Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:01 am
Fatal Depth is basically a history of technical diving on the Andrea Doria along the same lines as Deep Descent.
On the Bottom is a book by Cmdr. Edward Ellsberg about raising the S-51 and Descent into Darkness is another helmet diving book that deals with salavage diving during WWII after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Submerged, Neutral Buouyancy and Down Time are also good diving books.
My full cave instructor knew the Rouses and does not have kind words to say about them. He basically confirms the thought that they progressed too far, too fast and without the degree of discipline needed to do the kind of diving they were doing safely.
To be less kind, the phrase "they were a couple of idiots" came up a couple times along with some examples such as where they managed to silt out enormous portions of the Devil's System, putting several other teams at risk. But to put it in perspective this was from an ex special forces career soldier who prides himself on cave diving and instructing since the 70's and still being able to say that none of his former students has ever died in a cave or wreck. Consequently he does not suffer fools well.