Diver Down: Real-World SCUBA Accidents and How to Avoid Them

PRO:The stories and lessons learned are very good motivators to do things right and not to take unnecessary risks. After reading this book I am no longer going to dive as I am too scared that one of a million things will go wrong at the worst possible time. Diver down reads more like a horror movie of Murphy’s Laws. Great book and worth the money and time spent. I plan to share it with my dive buddy so he too can stop diving and risking his life for the amazing sights of the sea.CON:An otherwise informative and interesting book was totally ruined by the author’s attempts to be politically and social correct. His continuous use of the pronoun “her” instead of “his” or even better “their” is annoying and detracts heavily from the readability of the book. Not all divers are female. Why not say something like: “A diver should route the strap over their right shoulder.” Instead of using “her shoulder” or “his shoulder”, if you want to be socially correct.

As a new diver, I was torn about reading this book. I didn’t want to scare myself to death, but I wanted to learn about potential mistakes and how to avoid them. After reading this book I feel like I know more about what to look for, what to take with me on a dive, and where to not compromise (for either myself or my dive buddy).This is a wonderfully written book as well. By starting each chapter with a climax event, he draws you into the story. He artfully describes each character, providing characterizations that help you see the victims as the real people they were, each with positive and negative traits. You end up caring about the main subjects as well as the other people who were part of the story.Although it’s very technical at times, too technical for me to be able to absorb everything, I know that I will re-read it many times, eventually absorbing the technical details as well as the safety lessons.I would recommend this book to all divers, experienced and new.

I have been a Diver for well over 30 years. For experienced divers, this book is a great review of the mistakes that can be made when one is either overconfident or panicked. For the beginner, the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others is priceless. Diving is, generally, a very safe sport, provided proper training. This book shouldn't scare you or dissuade you from diving, but it should be a reminder to maintain a healthy respect for the water and the guidelines and limits established for safe diving.

This is a very informative, useful, and well-written book that should be must reading for OW divers (for that matter any diver who hasn't read it). I'm AOW and have been reading the accidents/incidents section of the scubaboard forum for a while, but this book is far more informative and to-the-point. The book starts out with a brief scuba 101 overview, then goes into case studies where some ended up as scares, others resulted in fatalities. The scenarios and causalities are varied which provides an appreciation of the range of issues that can go wrong if sufficient care and training are lacking. The case studies are vividly described so that these events, terrible and tragic as some are, come to life. The author has a knack for writing. Each case study ends with a lessons learned commentary and bullet points. Embedded in the case studies are inserts describing various scuba diving features/topics, such as regulator design and the function of hyperbaric chambers. Although I'm a techie, I didn't have an interest in regulator design, and the articles I read about them (balanced/unbalanced, diaphragm/piston, environmental seal, etc.) before and after purchasing my own gear were at best vaguely useful at a 20,000 feet conceptual level (for example, environmental sealing of 1st stage helps reduce free flow due to freezing in colder waters). However, after reading the inset on balanced piston regulator design (accompanied by essentially a single picture), I could follow the essential design principle of piston based balanced design just from reading the text. That's pretty damn good writing. Since mine is a balanced diaphragm design, I googled and looked at some images and could figure out how these gadgets worked, based on the principles described for the balanced piston design.This is one of the most informative and well-written books I've read in quite a while. I am not sure why it is not included as mandatory (or at least recommended) reading in PADI OW classes. Or perhaps it is but I haven't noticed.

I'm a Divemaster and I would recommend this book for everyone from entry level divers to dive professionals. It's a very good read. Most books like this that try to explain how to manage scuba diving accidents are kinda boring but this one kept my attention from beginning to end. I feel it made me a safer diver and a better Divemaster. It goes into detail on dive real life dive accidents, the events that proceeded them, what happened during the emergency, and what happened after, as well as how it could have been prevented and how to prevent similar situations in the future.

I found this book fascinating and impossible to put down. It was valuable to me, as an intermediate Open Water diver, to be reminded that personal humility and respect for the tried-and-tested rules of diving, are essential values to keep in mind even as my skills advance. The storytelling element was strong, but each chapter also had a great summary of lessons learned, and educational technical sidebars. With all due respect to some of the tragic outcomes, this book reads like a thriller, with real-life stories that are touching and unforgettable.

Every scuba diver should read this book. It explains why there are rules with stories to back it up. I got a few tips from it and accessorized my equipment accordingly.Buy an extra copy and give it to your favorite dive shop/instructor. On second thought, if they haven't heard of this book, maybe you should find another shop/instructor.

I noticed this book a while ago and thought it might be just another 'scuba diving scare book' where authors describe sensational incidents only for dramatic effect. The consequences of these scare books on my profession (I am a Red Sea diving instructor and author) is the enhancement of the belief system that scuba diving is dangerous and to be avoided. To my pleasant surprise DIVER DOWN is none of these and instead the many individual stories are used in an informative, educational and safety-promoting way.To produce a book like this and deal with such subject matter in a positive manner the author must be a good writer and an expert in his field. Michael Ange scores highly on both counts. Unless we study our mistakes and those of others then we will always be at risk of mishap and serious scuba divers should not shy away from studies like these.The author has simply published those studies to a wider audience and even though his efforts may be immeasurable in terms of lives saved or accidents avoided I would hazard a guess that each diving reader on completion of this book will spend a little more time on their buddy checks and perhaps from then on take an extra glance or two at their pressure gauges!John Kean

This is an excellent read if you are really into scuba diving and the accidents that can occur. The book starts with a rundown of all scuba equipment and disciplines. Then there are a series of real-life accidents, what went wrong, why and key points to avoid similar accidents. I really enjoyed reading it.

- Great read and love the short story approach with key take aways- Really covered the full spectrum of diving from rec to tec, including a rebreather and a trimix story- Really makes you hyper aware of the sort of accidents one can run into even with years and years of diving- Highly recommend for every diver!

Recommended by a fellow diver as an interesting read. I'm just a novice but found this very educational. I did wonder if it would add anxiety but the details of how and why put my fears to rest.

This book should be a must read for all divers. Since reading it, I’ve ordered several items of safety equipment that I’ve never needed, but could potentially save my life. Really makes you think.