roberts also wrote on underwater photography. 
    This in from SM:
    This  is an excellent book for identifying vintage diving regulators and the history of SCUBA diving regulators,
    The book's correct title was "BASIC SCUBA; Self contained breathing apparatus, It's operation, maintenance and use" 
    There were two editions, 1960 & 1963. The 1963 edition was available in hard cover with dust jacket and Soft cover.
    A synopsis of the book and editions is as follows
    1960, D.Van Norstrand & co, Hard cover with dust jacket, 386 pages...LCCC# 60-15136, No ISBN 
    1963, Enlarged second edition , D.Van Norstrand & co, Hard cover with dust jacket, 488 pages...NO LCCC or ISBN # 
    1963, Enlarged second edition , D.Van Norstrand, Reinhold & co, soft cover, 488 pages...LCCC# 64-1105, ISBN 0-442-26824-6
    . BIG JIM - SPEARFISHING SEMINAR WORKBOOK
    Jim Christensen.
    Self-published, California, 1993. 
    There are a few of those who will recall and one who knew the great Southern California spear fisherman Jim Christensen, the many time US Spearfishing Champion, the coach of the US spearfishing team for five years and designer and developer of a number of spear guns and diving innovations.   Those of you who remember him and some who knew him will probably state that "BigJim" also published a book.  Indeed he did in 1993 titled "Big Jim  -Spearfishing seminar- work book." It was just that -- a work book to be used in conjunction with his ill fated Spear fishing seminars and featured his equally ill fated long forgotten  "Fer de lance spear gun"  However, even though a work book primarily devoted to local fish, it is full of "where what and how tips." 
    A great guide but at this late date I would think very difficult to locate a copy  unless you had attended one of his seminars. Probably the only way to obtain a copy now is pry it from the cold clammy hands of a dying  old pioneer spear fisherman. I had ever so slight input to the book, never the less Jim gave me an autographed copy which I treasure, as a memento  of a friendship that began in the LB Neptunes long before most of you were born.   I some how recall Don Paul also contributed a certain amount to its publication and suspect he also has a copy. [Sam Miller, USA]
    Sam adds: The mute question is -  Where are the books from or about the current spear gun manufactures?  What books have they published to promote the sport ? I know of not one! 
    No image.
     (Do you have one?)    		 DEEP DOWN UNDER.
    John J. Floherty. (Author of Men Without Fear, Skin-Diving Adventures etc).
    Published by J.B. Lippincott Company, 1953.  Hardcover, 146 pages, many photographs.
    Eyewitness accounts of pearl divers, frogmen, salvage and construction divers, diving bells, underwater demolition squads, diving shells, diving rescues and more! 
    DISCOVER THE UNDERWATER WORLD. 
    The Complete Guide to the Art and Science of Skin and Scuba Diving.
    Ralph D. Erickson. 1972.
    Publsihed by U.S.Divers Co.,Santa Ana, California, 1972. 
    Softcover, A4 size, 132 pages, mono and colour prints.
    Arguably the most popular, and thus most common, of the early diving-instruction text. 
    DIVEMASTER - SKIN AND LUNG DIVING. HOME STUDY TRAINING.
    A series of what appear to be loose-leaf pamphlets of several lessons (at least twelve), published by U.A.S. Corporation, 5637-43, West 63rd Place, Chicago, in 1956, and copyright by E.R.Cross.
    [Thankyou Bill for details].
    DIVE - THE COMPLETE BOOK OF SKIN DIVING
    Rick and Barbara Carrier. 
    Copyright 1955, William Funk Inc. New York. My copy published in Great Britain, no date, Nicholas Kaye Limited, London.
    New edition revised by Gene Parker. Date? Same cover with addition of words, 'New edition, revised by Gene Parker'.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 294 pagesmono photographs throughout, many drawings.
    Quite a good book actually. Covers the usual topics, with an emphasis on spearfishing. The section on dive history and myths is particularly interesting and well written. The authors are New Yorkers; he served in the Amphibious Engineers in WW2.
    1975 edition. 
    Also indicated in 1975 softcover edition that there was a copyright in 1963 which could mean another edition in that year. 
    Softcover, 1975 Paperback Edition.
    This is also titled as a 'Newly Revised by Charles Berlitz'.  The covwer has the same (blue) photograph as shown left, and had slightly different text acknowledgeing Charles Berlitz as the author of The Bermuda Triangle. 
    PS opinion: The blue cover on the left is the 1963 edition. The 1975 edition has the additional comment on Berlitz, but is essentially the same bgook. 
    [ps-1955,1975]
    DIVER BELOW!:THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING 
    Hank and Shaney Frey
    Published 1969, Collier Books, New York.
    Soft cover,.182 p, photos and drawings.
    A complete self-instructional guide to the techniques of skin and scuba diving with expert advice on diving equipment, cave exploration, diving on wrecks, spear-fishing, underwater photography and painting, the use of boats in diving. Complete with decompression tables,first-aid instruction and advice on coping with underwater environment.
    [ps]
    DIVING FOR FUN. 
    A Complete Textboopk for Students, Instructors, and Advanced Divers.
    Joe  Strykowski. 1969
    Dacor Corporation, Illinois, USA. Library of Congress Catalog Card 74-31233
    First edition 1969, send revised 1970, third revided 1971, fourth revised 1974.
    Maybe further edition. 
    Softcover, squarback bound, A4 size, 135 pages, mono prints, drawings. 
    The aiuthor was producer-host of the television series 'Man and the Sea'. No doubt this corporate-sponsored book was in direct competition with that produced by US Divers, 'Let's Go Diving'.

    .    		 DIVING WITH SAFETY
    Bev Morgan
    Published by U.S. Divers Corp., California, 1956. (Top) [ps]
    Also 1959 (right), from eBay:
    The book measures 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" and has 85 pages. (This must be 1959 edition. 
    A comprehensive instructional manual illustrated with over 90 drawings and photographs. Includes maintenance and service instructions for the "Aqua-Lung" regulator "DA", "DW" and "DY", there is also an underwater sign language alphabet illustrated.
    An scarce and interesting instructional manual, it will be a nice item for any diving enthusiast.
    There may be other editions. 
    DIVING WITH THE AQUA LUNG
    Published by US Divers, California.
    Many editions. Softcover, sadle stiched, 31 pages.
    "The bible of the early diver". 
    First published early 1960s.
    FELL'S TEEN-AGE GUIDE TO SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING.
    George Sullivan. 
    Frederick Fell, Inc. New York, USA. 1965. First Edition.
    Hardcover, dust jacket. 
    No further details.
    GENE PARKER'S COMPLETE HANDBOOK OF SKIN DIVING
    First published 1965 by Avon Books, New York.
    Softcover (paperback) 382 pages. Many drawings and charts.
    The author does indeed attempt, with quite some success' to write a ‘complete handbook', and even includes a small chapter on standard dress, and other surface supplied systems. The usual equipment, physiology etc chapters exists; and spearfishing, dangerous mrine aanimals, treasure hunting - twnety chapters in all. Probably not of hisstoric value, but nevertheless an importnat book in the chronicles of diving (instruction) literature.
    [ps]
    GUIDE TO THE UNDERWATER
    For Fish Collectors, Treasure Divers, Photographers, Snorkelers. 
    Bill Slosky & Art Walker.  Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., New York, 1966.
    Hardcover, cloth covered, no dustjacket (on my copy at least), 192 pages, quite a bit of volour throughout. 
    This is not one of the 'how to dive' instruction books. It is far more readable in th sence of having a book to read in bed or before a cozy fire - well written on the subjects that we all enjoy - from diving itself, to marine life, treasure, diving, underwater photography.
    The blurb on the back of the book is as follows:
    Up to now, the blue-green hue of the ocean depths has distorted all photographs taken beneath the surface of the sea. Divers emerging from the depths have told of the wondrous sights that until now have never been recorded on full-color photographic plates. Bill Slosky and his co-author have discovered a new way of taking photographs that brings out the long-elusive red, orange, and yellow tints that exist in corals, sponges, shells and in the exotic fishes of tropical and sub-tropical waters. This book, with its breathtakingly beautiful, true-to-life photographs is a comprehensive, classified guide to the denizens of coastal waters.
    But even more than that, this book contains:
    For the snorkeler a quick course in skin diving,detailed instructions on the use of masks and fins rules for netting and collecting,  the correct methods of spearfishing .
    For the treasure hunter: what to look for: coins, shells, amphorae, etc., where to search for sunken wrecks,  how to get your precious finds to the surface.
    For the photographer : the prqper equipment, underwater flash techniques
    So, whether you have a special interest such as fish collecting or photography, or if you just want to glide along the bottom as a spectator, you will fino this book an invaluable and visually stimulating aid to your adventures into the underwater. Remember, you won't need elaborate apparatus-just a simple mask and a simple camera to open up awhole new, gloriously vivid world!  [ps]
    HANDBOOK FOR SKINDIVERS
    George Bronson-Howard
    An Arco How-To Book.
    Copyright 1956 by Fawcett Publications, USA. 
    First published 1958 by Arco Publishing, New York.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 142 pages, many mono photos throughout.
    Starts of as usual with a history of diving, then equipment and technique, marine life, underwater vehicles (very interesting), underwater photography (several interesting housings shown), and then seventy-two pages of location diving, in the USA, Caribbean and Mediterranean. Quite interesting and of some historical  value no doubt.
    [ps]
    . HANDBOOK OF SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING. 
    Jim Martenhoff. 1967.  See Fawcett Publications.
    INTRODUCTION
    INVITATION
    TO SKIN
    AND SCUBA
    DIVING
    		 INTRODUCTION TO SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    INVITATION TO SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    John D. Craig and Morgan Degn.

    Cassell, London,1967
    S&S,New York, 1965
    S&S. Date?    		 Note - obviously - the two slightly different titles. The 'Introduction' is the English publication, edited by Brian Hesketh; first published in Great Britain in 1967 by Cassell and Company Ltd, London. Hardcover, dust jacket, 181 pages, two-tone drawings throughout.
    The 'Invitation' edition is from the USA, published by Simon and Shuster, New York 1965. 192 pages, index. It seems to be is identical in content to the British edition but Hesketh may have made some changes in the UK edition. The pink covber edition is likely to be a later USA edition - I have no date for it, but it to is also published by Simon & Shuster, of 192 pages and I presume identical to the original 1965 release.
    The usual chapters are included - history, prerequisites for diving, techniques, equipment, safety and first-aid, diving physics, medical aspects, the environment and hazardous marine animals, specialist diving activities. Probably popular in its time, but of little historic value.
     "The sea, compelling, wild and mysterious, is man's last frontier. To answer this call of the sea, here is your guide to this new frontier. Here is a fabled world where you can escape harshness and live in a dream in the silence of blues and greens, where gravity is reversed and you float in ambient softness. " That's enough to put you off diving, let alone read the book!!
    [ps,1,2,no3]
    INTRODUCTION TO SKINDIVING
    Including a Curriculum for a Skin Diving Training Program.
    Ellis R.Cross, Master Diver.
    It appears to b self-pub;ished, in 1961, but on th back cover there is andert. for another title by Cross, Advanced Skin & Scuba Diving', published by Marine Research Publishing Co., of Honolulu.
    This is only a small booklet of 56 pages, saddle stiched, mono prints.
    . JBL HANDBOOK - FOR PROFIT AND PROMOTION
    Published in house by JBL (publishers), 1990. 
    Restricted distribution to JBL dealers and selected diving personages.
     Loose leaf bound, page numbers unknown. 
    A step by step 'How to" book on selecting promoting and selling spearfishing at a time when it was on a slippery slope to oblivion.  This book was the cook book of spear fishing; of twelve chapters aka sections  with indexes. 
    The first six are devoted to marketing spear fishing and spear guns " How to sell Spear guns,"   "JBL Spear gun Components," "Displaying Spear guns,"  "Spear gun Product mix,"  "Displaying Spear guns," and "Spear point products mix". The following six were devoted to general  "Spear shaft Identification," " Repairing Spear guns,"   "Modifying Spear guns,"  "Underwater hunting course"  "Arranging Contests" and " Appendix"
    Joseph Benjamin Lamonica - Joe as he was known by his friends but known by most as JBL - published books at a time when spearfishing was on that slippery slope heading towards the resting place of the dinosaurs.  He did it not only to save his company, he did it to save a sport he had been a participant since his Santa Ana high school days in the 1940s.  Joe gave the  book and the guns to the world, for indeed they are used world wide are a lasting tribute to a fine gentleman and a spear gun that has been in constant production since 1964 with out major design changes other that material upgrades.  The American Spearfishing equivalent of the German Volkswagon Beetle. I am happy to note that I was a minor contributor to the development and publication of that book  I suspect that  Guy Skinner, the current owner of JBL has copies of these books.  Those of you who are  acquainted with Guy might ask to see them in the security of his office.  They are just too rare and valuable for him to loan to even his  close personal friends. [Sam Miller, USA]
    LADY WITH A SPEAR. 
    Eugenie Clark. 
    Harper & Brothers, New York.
    First edition, probably 1953. Hardcover, dust jacket, 244 pages. sixteen-page centre mono plates, line drawings. 
    Also (right)
    Edition printed in 1955 by The Scientific Book Club, London.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 198 pages, lin drawings, no photographs. 
    Scientist's  informal report of her career in the marine world that took her to the tropical waters of the Pacific & Atlantic oceans & the Red Sea in seach of rare and bizarre  fish. Illustrated with many black and white photo and other illustrations of unsusal fish. 
    From the fly: This high-spirited book is a youthful scientist's informal report of her career in the marine world—a career that took her to the tropical waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and the Red Sea in search of rare and bizarre fish.Here is a fascinating glimpse into the sea and its strange and colorful underwater creatures. This world as Dr. Clark describes it is a place of astonishing beauty, and the author takes you along as she invades its secrets with spear and underwater mask. At the tip of her speargun is the stuff of dreams: fanlike corals, clown fish, vermilion sponges—and the lurking dangers of tiger sharks and barracuda.
    Dr. Clark's career as an ichthyologist began a quarter century ago when she lost her heart to fishes on weekly pilgrimages to Manhattan's old Aquarium with her Japanese mother. Her enthusiasm for the work she has chosen is apparent on every page. Even her spear-fishing honeymoon on the Red Sea with her Greek doctor husband was truly a busman's holiday. Dr. Clark's account of her "wonderful life"—its adventures, the techniques employed, the scientific problems explored—will interest anyone with a curiosity about the sea and the solutions it may hold for the betterment of human life. As a warm personal story and for its sound, scientific observation, Lady with a Spear is pure delight.  [ps-both]
    THE LADY AND THE SHARKS
    Eugenie Clark.
    Harper & Row Publishers, New York etc. 1969.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, illusrrated with drawings by the author, mono photos, bibliography, index 269 pages. I havn't read the book, and dont have a dust jacket to 'steal' the blurb. It was written som fourteen yars after th author's acclaimed Lady with a Spear. Chapters include Sharks and Abdominal Pores, The Mysteries of Serranus, Blennies and Mazes, The Shark Hazard, Mesoplodon, Sinkholes and Raptures of the Deep, More Educated Sharks, An Imperial Ichthyologist, Mantas and Other Rays. It is of course part-biography of the brilliant work done by the author as an acclaimed ichthyologist. 
    [ps-no dj]
    LET'S GO
    DIVING
    		 LET'S GO DIVING. 

    1962
    1970
    1970
    1977    		 Bill Barada. 1965.
    Published by US Divers Co of Santa Ana,  California. Many printings.
    Softcover, sadletsiched, 62 pages, size 5.5 x 8.3 inches.. 
    Probably the main textbook, indeed the only text, used by recreational divers in the 1960 and 1970s. There is no doubt that this affordable book - more like a booklet - was the main eduction text in the late sixties and seventies. It was succinct and contained  'all that you hd to know' about entering the sea as a scuba diver.  And as it was published by U.S.Divers, it would not have done their sales any harm ! We have moved on from steel tank and twin-hose regs, but it is amazing how little we really have moved in the last forty years when it comes to recreational sport diving on air. 
    Note the two 1970 editions: internally they are identical, and both with the same date, January 1970. [ps]
    MASK AND FLIPPERS. 
    The Story of Skindiving.
    Lloyd Bridges as told to Bill Barada. 
    First US edition, 1960. First British edition 1961. W.H.Allen, London.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 190 pages, mono photographs, index.
    Reviewed edition: First British edition 1961.
    Full REVIEW of this book.

    For an excellent insight into the 'Sea Hunt' TV series, starring Lloyd Bridges, see DIVING PIONEERS - An Oral History of Diving in America by Eric Hanauer, Watersport Publishing, San Diego, 1994. There is an excellent chapter on Zale Parry, who did the underwater scenes in the series. I was in love with her, as no doubt was every red-blooded youngster who watched the show. 
    MEN UNDER THE SEA
    Frank Meier
    A Dell Adventure book. Softcover, medium format. Published 1948. Softcover, 6.75 x 7.75 inches tall; 144 pages. 

    See Author-Frank Meier.
    MEN UNDER WATER
    Dugan, James and Vahan, Richard (Editors) Chilton 1965. 
    Hardback, dust jacket.  This book was written in collaboration with the Underwater Society of America for the benefit of its program of exploration, sport, safety, and science. A very interesting book of early days of underwater diving and exploration. Narrative on ancient myths, sea creatures, and shipwrecks; along with pertinent undersea, scuba and nautical information. Illustrated with photographs.
    NOAA DIVING MANUAL 
    Diving for Science and Technology. 
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  (US Department of Commrce).
    First published in 1975. Second edition 1979; third edition 1991; fourth edition 2001; fourth edition revised and reprinted 2010.
    Note: In the Preface of the fourth edition it is stated that the book was first publ;ished in 1977. 
    2010 revised forth edition:
    Published by Best Publishing Company, Arizona, USA. 
    Hardcover, laminated boards, near A4 size, about 400 pages (pages ande numbere within chapter)., many mono and colour illustrations and photographs. 
    Many professional and recreational divers regard this as the overall 'bible' for underwater knowledge, and is thus a most popular and well respected manual. In this fourth editon there are twenty-one chapters and ten appendicies from history to underwater photography, from air diving to mixed gas and rebreathers; from recreational diving to saturation. [ps]
    ONE CLEAR CALL
    Rosemary Whittaker
    Published by Pelham Books London 1967
    Hard Back no DJ (this copy) 127 pages
    Dimensions 20.5 cms tall by 14 cms wide
    On the 3rd December 1962, there was a terrible diving accident in a diving bell (Atlantis) off Catalina Island in the USA.  Hannes Keller and Peter Small (co-founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club) were attempting a record depth dive when things went terribly wrong.  Peter Small was tragically killed and Hannes Keller was injured but survived.  Cover diver Christopher Whittaker also died in the attempts to effect a rescue.  This book is written by Christopher's sister (Rosemary Whittaker) as a memoir for her 19 year old brother.
    The book is divided into 12 chapters, outlining Christophers life from birth through to his dive training with Trevor Hampton and finishes at Catelina Island.
    Exptremely well illustrated with many diagrams and monochrome photographs (many diving related, even of the record attempt off Catalina) but is quite a  sad tale.  [pt]
    OUR WORLD UNDERWATER
    William M. Stephens.
    Copyright 1962, published by Lantern Press, Inc.c 1962. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 254 pages, mono photos and drawings. 
    From eBay sale - History and development of diving and of the exploits of some of the great divers of today - men who found prehistoric human skeletons in underwater caves; others who located a sunken ship that went down thousands of years ago: a man who kills monstrous sharks with a short, hand-held weapon; a diver who found a quarter-million dollars in Spanish gold and silver: a man who rides sharks as a cowboy rides a bronc; and many others. This is a practical guide to skin and scuba diving and one that offers hours of absorbing reading for the armchair adventurer as well as the active underwater enthusiast. Along the way there is essential information for the novice and tips for the experienced diver while the reader enjoys such varied underwater pictures, exploring subterranean rivers, finding sunken treasure and recovering archaeological relics. Illustrated with drawings by Chuck Sharman and sixteen full pages of photographs by the author.
    PRACTICAL DIVING
    A Complete Manual for Compressed Air Divers.
    Tom Mount and Akira J. Ikehara.
    First edition 1974. University of Miami Press, Florida. Hardcover, dustjacket, 190 pages, a few mono drawings, no photographs, tables, bibliography. Includes a sample exam paper. Tom Mount went on to be one of Ameroca's top divers with several excellent books to his name. Whether this is his first I am not sure. It would certainly have been a well respected book for its day, authoratitive and well written. [ps]
    From the fly: 
    "This source book, clearly written and fully illustrated, puts together for the first time in a single book all the long-sough after information needed by dive students, advanced divers. and instructors. From basic safety guidelines for the inexperienced dive student to detailed technical computations for the advanced, research, or cave diver. Practiical Diving covers every aspect of survival, relaxation, and learning in the undersea world. With information unavailable in any other general diving book on the marker today, this manual compiles the latest state-of-the-art in diving technology. Diver qualification levels are discussed from shallow water diver (30 feel) to dive master 140 feet). Standard dive tables from the U.S. Nary Diving Manual, 1974. are given. along with decompression times for diving at extreme exposures and at high altitudes.”
     
    SAFE DIVING
    Underwater Medicine and Diving Techniques.
    Stracimir Gosovic. English translation by Karolina Udovicki.
    Best Publishing Company,  Arizona, USA.
    First published in the Soviet Union in 1971. It went into fifth editions, up to 1990. before bing printed in English in 1993. 
    (English edition shown and reviewed here).Hardcover, laminated boards, 497 pages, index, many mon photographs and charts, dive tables. 
    A very well respected volume by by the medical professor, diver. 
    Extensive coverable of the physiology of diving with chapters and sections including: the diving bell, the armoured suit, the deep-sea diving outfit, underater medicine, one atmosphere underwater systems, ambient prssure diving systems, open, closed and semi-closed scuba diving, aspects of hyperbaric medicine as they apply to divers, diving trauma and prevention, dangeropus marine animals, oxygen, first-aid, deep diving systems etc etc. A wealth opf knowledge. No wonder the American dive-book publishers Best, took on the english edition.  [ps]
    . SAFE SCUBA.
    Richard B. Hammes
    National Association of Scuba Diving Schools Publishing. 1978.
    Soft Cover, 263 pages. "Take some time to honestly analyze your feelings about entering the world of inner space using scuba." 
    SAFE SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING.
    Adventure in the Underwater World.
    Henry Ketels and Jack McDowell. 
    Forward by Dr. Glen Egstrom.
    Educational Associates, a division of Little, Brown & Co.. USA. 1975.
    Library of Congress # 74-31973.
    Softcover, quarto size, square-back bound, 234 pages.
    'A Complet Guide to the latest Infdormation and Newest techniques in this Fast Growing Sport.
    [ps]
    SCUBA AMERICA - Subtitle: The Human History of Sport Diving 
    Zale Parry & Albert Tillman 
    Published by: Whalestooth Publishing, Orcas Island, USA in 2001 
    Hard cover with dustjacket,  500 printed pages. Dimensions: 31 cms tall by 23.5 cms wide 
    This very large book seems to cover the history of scuba in the USA, covering the history from so many angles.  It is subdivided into 42 chapters that will illustrate what I mean, just from the chapter titles: "Invention of the Aqua-Lung", "Books That Turned Us On", "Skin Diver Magazine", "The Dive Shop", "US Divers Company", "NAUI - National Association of Underwater Instructors", "The Diving Manual", The YMCA", "Los Angeles County - Crucible for Diving Insrtruction", "Clubs", "PADI - Professional Association of Diving Instructors", "NASDS", "The International Underwater Film Festival", "The Camera Goes Underwater", "Underwater Photography Society", "Nikonos Era", "Sharks", "Treasure of Nature - Black Coral, Pearls and Gold", "Artificial Reefs", "Cave Diving", "The Liveaboard - Dive Boats", "Diving Resorts", "Decompression Meters and Computers", "Mail Order Diving", "Diving Museums - Windows to the Past", "Jaws - The Artificial Manufacturing of Fear", "Exotic Scuba", "Promotional Contests and Devices", "Mining New Ideas - Sport Diving Research", "The Great Diving Places", "The Captured Ocean - Aquariums and Oceanariums", "Sanctuaries, Parks and Reserves", "Monsters", "Shipwrecks", "Treasure Wrecks", "Death Watch - Role Models Never Die", "The Dolphin Encounter", "Humor - Laughing Through Our Snorkels", "Daring Young Men on the Water Trapeze" Underwater Society of America", "Awards" and "Sea Hunt - Diving's Ultimate Recruiting Poster".
    Just to add to the content the following is from the DJ: Scuba America is the definitive and comprehensive record of the history of skin and scuba diving.  The authors, Albert Tillman and Zale Parry, are both underwater pioneers and well known figures in the sport.  Their personal involvement in diving during the past 50 years is vital to an authentic evaluationand presentation of the sport's history." 
    PT add: Maybe that is true but it should be taken in context that there was also a lot of parallel pioneering history going on outside the USA!  (pt)
    SCUBA DIVING - HOW TO GET STARTED
    William Koelzer.
    Chilton Book Company, Radnor, Pennsylvania. First (and perhaps only) edition 1976. Also published in Canada by Don M ills, Ontario. Hardcover, dust jacket, 120 pages, index. Includes Medical Examination Form. Chapters includeWhy Scuba Dive?, Exploding Scuba Myths, The Buoyancy Compensator, Is Scuba Diving Expensice, Choosing Scuba Equipment, Snorkelling-the Basic Skills, Water Entries, Surface Dives, Choosing proper Instruction. This book keeps to its title as you can imagine from the chapters, and is not your usual dive instruction manual. Much of the material would still be relevant to this day - xcept for the chapter on expense!!!  [ps]
    SCUBA DIVER'S GUIDE TO UNDERWATER VENTURES
    Judy Gail May
    Copyright 1973, published by Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pa, USA.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 222 pages.
    The author is 'an expert diver, author, photographer' - 'Judy presents the start-to-finish details of the particular problems of underwater photography ...'. This iss more of a 'what to do when diving' book rather than a technical text - it covers underwater photography, ice diving, diving for treasure, fish watching, sightseeing the ocean, shell collection, coral gathering, cave diving, careers in diving. It would have been a most useful book in its day, and is still inspiring reading, but of limited historic value. The dedication to her husband is particuarly nice. 
    [ps]
    SCUBA - SAFE AND SIMPLE. 
    John Reseck. 1975.
    Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1975.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 240 pages, mono photographs, drawings, charts.
    [ps]
    No image.
     (Do you have 
    one?)
    		 SCUBA DIVING
    Joan Deakin. 
    Trafalgar Square North Pomfret, Vermont, U.S.A. 1981 
    Dust Jacket. 8vo - over 7" - 9" tall  Hard cover with dustjacket
    No image.
     (Do you have 
    one?)
    		 SCUBA DIVING: UNDERWATER ADVENTURING.
    Hank Ketels, and Jack McDowell
    Winner's Circle Books NY 1988. Softcover (Sports Illustrated). Photographs; Small 4to; 207 pages. 
    SCUBA SPEAR AND SNORKEL
    No further information.
    . SCUBA TANKS HIGH PRESSURE CYLINDERS FOR DIVING
    Bob Gonsett. National Association of Underwater Instructors.
    Colton 1973. Stiff wrappers. 4to - over 9" - 12" tall. Drawings and sketches. 

    SCUBA REGULATORS AIR PRESSURE REDUCTION VALVES FOR DIVING
    Bob Gonsett, National Association of Underwater Instructors.
    Colton 1975. Stiff wraappers. 4to - over 9" - 12" tall.  Drawings and sketches. 
    SHALLOW WATER DIVING AND SPEARFISHING
    by Hilbert Schenck Jr., and Henry Kendall.
    Cornell Maritime Press, Maryland (USA), 1954.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 252 pages, mono prints and drawings.
    One of the earliest diving texts. Covers ‘helmet diving', ‘mask diving', recirculating equipment, ‘self-contained throw-away diving equipment', spearfishing, diving science, the ocean and its inhabitants, deco tables and other chapters. The equipment photos are fascinating.
    [ps]
    More info on author's works.
    SHARKS, MORAYS AND TREASURE
    Robert P.L.Straughan.
    Published 1965 by A.S.Barnes & Co, New York, and Thomas Yoseloff Ltd, London. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 208 pages, mono prints.
    From Crooks: While the majority of this book is about the ocean's natural history, there are two chapters about the author's adventures locating and salvaging a vintage shipwreck in the Caribbean.
    [ps]
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVER'S DIGEST
    Subtitle: Fundamentals, Techniques, Equipment for Novice and Expert.
    Robert H Springer
    Published by: DBI Books Inc, Northfield, Illinois, USA in 1975.
    Printed card covers;  288 printed pages. Dimensions: 27 cms tall by 21 cms wide
    Seems quite a comprehensive book for its time, covering quite a wealth of subjects “diving” between the covers.  Divided into 19 chapters: “Exploring Earth’s Great Frontier”, “Beginners Guide to Snorkelling Equipment”, “Developing Basic Skin Diving Skills”, “Open Circuit Demand Scuba and Associated Equipment”, “A Introduction to Scuba Diving”, “Physics of the Underwater World”, “Physiology of the Underwater World”, “Planning Underwater Adventures”, “Methods of Underwater Communication”, “Underwater Inhabitants”, “Equipment & Techniques for Underwater Spear Fishing”, “Equipment for Underwater Photography”, “Purifying High Pressure Air”, “Underwater Search, Salvage and Treasure Hunting”, “Travel Adventures for Underwater Enthusiasts”, “Characteristics for Your New Environment”, “Rescue Procedures and First Aid for Divers”, “Inflatable Boats as Diving Platforms” and “Why Some Divers Drop Out – An Opinion”. It’s nice to have a manual that seems to try to cover all – whether successful is a matter of personal opinion.  All too often, a manual is sold for each subject forcing the reader to buy more than one book.  Extremely well illustrated with very many monochrome diagrams and photographs.  Equipment is very well covered with a variety of kit from a wide selection of manufacturers. [pt]
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING.
    John E. Cayford. 1964.
    Not sure if the following information relates to Cayford's book, but is relevant to dust jacket on left.
    Skin and Scuba Diving Handbook
    Published by The Athletic Institute. 
    Comment from internet - 
    It does not have a date.  If I had to guess by the clothing worn in the pictures I would say 1950's.
    NOTE: Cayford is not mentioned on cover nor on title page. Not sure how I came to be informed that this was by Cayford. Title page shows 'Professionlal Underwater Consultants', as: Gustav Della Valle, Benjamin S. Holderness, Charles M. Smithline, Arthur Stanfield, Harry Vetter. (Info courtesy Bob.Bamford, Canada - thankyou). See also below. Cayford also had published a softcover book of this title by Fawcett Publications.
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    Published by The Athletic Institute. 
    Gustave Dalle Valle, Arthur Stanfield, Benjamin S. Holderness, Charles M. Smithline, Harry Vetnr.

    See above book by John Cayford, also, apparently, published by The Atheltic Institure. Perhaps a different edition. 
     
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING IN UNDERWATER EDUCATION
    A Training Text for Institutions of Higher Learning. 
    Albert A. Tillman, Assistant
    Professor of Recreation Education, Los Angeles State College. 
    Published by Wm. C. Brown Book Company, distributed by Scubapro, copyright 1962. 
    Oversize softcover, 149 pages.
    Training text for the underwater diver.
    Athletic Institute Series; 1963 (Third Printing),  128pp. Profusely illustrated with black and white photos on every page with instructions in the basics of diving techniques and equipment as they were in the 1960's. 
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    Albert A. Tillman.
    Physical Education Activity Series. 
    Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers. Dubuque, Iowa. 1966.
    Library of Congress number 66-20673.
    A small booklet, square-back bound, 68 pages, mono drawings. 
    [ps]
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    Action Books for Todays Young Adults.
    George X. Sand.
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVER.
    Lil Borgeson and Jack Speirs. 1966.  See Fawcett Publications.
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    Richard Hardwick.
    Monarch 1963. (Paperback) 
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING.
    Donald Harper. 
    SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING - SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES - A STUDY GUIDE
    John L. Cramer, PhD. Bergwall Productionss, Inc. Garden City, New York. 1975.
    Softcover, sadlle stiched (stapled), nearly A4 size , drawings, charts, tables. 
    An aid to instruction - provides a number of questions over the subject matter mentioned in the title, with soace for students to wrote their answers. Provides the answers at the back of the book. Appenix includes a 'Medical History Record'; amd US Nany Decmpression tables.
    [ps]
    SKIN DIVING ANNUAL. 
    E.R. Cross. 1957.  See Trend publications.
    SKIN DIVING
    Simon Dresner. 
    Rand McNally and Company.1963 
    Paperback, 96 pages. 
    Contents include: Wonders of Skin Diving, Preparing for the Plunge, First Dives, Becoming an Expert Diver, Underwater Adventure and Future of Skin Diving.
    SKINDIVER HANDBOOK. 
    Lil Borgeson and Jack Speirs. 1960. See Trend publications.
    SKIN-DIVING ADVENTURES
    John J.Floherty and Mike McGrady
    Published 1962 by J.B.Lippincot Co, Philadelphia and New York. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 192 pages, mono photographs.
    The authors are professional writers, rather than divers, and they write of the sport and professional divers who take to the sea , including police divers, 'frogmen', maritime archaeologists, treasur hunters, and idiots who wrestle with octopii. 
    [ps]
    SKINDIVING MADE EASY FOR FUN AND PROFIT!
    Gene Tinker. 1967. 
    Published by Petersen Publishing Co, Los Angeles. 1967. 
    A4 formatsoftcover 191 pages, mono prints and drawings. 
    They certainly packed a lot into this book. It is still a most radable book, mainly for its (now) historic content - eqyuipment tht is. The procedures are much the same. Covers wreck diving and underwater photography, underwater hunting - and how to make money diving.
    SPEARFISHING AND SKINDIVING ON THE FLORIDA REEFS
    Hope Root. 
    Published 1955.
    Appears to have been only 500 printed and is classed as a rare book in the USA.
    Hard coverof light grey/tan colour, no dust jacket. The bindings were very very poor quality; 94 pages, 16 cm tall X 11 cm wide
    Hope Root (a male) was known for his attempted world record dive - he made it to 700 feet but never surfaced. (The dive was covered in one of the US magazine "Look" or "Life" in 1954, published after his death, by his mother.) 
    Only 500 copies were published as I recall $3.95 or $4.95 each at the time. Thus now considered very rare therefore expensive and one of the holy grails of US spear fishing books.  One sold 'some years ago' for $600.00+ US dollars; more recently (late 2009) one was on offer for US $400.00.
    [SM details]
    SPEAR FISHING - HOW AND WHERE
    Bill Barada.
    F. J. Voit - JBL Spearfishing  books. (JBL Publishers), 1969.
    Soft cover,  illustrated with pictures and photographs, 100 pages. Size 8 1/2 X 11 inches. 
    This book was commissioned by F. J. Voit  and written by Bill Barada as a guide and to promote  spear fishing with-in the US and as a guide and means of introducing a revolutionary spear gun to the world.  It is divided into twelve chapters dealing with subjects such as Selecting a spear gun, Tips and techniques, and locations; NW Pacific, SW Pacific, gulf of California (Mexico) Off Shore Oil rigs, Florida and the Caribbean, SE Atlantic, NE Atlantic, & Fresh water lakes.
     Possible interest to many would be the Selecting a spear gun, Tips and techniques.
    Selecting a spear gun, Bill identifies the available guns of the era, the Hawaiian Sling, the Spring gun and the pneumatic powered guns, however no mention of the gun he invented and was famous for the CO2 powered gun ( see Discover Diving Jan/Feb 1993 : "The Magnificent gas gun." )   Not too surprisingly the recently introduced (1964) Voit - later Mares, most recently JBL gun is prominently featured.
    Tips and techniques would also be of interest..perhaps an eye opener for those of you using only a slip tip the number and variety of other configurations or those who somehow can magically glance at a point and identify it's manufacture by its configuration.   There is a plethora of points; a dozen or more made by Voit are identified and described as to use, fish  and location to be used.  Surprisingly Bill  does not take credit for the pull out point the "Pile driver" he invented and which has received world wide acceptance-but even to this day no acknowledgement of him as the inventor
    Of local interest is the picture of Al " Omar" or "O" Wood on page 42; an entire page is devoted to him standing besides a presentable BSB, holding a WSB with another one at his foot.  There is a foot note to this picture....Voit and Bill Barada, ( pioneer diver, inventor and spear fisherman of note) invited selected Orange County spear fishermen and the members  of the San Diego  Bottom Scratchers  to to the Coronados for a day of spearfishing..  Only three fish were taken that day-- all by Al Woods.......Needless to say the decks were steaming with envy on the return trip. ( FYI Omar was one of the three OC pioneer spear fishermen honored at the 2000 millennium  party as a "Father of Spear fishing").
     Bill Barada a friend and dive buddy for about 50 years autographed a copy to me..Sadly for some unknown reason  I never had Joe Lamonica sign it.  Now both are diving on that big reef in the sky.  [Sam Miller, USA]
    SPORT DIVING
    The Instructional Guide to Skin and Scuba.
    Mort Walker.
    SPORT DIVING A to Z FOR ADVANCED OR EXPERIENCED DIVERS
    Dennis Graver.  Illustrated by: Jim Mitchell
    Published by the author in the USA, in 1976. 
    Illustrated card covers; 167 printed pages. Dimensions: 23 cms tall by 15.5 cms wide.
    To achieve every letter of the alphabet, the author has stretched things a bit.  Take “A” for example, it stands for “Advancement to Adventures” while “Z” stands for “Zero Hour”, what the heck does that mean? Divided into twenty-six chapters (obviously) with dubious matched headings from A to Z.  Nicely illustrated with some excellent line drawings. Author refers to diving organisations in the back of the book, namely PADI and NAUI -  no other organisations available in the USA I guess?  [pt]
    SPORT FISHING IN HAWAII
    Edward H Hosaka. MSc
    Published by Bonds, Honolulu,1943
    This from Dr. Sam Miller, with thanks:
    Universally refered to as "Hosaka" in diving/spearfishing bibliophile circles, it is one of those historical sleeper books that chronicles in a few pages and equal number of drawings the very genesis of recreational spearfishing in Hawaii and California.  Published  only five years after Gilpatric's Compleat Goggler  it has the distinction of being  second book published on spearfishing in the English language. Copies are currently still available at a reasonable price on the used book market.  However they are 67 years old therefore good bibliophile copies with intact dust covers and tight bindings are becoming scarce and pricey. A must have book for the serious historian spear fisherman to establish continuity of spearfishing history.  No LCCC or ISBN numbers. Total 192 pages; only pages 39,40 &41 devoted to Spear fishing and constructing spears.  [sm]
    SUBMARINES, DIVING AND THE UNDERWATER WORLD: A BIBLIOGRAPHY
    F.J. Anderson. 
    Archon Books, Hamden, Conn., USA. Date published: 1975. Hardcover, 8vo, 238 pp. 1,496 entries. 
    Expaned edition of the book Submarines, Submariners, Submarining, published in 1963.

    SUBMARINES, SUBMARINERS, SUBMARINING.
    F.J.Anderson.
    First published 1963, probably by Archon Books, Hamden, Conn., USA.
    Later updated and repinted in 1975 as
    Submarines, Diving and the Underwater World: A Bibliography
    THE CALIFORNIA ABALONE INDUSTRY – A Pictorial History
    A. L. “Scrap” Lundy
    Published By: best Publishing Company, Flagstaff, USA 1997. Illustrated Card Covers – 223 Pages
    Dimensions: 21.5 cms tall by 28 cms wide.
    This large format book (in landscape format) is a really interesting book to have.  Not only is it well illustrated, it is well put together.  The drawings and photographs are in a mixture of colour and sepia, to give the impression of colour throughout.
    There are 13 chapters:- A Description of the Abalone Harvested Commercially in California, The Chinese 1853 to 1900, The Japanese 1898 to 1941, The 1930’s: The California Central Coast, The 1940’s, The 1950’s, The 1960’s,  The 1970’s to 1994, Abalone Shells and Pearls, Recipes, Mariculture, Sea Ottersand Shellfish on the California Coast and Does the Abalone Have a Future in California?  The book concludes with a couple of tables: The Total Amount of All Species of Abalone Harvested by Year – 1916 to 1994 and “Abalone Landed, Value, Number of Vessels and Participants in the Abalone Fishery 1951 to1994”.  There’s also a Bibliography, glossary and list of people interviewed.  Inside the front and back covers are a simple naïve timeline illustrating the way abalone was harvested.
    At the beginning, the author thanks and pays tribute to Bev Morgan for all his help in producing the book. All in all, a really nice book to own. [pt]
    THE COLLIER QUICK AND EASY GUIDE TO SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    Robert Scharff. 
    Large trade softcover, 128 pages. Illustrated.
    Contents include: What Diving is All About,  Skin Diving,  The Physics and Physiology of Scuba Diving,   Scuba Diving, Diving Safety Rules and Rescue Procedures, Avoiding Underwater Hazards,  Spearfishing, Underwater Photography, Underwater Exploration.
    THE COMPLEAT GOGGLER
    Guy Gilpatric.
    First edition 1938. Dodd, Mead and Company. Second edition 1957, in conjunction with Skin Diver Magazine.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 182 pages, mono prints.
    Full REVIEWof this book on the Gilpatric page.
    Also published by John Lane The Bodley Head Ltd, London 1939. 
    The dust jacket, left, is from the 1957 edition. It is identical to the original edition except for the brief text above the author's name. 
    The 1938 text is: The new sport which combines fishing, hunting and submarine sightseeing.
    The 1957 text is: A new edition of the Skindiving Classic with an appreciative foreword by James Dugan  and up-to-date information on latest techniques and equipment. 
    [ps-1957]
    THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO SNORKEL AND DEEP DIVING
    Owen  Lee
    Published by: Doubleday & Company, New York, USA in 1963, then 1967. 
    Blue hard covers with dustjacket;  467 printed pages.  Dimensions: 24 cms tall by 16 cms wide.
    A very extensive treatment of scuba and snorkel diving. Twenty two chapters with numerous black and white photos and charts cover equipment, physics, instruction, communications, spearfishing, decompression, underwater photography and many other topics. Forward by Jaques Cousteau. [ps] Covers of both editions are identical.
    From PT: This is described by the author as a diving encyclopaedia.  It is a very big book as can be seen from the number of pages and is divided into 3 parts and in turn each part is subdivided again.  Part 1 deals with such subjects as snorkelling and associated equipment and spearfishing. Part 2 concentrates on diving physics and physiology, Aqualung equipment and aqualung training in various forms. Part 3 looks at what to do after training including professional diving, search & recovery, treasure diving, light salvage, photography and prospecting for gold underwater. The author’s claim to fame was that he was only American diver with Cousteau  at the Vigo Bay explorations.  Photo of author with JC. (The author is the good-looking one!)
    THE COMPLETE MANUAL OF SKINDIVING. 
    A.P. Balder. 1968.
    The Macmillan Company, New York.
    Collier-Macmillan Ltd, London. 1968.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 302 pges, drawings, index. \
    [ps]
    THE COMPLETE UNDERWATER DIVING MANUAL
    Compiled and edited by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Office of Marine Resources.
    Published by David McKay Co. Inc., New York, USA
    Softcover, about 400 pages (at least - they are numbered within chapter), many mono illustrations and photos, dive tables, index.
    There is no date to be found anywhere in the book that will define its publication period. This is a rather annoying ommision from the publisher - the (USA) Library of Congress number for the book is 77-78059. It may be a resonable guess to say that the book was published in 1977. I thought this was the first edition of the now very well known and respected NOAA Diving Manual, now in its very much revised forth edition 2010 (see elsewhere the listing for the NOAA Manual) - however, it is clearly not so. In the foreword of The Complete Underwater Diving Manual there is a publsiher's note which states:"This Foreword is taken from the the NOAA Diving Manual. Neither Howard W. Pollack nor any other NOAA employee has been connected with the David McKay Company's publication of The Complete Underwater Diving Manual, which is based on the NOAA Diving Manual". This seems rather curious, and somewhat tetchy, so I wonder what is going on there. First the publishers say that it is compiled and edited by NOAA , then they (appear to) refute it. Strange! Anyway, this is trhus clearly not the first edition of the NOAA Manual now its forerunner.  [ps]
    THE DIVERS BIBLE
    Phil Henderson
    Yong Kian Printing. Singapore. 1993. 
    Pictorial soft cover ; 168 pages, with tables and figures.  21.5 x 14.8. 
    No idea if this is for a USA, or UK release - or anywhere else. No further details.
    THE HELLDIVERS RODEO
    Subtitle: Deadly, X-treme, Scuba-diving, Spearfishing Adventure Amid the offshore oil platforms in the murky waters of the Gulf of Mexico
    Author: Humberto Fontova 
    Published by: Rowman & Littlefield in the USA in 2003 - 244 pages with 20 monochrome photos. 
    Dimensions: 22.5 cms tall by 14.4 cms wide 
    From the dustjacket: "An account of some of the wildest, most extreme sportsmen in recent memory, The Helldivers' Rodeo introduces a group of New Orleans scuba-diving clubs that dive from off-shore oil platforms in order to spear the giant fish that congregate around these artificial barrier reefs. Armed only with spear-guns, polyester dive-suits from the disco era, and a drunken sense of invulnerability, the members of different scuba/fishing clubs get together annually to compete. The winner, at the end of the week-long contest, will have bagged the biggest (and frequently deadliest) fish. Past winners include a 138 lb. amberjack fish speared by John Hagman in 1993 a 495 lb. sand tiger shark nailed by Stan Smith in '94 and a 127 lb. yellowfin tuna skewered by David Dauzat in '98. Synopsis An account of some of the wildest, most extreme sportsmen in recent memory, The Helldivers' Rodeo introduces a group of New Orleans scuba-diving clubs that dive from off-shore oil platforms in order to spear the giant fish that congregate around these artificial barrier reefs. Armed only with spear-guns, polyester dive-suits from the disco era, and a drunken sense of invulnerability, the members of different scuba/fishing clubs get together annually to compete. The winner, at the end of the week-long contest, will have bagged the biggest (and frequently deadliest) fish. Past winners include a 138 lb. amberjack fish speared by John Hagman in 1993 a 495 lb. sand tiger shark nailed by Stan Smith in '94 and a 127 lb. yellowfin tuna skewered by David Dauzat in '98."
    After the introduction and acknowledgements, the book is divided into 10 chapters:- Down & Tangled, Heading Out, Sharkbait, The Dog and Pony Show,The the Bottom, Haulin' em Up, Breton Island Interlude, Chunks of Flesh, Breton Island Blast and Into the blue.  [pt]

     

    .

    		 THE MAN WHO RODE SHARKS
    William R. Royal with Robert F. Burgess.
    Publisher: Dodd Mead & Company, July 1978
    Hardcover, blue cloth with silver blocking, dustjacket.
    Reprinted January 2000 as an Authors Guild Backinprint.com edition.
    Author: Robert F. Burgess & William R. Royal
    Note that Burgess gets front billing on cover this time, but relegated to "with" inside. 
    "William Royal with co-author Robert Burgess has written a very entertaining book on his diving experiences. From harpooning fish from a bridge during the Depression years in order to feed his then young family to his later diving exploits in the Pacific Islands when on US military service.
    Spearfishing, avoiding all manner of toothy marine life and blowing up coral heads to keep navigation channels clear were just some of his activities. No stranger to sharks, Royal found that by hanging on to certain sharks' tails during their live capture for cancer research he was saved from being bitten, hence the book's evocative title.  Scientific interests meant that he also participated in dives which explored prehistoric remains underwater, recovering numerous fossil bones and shark teeth in the ocean adjacent to Venice Beach and, in mineral springs, an Ice Age human skull amongst other bones in the cave system in the Florida Springs. It is one of those exciting books that seems to take you underwater with the author, a great read."
    . THE NEW SCIENCE OFD SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    See The Science of Skin and Scuba Diving below.
    THE SCIENCE OF
    SKIN AND SCUBA
    DIVING

    THE NEW SCIENCE OF
    SKIN AND SCUBA
    DIVING











     

    		 THE SCIENCE OF SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
    'A project of the Conference for National Cooperation in Aquatics.'
    First published 1957, with revisions in 1962, 1968, 1974, 1980  - see below.
    Published by Association Press, New York. 
    The 4th annual meeting of a working group of enthusiasts at Yale University in 1954 resulted in the first edition, "the beginning of the history of this sport and science". 
    Varying number of pages, sizes. Not sure if all editions were released in both hard and soft cover. Illustrated contents include; basic requirements for scuba and skin diving, physics as related to diving, medical aspects and underwater physiology, fundamentals of compressed gasses as related to scuba, basicequiptment, skills, first aid, environment and marine life, planning a dive, plus a glossary and united states navy decompression guide.
    Of the early edition, "The Science of Skin and Scuba Diving: Adventuring with Safety Under Water", 319 pages with glossary of terms, and many illustrations, .there is an editorial committee listed, but each chapter is written by different authors. Chapter titles are (1) Basic Requirements for Skin and Scuba Diving. (2) Skin Diving. (3) Physics as Related to Diving. (4) Medical Aspects to Diving: Underwater Physiology. (5) Fundamentals of Compressed Gases as Related to Scuba. (6) Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. (7) Environmental and Marine Life.(8) First Aid for Diving Accidents. (9) Skills of Skin and Scuba Diving. (10) Planning a Scuba Dive. (11) How to Organize a Diving Club.
    THE SCIENCE OF SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING: ADVENTURING WITH SAFETY UNDER WATER.
    Published by Association Press, 1959 revised second edition.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 319 pages with glossary of terms, and many illustrations. 
    "A Project of the Conference for National Co-Operation in Aquatics" 
     

    1st. Ed. reprint, 1959
    2nd Edition, 1962
    3rd, Edition, 1968 [ps]
    4th Edition, 1974 [ps]
    5th, 1980 [ps]

    Editions:  [sm]
    1957- LCCC # 57-11601- (hard cover)=306 total pages
    1959- revised edition LCCC # 57-11601-(hard cover)=306 total pages
    Title changed to: The NEW Science of Skin and SCUBA diving
    1962-LCCC # 62-9376=208 (hard cover) total pages 
    1962-LCCC # 62-9376=208 (paperback) total pages 
    1967-LCCC # 67-14583=224 total pages .
    1968-ISBN # 0-8096-1548-3 (hard cover) = 224 total pages
    1968-ISBN # 0-8096-0453-1 (paper back) = 224 total pages
    1974- ISBN # 0-8096-1876-1 2 (hard cover)=87 total pages
    1974- ISBN # 0-8096-0472-8 (paper back)=287 total pages
    1980-ISBN # 0-695-81424-9 (hard cover) = 301 total pages
    1980-ISBN # 0-695-81346-3 (paper back) = 301 total pages
     
    THE SCUBA DIVING HANDBOOK
    A Complete Guide to Salt and Fresh Water Diving
    Paul McCallum.
    Betterway Publications Inc. Whitehall Virginia; 1991 
    Trade paperback. Illustrated with colour and mono photographs and mono charts.
    (Was there a hardcover edition). 
    THE SKIN DIVER
    Elgin Ciampi.
    Published 1960. The Ronald Press Company. New York. 1960.
    Hardcover, 316 pages, 295 mono photos, 33 line drawings, index, further reading.
    What a great book - how valuable this must have been to the recreational divers of the sixties - it contains a bit of everything. I must admit to have listed this in the European section initially, but Ciampi was, apparently, an American. 
    From the fly: For the expert here is a complete handbook of underwater skill and lore. It provides many new ideas for more effective skin-diving techniques, and a wealth of little-known facts about marine life. The chapters on spearfishing and marine life delve deeply into the biology, ecology, and behavioral characteristics of fish and other forms of sea life. There are tips on where to dive, the location of treasureand sunken ships, underwater archeology,and the many other possibilities for recreation, sport, and adventure.The result of picturing more than seventeenyears of skin-diving experience in waters from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean.
    On the author:  For more than 17 years Elgin Ciampi has been skindiving, photographing, and exploring underwater. He has spearflshed, sought pirate treasure, salvaged Spanish galleons, made movies and taken thousands of photographs of marine life and scenery the worldover - in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the waters of Hawaii, Florida, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and New England. In the summer of 1959 he participated as official photographer in the National Geographic - Smithsonian Institution - Edwin link archeologicalexploration expedition in Jamaican waters. As author, photographer, scientist, and member of the world-famous Explorers Club, Mr. Ciampi is a man of wide interests, all engagingly reflected in this book. He has made a special study of the behavior of sharks. His extensive knowledge of skin-diving techniques, underwater photography, and marine biology has been set forth in three books, numerous magazine articles, a regular column, motion pictures, and on radio and television. 
    Note: This is the first time I have seen a dust jacket that has been printed on the inside - in this instance, with a promotional list of books offered by the publisher. [ps]
    THE SKIN DIVER'S BIBLE
    An Indispensable Guide to Scuba and Snorkel Diving with more than 100 Photographs and Drawings.  Author: Owen Lee. Copyright 1963, 1968. Original publisher Doubleday, USA.
    First published in Great Britain 1969, Robert Hale, London. Softcover, 158 pages, mono photos.
    The British edition has a sticker on thee title page 'strongly recommending' British divers to use the RN tables in the BSAC Manual, rather than the tables listed in the book. 
    The back cover states that the author was a colleague of Jacques Cousteau, suggestive therefore of his credibility to write the book. It covers the usual history, equipment, physiology, learning to snorkel dive, learning to scuba ddive, diving hazards, deco tables. The book sold for US$1.95. Of some historic interest I suppose.
    Ebay description:
    Owen Lee, colleague of Jacques Cousteau and author of ‘The Complete Illustrated Guide to Snorkel and Deep Diving'. Covers how and where to learn skin diving; snorkel and scuba diving equipment; physiology of diving; techniques of  snorkel diving; techniques of scuba diving; safety instructions for use of underwater breathing apparatus; entering the water: dives and jumps; emergency measures; buddy
    breathing; blind diving at night or in murky water; diving hazards; underwater communications; tables for assuring underwater safety; diagnosis for treatment of diving acidents of all kinds; underwater photographic equipment; and underwater transportation. More than 100 photos and drawings.   [ps]
    THE SKIN DIVER'S TRAVEL GUIDE
    Gene Tinker.
    Pan Am's guide to snorkelling and scuba diving in Bermuda, the Bahamas, the caribbeana and the Mediterranean. 
    Doubleday & Co,m New York. 1967. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 336 pages. 
    Part One concerns the Caribbean Islands, of course. Part Two is the Mediterranean. And thats it. 
    I guess Pan Am didn't want to stray too far from home.
    [ps]
    THE UNDERWATER WORLD
    A Complete Guide to Diving, Spearfishing, an Other Underwater Secrets.
    JohnTassos.
    Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1957.
    Library of Congress Number 57-5557. 
    First printing, March 1957. Second printing November 1960. Not sure if there were any further printings. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, mono prints. 
    One of the more interesting of the early recreational diving books, high on skindiving and spearfishing, but enters the realm of the scuba diver, and closed-circuit systems. 
    .
    		THE YOUNG SPORTSMAN'S GUIDE TO SKIN DIVING
    Joan and Van Ellman.
    First published 1961, Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 96 pages, mono photos throughout.
    Covers the beginnings of skin diving, the sport today, use of equipment, specimen collecting and preservation, spearfishing, clubs, treasure and the Unknown. Not a particularly inspiring book but nevertheless one of the early texts. Of limited historical value.
    [ps]
     
     

    The Young Sportsman's Guide to SKINDIVING
    A complete, step-by-step guide for the beginner including many hints and tips for the experienced diver.
    Van Ellman.
    Cornerstone Library, New York. 1967.
    This is an exact reprint of the above edition by Thomas Nelson & Sons.
    Softcover, booklet form, saddle-stiched, 96 pages. 
    [ps]

    See also below.
    THE YOUNG SPORTSMAN'S GUIDE TO SCUBA DIVING
    Van Elman
    Photographs by Joan Ellman.
    Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York. Second Printing 1963.
    Note that Joan Ellman's name does not appear on the dustjacket nor the title pages of this printing. Did they have words???
    I have not compared the text between the 1961 edition and this, but I would suggest that it is nearly identical - perhaps updated with more 'scuba' information. . 
    [cd]
    . THE YOUNG SPORTSMAN'S GUIDE TO DIVING 
    Robert Clotworthy
    Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York, USA.  1963 (second printing)
    Hardcover, dust jacket. 1963. Photographs and drawings.
    No further details. 
    THIS IS DIVING - A Complete Underwater Course.
    Duilio Marcante
    Published by: Sheridan House Inc, Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA; first in 1976, then 1989.
    Printed hard covers; 160 printed pages. Dimensions: 23.5 cms tall by 20 cms wide
    Quite a claim by this second edition of this book that it is a “complete underwater course”.  For a book revised in 1989, there still seems to be some older equipment reviewed like the “SOS Decompression Meter” disguised as a “Technisub Automatic Decompression Meter”!  It is a similar story with regulators with a Spiro Mistral twin hose features as well as the Spiro AQUILON single hose.  It is divided into 4 parts, each being broken down further: Part 1 – Medical and Scientific Aspects of Diving: “Some Basic Physics”, “Some Basic Anatomy”, “The Human Body Underwater” and “Fitness and Safety”. Part 2 – Snorkelling and Equipment: “Equipment for Snorkelling and Scuba Diving”, “Problems in Snorkel Diving”, “Swimming Techniques Without Equipment”, “Swimming Techniques with Basic Equipment” and “Techniques for Snorkel Divers”. Part 3 – Diving With Breathing Equipment: “Special Problems for Scuba Divers”, “SCUBA Diving Techniques”, “Diving Signals” and “Knots”. Part 4 – The Dangers and Rewards: “Accidents and First Aid”, “Using One’s Skills” and “Appendixes (Diving Organisations”. It’s nice to see an American book that does not just tell us the only organisation is PADI as it also mentions NAUI and CMAS organisations in the USA, Italy, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.  I must comment that the book is extremely well illustrated throughout with coloured photographs and diagrams throughout.  [pt]
    . UNDERWATER - THE SKINDIVERS MANUAL. 
    Bill Barada. 1955. See Trend Books. 
    UNDERWATER HOLIDAYS
    UNDERWATER HUNTING; ITS TECHNIQUES AND ADVENTURES.
    Bill Barada.
    Doubleday, Garden City, N. Y.  Date Published: 1969 
    Hardcover.
    UNDERWATER RECREATION
    Subtitle: A Manual of Basic Instruction in Skin and Scuba Diving
    Edited by: The Underwater Unit, Department of Parks and Recreation - County of Los Angeles
    Published 1968 (Revised).
    Printed card covers; 76 printed pages. Dimensions: 28 cms tall by 21.5 cms wide
    This training manual was issued by the Underwater Unit, Department of Parks and Recreation” in Los Angeles.  I think it was published in conjunction with a film they made in 1963 called “Anyone For Diving”, introduced by John D Craig.  The book is divided into two parts and in turn, they are split into sections:
    Part 1 – Skin Diving: “Pre-Requisites”, “Equipment”, “Physical Oceanography” and “Sportsmanship and Conservation”.
    Part 2 – S.C.U.B.A.: “Physical Requirements for SCUBA Divers”, “Diving Physics”< “Diving Physiology”, “Compressed Air Demand Type Units – Open Circuit” and “Oxygen Re-Breather – The Closed Circuit Unit”.
    There is also an appendix that covers further subject like hand signals, gauges (watch, depth gauge and compass), mixed gas diving, recompression stations and decompression tables.
    This is a very comprehensive book which is very well illustrated with countless relevant naïve coloured drawings. [pt]
    UNDERWATER SAFETY INSTRUCTION MANUAL
    E R Cross
    Published by Healthways, Los Angeles, USA in 1956.
    Printed card covers; 88 printed pages. Dimensions: 21 cms tall by 14 cms wide
    This is a 1956 “revised edition third printing” of the manual, others were published in 1954 and 1955.  It represents a modified version of applicable sections of the curriculum of the “Sparling School of Deep Sea Diving”.  It is divided into 10 chapters: “Pattern of Survival”, “Physical Qualification for Diving”, “Curriculum and Training Program”, “Diving Equipment”, “Diving Physics”, “Physiology of Diving”, “Underwater Environment”, “Diving Diseases and Accidents”, “Diving Techniques” and “Summary and Conclusion”.
    Illustrated with 15 monochrome photographs and diagrams. [pt],[ps]
     

     
    UNDERWATER SPORT
    Albert VanderKogel with Rex Lardner
    Henry Holt & Co. New York. 1955
    Hardcover, 188 pages, index, mono photographs, mono line drawings, apprendix.
    Chapters include: Initiation, Some Adjustmens, Guns ans Spears, The HBunt, Lungs and Other Equipment, The Paradoxical Sea, Dangers and Precautions, History, Some Applications, Underwater Photography, Where to Go.
    [ps-no dj]
    UNDERWATER WONDERS OF THE NATIONAL PARKS: A DIVING AND SNORKELLING GUIDE
    Compiled by the National Park Service, 1998.  (ISBN: 0679033866 / 0-679-03386-6). 
    Daniel J. Lenihan (au); John D. Brooks (au) (ph) 
    Paperback. 338pages.
    From a sales blurb: Perhaps the single best-kept secret about our National Parks  is the underwater realm that they include: millions of acres of submerged lands, only a small fraction of which has been explored by divers. From geysers on the bottom of Yellowstone Lake, to the coral reefs of the Dry Tortugas, to steamers sunk in the frigid waters of Isle Royale in Lake Superior, to the kelp forests of the Channel Islands, the NP have much to offer the diver. Almost all of the sixty-one NPS areas with significant water holdings are of some interest to divers. This guide introduces divers & others interested in water sports to this dimension of the NP, such as snorkeling rare coral reefs; shipwreck diving; & underwater archaeological sites. Color photos & detailed maps. This is a remainder book which is new and never used. It may have a remainder mark on the edge of the pages.  A travel companion for diving and snorkeling in the National Parks; Snorkeling the Virgin Islands, Florida Keys, and Hawaii; Rare coral reefs, tropical fish, turtles, and barracudas; shipwreck diving off Cape Hatteras, Isle Royale, Fire Island, and elsewhere. Kelp forests in the Channel Islands and underwater geysers in Yellowstone. Underwater archaeological sites: remains of Spanish galleons in the Dry Tortugas, a Union warship off Cape Hatteras, a ranch house in Lake Amistad
    UNDERWATER YEARBOOK 1962 
    Joseph G. Strykowski- Editor 
    Underwater Society of America, Chicago. IL, 1963. 
    Hardcover. 
    Froma sales blurb: A rare look at the early days of SCUBA diving and oceanology. The only yearbook ever published by the USA. 
    WOMAN'S GUIDE (to) SCUBA DIVING.
    (In the series - A Woman's Guide)
    Everything You Need to Get Started, Gear, Clothing, Tips and ASdvice, Woman's Vopices, A Womaan's Approach.
    Claire Walter.
    Ragged Mountain Press/ McGraw Hill, year 2000.
    Softcover, 142 pages, index, glossary, mono photographs, charts and drawings. 
    I initially thought that this book would centre on the specific needs of women over men when diving but much of the advice is of a unisex nature. I could not see anything related to specific women's issues but then I probably did not have a girlie look as my wife refers to my forgetfulness. If looking for a book on specific health and pjysiological issues, this is not the book. [pjs]
       

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