Amazing Diving Stories: Incredible Tales from Deep Beneath the Sea

by John Bantin

A collection of thrilling diving stories There's everything from classic tales of wreck discoveries to encounters with beautiful and bizarre creatures beneath the waves. There are stories of death and disaster as well as bravery and triumph. Each tale has been chosen to stoke the fire of divers everywhere and some are illustrated with colour photographs. Take the plunge and read about the diver who discovered how to put sharks in a trance and the marine biologist who lost a limb trying to proving that sharks were safe to swim with. There's the tale behind the Red Sea's most famous wreck, as well the Titanic's sister ship that keeps claiming divers' lives. Read about the politician attacked by a turtle, the saltwater crocodile that lost a sub–aqua scuffle and the eel feeding frenzy that almost claimed a life. The exciting and the extreme rub shoulders with more poetic pieces about the people and places that make up the folklore of this fascinating sport, and some are even brought to life by the author's photography. This global tour takes you from Indonesia to the Caribbean and from the chill waters of Northern Europe to the reefs of the Pacific. Stories of technical pioneers are accompanied by quirky tales of adventure beneath the waves. Every ocean of the world is explored making this essential reading – or a wonderful gift – for divers everywhere.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel

276 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 2012

Reviews

[g-na · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an avid diver I enjoy reading about what others in the diving world have experienced. In this book there are are quite a variety of tales (including a few only tangentially diving-related) that have been compiled by the author; some he has personally experienced and others he has collected during his years of diving. And yes, many of them are interesting. But the reason I gave this book such a low rating is it is so poorly written. Each of the over 60 anecdotes here read like someone had taken words, dumped them onto the page, and liberally sprinkled commas atop. Often the stories are written in disjointed chunks instead of an expected order, and they're often concluded with a partial thought leaving you wondering if you skipped a page somewhere. Many times I reached the end of a chapter and was left hanging because it felt as though the paragraph had simply been chopped off rather than it coming to a tidy conclusion. But to me the worst part is that the author has fallen prey to a novice writer's error: Too many commas. So many, in fact, that this book is quite difficult to read and, as such, I marked it down at least one full star. Bantin inserts commas not only between independent clauses but often right in the middle of a phrase! It's hard to believe he is a magazine editor himself. I wanted to like this book, I really did, and I do respect Bantin's place in the diving community. I just wish he had a copyeditor.

[Suria Nataadmadja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice story telling of diving stories. Good reading for divers. Lots of dive information. Recommended book to read by divers.

[Patrick Wikstrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

John’s been a dive writer for a long time. I’ve read his work in Diver magazine and Undercurrent for years. Enjoying very much his various incites and gear reviews, but I have to say that these 64 very short stories could have been culled down to a fewer number of better fleshed out tales. I’m glad I bought it cause I like to support the man but can’t give it more than 2**.

[Rafael · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Amazing" diving stories is definitely an overstatement. The book is a recollection of a few "interesting" (at most) stories that could have been much better explored, but we're only superficially narrated. Underwhelming.

[Petr Toman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Myslet na mořského krokodýla budu asi už do konce svého života.

[kt jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a slow start and ok writing, but certainly some interesting stories! A good read for scuba lovers.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A more accurate title would have been “Mildly Interesting Dive Stories”. It would have been a lot more interesting to have gone for a dive and left this book on the shelf.

[Bradley Pattrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of a series of amazing stories originally published in a popular diving magazine. I was disappointed at the start of the book as I didn't find any of the stories "amazing". Some of the stories didn't even cover the underwater experience. It also felt rather dated, perhaps this was because so many stories seemed to start with "before the diving industry took off in the Red Sea". The author liked to drop names, as I haven't been a member of the professional diving community for 30 years I didn't know these characters. Despite this criticism there are some really good stories in the last third of the book. I gained some important diving knowledge in these few stories which made it worth the read.

[Frufrub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having dived for almost 40 years, I am familiar with some of the locations in which the stories of this book are set. I revelled in the smooth way the author carries you through each tale. I enjoyed it so much that I persuaded my 14-year-old daughter, also a diver, to read it. She enjoyed it and read some of the stories in her class at school. This is indeed a testament to the brilliance of this book. I have to say, as tales of the sea go, this is indeed one of the best.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great dive stories told awkwardly.