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Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World | 
 enlarge | Author: Tim Ecott
Publisher: Grove Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $5.47
You Save: $8.53 (61%)
New (22) Used (33) Collectible (2) from $5.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 82761
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 0802139078
Dewey Decimal Number: 797
EAN: 9780802139078
ASIN: 0802139078
Publication Date: June 6, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: some bookshelf wear to cover & edges; v good reading condition/lightly soiled on edge/ DELIVERY CONFIRMATION FREE
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Amazon.com Review
In Neutral Buoyancy, BBC journalist Tim Ecott recounts his ongoing adventures in the "liquid world" of scuba diving, from battling rip tides off the Dorset coast in southwest England to exploring the shark-rich waters of the Caribbean, musing along the way on the history and meaning of humanity's fascination with diving and reflecting on how his underwater experience has reshaped his life. Four days after my mother's funeral I went scuba diving for the first time.... Surfacing from a dive ... I often think it strange that this mind-cleansing, emotionally charged experience is one that my mother never knew I had. It is something akin to the sense of regret I feel that she never met my daughter, born a few years after her passing. How odd that something so wonderful was not part of our shared experience. Be warned: if you are already a diver, Neutral Buoyancy will heighten the sense that you are wasting far too much precious time on dry land. For the rest, even if your underwater ventures are largely confined to the bath, this book will have you contemplating a trip to your local swimming pool at the very least. Truly inspirational. --Alex Hankin, Amazon.co.uk
Product Description
In Neutral Buoyancy, journalist and diver Tim Ecott takes you on a guided tour of the history of undersea exploration and the emergence of diving culture. He tells the extraordinary story of man's attempts to breathe underwater, from the sponge divers described by Aristotle, to the development of sixteenth-century diving bells, to the invention of modern scuba equipment. Along the way, Ecott intersperses the story with his own thrilling adventures, from the waters of the South Pacific to the remote islands of the Seychelles, from explorations in the clear, flowing tides of Sardinia to a near-death experience in the cold gray depths of the English Channel. Filled with engaging stories of humanity's conquest of the undersea world -- and heart-pounding action that will leave you breathless -- Neutral Buoyancy is a compelling blend of history and adventure, an exciting overview of the world of undersea diving. "As elemental, entertaining, and stimulating as the environment it traces." -- Kirkus Reviews "Engaging ... Neutral Buoyancy will certainly become cult reading for divers." -- Alexander Urquhart, The Times Literary Supplement "Ecott's encyclopedic recounting of diving history ... should be awarded a place on any diver's reference shelf." -- Paul McHugh, San Francisco Chronicle
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Kinda boring August 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Can't say I loved it. I was expecting more thrilling stories about scuba diving, but it's more of a history of underwater exploration. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not written terribly well either. There's a whole chapter on sponges; this is not riveting stuff.
You know what bugged me for some reason? When he talks about those old-school diving helmets with portholes in them and guys pumping air from the boat - you know, like from Tintin? - he visits some guys who still use them, but he doesn't try it himself. Why not? Jeez, dude, get in the game.
Neutral Buoyancy March 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Good book, well written, interesting facts and also for the non diver a good read.
 Great book December 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first time I read this book I was in the process of completing my Divemaster certification and also reading PADI's Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving. Neutral Buoyancy covers about 75% of the same information as found in the ERD text; but does so written in a travel memoir style from the authors personal experience, allowing for a much more approachable format for the general reader. The book is well written and I found it difficult to put down, a must read.
A great read even for a non-diver April 2, 2007
I thought this book would be a technologically driven, marine-laden book about the sport. I gave it a try. What a surprise after only a few pages! Tim Ecott wrote a passionate book filled with historical chapters and memoirs of some of the best diving spots in the world, and he always includes the plants and animals as part of the experience. He introduced the underwater world to us landlubbers in such a way that the "underworld" becomes that which it truly is: another habitat that happens to be under water.
However, as the chapters rolled on, the book became a "history of diving" that showed the depth of research Mr Ecott did for this book. Jaques Cousteau and the Aqualung of the 1940s are what hastened SCUBA diving as we know it today; only the race to the moon is what slowed research down once the 1960s came.
This book is highly recommended to those spouses, friends and lovers who nag the SCUBA-obsessed divers. Give them this book and make them read it. They will then better understand the passion and beauty that's found only below the sea. Sea for yourself!
Good book! Fast service! February 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book as a gift for a scuba diver. It came quickly, and is exactly the kind of book scuba divers love to read!
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