Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World

Even when I am preparing to be a divemaster, the encyclopedia that I read wasn't as informative as this book. It provided me an insight on the evolution and history of equipments and equipment inventions, the explanation of how narcosis and DCS came about - with introduction of terms that are used to define them and was a revelation for me. Besides that, it also show me how different people in the past tried means and ways to break records in depth and equipment invention such that some of them were being sacrificed. A plus point is that the author described the various beautiful places he dived before and it was tempting to want to dive there myself.Although the book title stated neutral buoyancy, it wasn't entirely about neutral buoyancy. Yes, it did talk about buoyancy control but it was not a big part on that. The book contains the different aspects of diving, from equipments to physics to environments and even decompression theory. And it's really a fun book to read. The more you read, the more you will want to know what's the next content because every chapter is lined up with different stories that the author encountered. After finish reading this book, my knowledge towards diving has certainly increased, especially with historic equipment inventors like jacque cousteau.

What a great read!!!Tim does an outstanding job covering the history of the development of scuba diving. By the time you've read all our ancestors endured in the pursuit of the "sport" it makes you really appreciate living in these modern times...WOW!!Really nice reflections on the experiences encountered while in the blue (I'm not certified yet, but will be SOON) and the historical figures he interviewed were FASCINATING!!JOLLY GOOD WORK TIM!By the way, I'd love to dive with you one day, if you'll let me know where you're working...ScottHouston, Texas (USA)moogman2@houston.rr.com

No doubt Tim Ecott has a treasure trove of diving experience and subject matter knowledge and while reading his book I kept thinking these stories and historical anecdotes would be much more interesting confined to retelling in person or by the author via radio. The book itself is a meandering collection of stories without drama or other particularly compelling reasons to keep turning the pages. I'd love to tune in to the radio show where I'm sure Mr. Ecott does a better job at probing the depths of his passion than the shallow retelling in these pages.

Great stories about diving and the exploits of divers. A few little tidbits of knowledge to learn. A nice book to read and relax to while enjoying SCUBA stories.

This book has two types of narrative: history related to diving and personal experience. I enjoyed reading the latter and not the former. Also, I found his style rather wordy. It's not one of my favorite books related to scuba diving. Others I enjoyed more were: The Last Dive, Shadow Divers, and Deep Descent.

When I start reading this book I realized that this wasn't just (another) diving story. It was THE diving story. From the first man breathing below the surface to our days.For those who like me, want to know the basics, where and how it all began, this is the book to read.

Exactly as described.

Great Deal!

Ich hatte nach der Beschreibung einen eher subjektiven Blick auf das Erlebnis Tauchen erwartet. Das Buch bietet aber auch eine Geschichte des Tauchens - inklusive alter Stiche und Zeichnungen die es zu einem insgesamt wirklich bemerkenswert vielseitigen Buch zum 'Eintauchen' machen...