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Some folks have expressed interested in diving theory references. Here's my stock review list. I've added a number of other books to this list, but haven't written them up. If you're interested in whether a book is worth the $$ before buying it, I might be able to help. In summary, I most highly recommend _P&MoD_ and _DM_, for the physics & mechanics and the medical aspects of diving, respectively. These are the two books I would consider my "bibles." I've included a bit more about some other books you might want to look into, esp. the US Navy Diving Manual. Cheers, David Story NAUI AI Z9588, PADI DM 43922, EMT story@be*.en*.sg*.co* Every dive is a decompression dive. ------------------------------------------------------------------- _Scuba_Diving_In_Safety_and_Health_ The first book is by Christopher Dueker, MD, published 1985 by Madison Publishing Associates. _SDISH_ provides 20 brief and readable chapters on most aspects of sport diving medicine and physiology. The book is well written, and provides an extremely good introduction to the kinds of medical issues discussed on this newsgroup. HIGHLY recommended for ALL readers. List price $11.95. 217 pages. (Should be REQUIRED reading for diving leadership, IMO.) ------------------------------------------------------------------- _Diving_Medicine_, 2nd edition. by Alfred Bove and Jefferson Davis, c1990, Saunders publishing. This book is an update of a 1976 book which was already quite good. With the new material, updated typography and figures, and careful editing, this book comes out very readable, extremely informative, and well worth the time. As with SDISH, above, DM's chapters are brief and well-written, and each stands on its own. This book requires more medical knowledge than SDISH, but the effort of looking up medical terms is paid off in the knowledge packed into this slim volume. Highly recommended for the more dedicated reader. List price ~$60. 25 chapters, each by an (if not the) expert in that field. 309 pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------- _Physiology_and_Medicine_of_Diving_, 3rd edition, by Bennett & Elliott, c1982, Best Publishing. A good supplement to DM, above, providing more technical information on apparati, physics, physiology, and medicine of diving than either of the above books. Unique and in-depth chapters on HPNS, Liquid Breathing and Artificial Gills, Design Principles of Underwater Breathing Apparatus, Causes of Underwater Accidents. Covers both sport and commercial diving practices, but leans more towards commercial. Well researched, solid information. Denser and longer than DM, harder to read, but provides unique information without too much medical terminology. Written with the scientist/diver in mind. Recommended for the reader interested in technical aspects of diving. An excellent companion to the other, more medically-oriented books. List price ~$53. 23 chapters, each by one or more recognized experts. 562 pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, _The_Physician's_Guide_to_Diving_Medicine_, c1984, by Shilling, Carlston, and Mathias, eds, Plenum Publishing. Intended as the definitive physician's guide to diving medicine. (The PDR: Physician's Diving Reference? :-) However, it is quite dense and serves more as a reference volume than as a learning device. A fair amount of the material is irrelevant to sport diving. The book (despite its preface) seems intended for diving doctors dealing with military or commercial operations. There is quite a bit of good information in here, but the combination of DM and PAMOD will serve the sport/scientific diver better. NOT RECOMMENDED when the previous two volumes are available. List price ~$60 through DAN, as high as $120 through specialty book shops. 15 chapters, 686 pages. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Other good books which are NOT available through DAN: _Diving and Subaquatic Medicine_, c1981, by Carl Edmonds, Christopher Lowry, and John Pennefather. Quite good stuff, but harder to find and less relevant than _DM_ and _P&MoD_. Highlights: statistics on deaths from marine injuries, DCS, drownings, etc., and chapters on in-water recompression, and dangerous marine animals relevant to Australia. Interesting chapters on "Other Disorders" including "ocular damage from corneal lens", TMJ, "skin reactions", sea sickness, and (my favorite) "CAUSTIC COCKTAIL." A very interesting book with a unique down-under slant. Information is only slightly dated. List price unknown. 29 chapters, 529 pages. ------------------ The _US Navy Diving Manual_ is also quite good as a general intermediate-level diving text. It is available through government bookstores -- look in your phone book for US Government Bookstore. The cost is $34 for Volume I: Air Diving, and $21 for Volume II: Mixed-Gas Diving. Volume I is NAVSEA Publication 0994-LP-001-9010, and is currently in Revision 2, 15 December 1988. It can be ordered directly from the Superintendent of Documents US Gov't Printing Office Washington DC 20402 Stock # 008-046-00094-8 Local Government Printing Offices can be found in your friendly phone book. For Los Angeles (where I picked mine up) it is the Los Angeles Branch Bookstore, Arco Plaza Level C, 505 S. Flower. (213)239-9844. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hope you find this information useful in building your libraries, or simply looking up references. Feel free to e-mail me specific questions and/or comments on any of the above books. I welcome any further suggestions -- I'm always looking for more good references! I'll post to the net if there's interest.
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