Down Time: Great Writers on Diving
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 797
EAN: 9780965834445
ISBN: 0965834441
Label: Look Away Books
Manufacturer: Look Away Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2001-04-01
Publisher: Look Away Books
Studio: Look Away Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: To Random and Hard to Read
Comment: This book has some good information in it but it is poorly put together and extremely hard to read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 60% dull
Comment: I consider myself to be an avid diver and reader, so I'm naturally drawn to books that cover a wide berth of topics regarding the ocean and diving. This particular book I had a difficult time wanting to finish. The perspective of the stories were grossly limited by both the recurrent theme of being a new/first time diver and by the fact that few were written after the mid 1970's. There are a few gems amongst the chapters, Dave Berry's lobstering for instance, but the wade through the rest of the book was tiresome. My advise is do not purchase, visit the Library and be willing to skip large portions.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fascinating collection of stories, but limited appeal to nondivers
Comment: As a diver, this collection of stories is varied and most of them are fascinating. With any collection, there is bound to be some that are similar and some that are not for everyone's taste. I didn't like most of the poems, for instance. I have to say I really enjoyed most of the stories though. I found the cave diving stories spellbinding.
My only caution would be that I think the book appeals most to divers or those with an interest in diving. It is a great gift for such a person.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Decent collection, not all stories fantastic
Comment: I recently read this collection of stories while on a nice tropical vacation where I did a couple of dives - so was in the mood. Below, I have broken down some of the positives and negatives that I took away from this collection:
The positives: This is without a doubt a comprehensive collection of writings - in terms of the time period covered and styles of writing (humor, poetry, etc). I thought that some of the stories were really great - couldn't help but laugh at Dave Barry's description of diving. I found a few of the older pieces very interesting due to the historic perspective / context.
The negatives: Any time you take on a project to complile a collection this large across different writing styles, it should be a given that all pieces are not going to appeal to all readers. About 25% of the stories simply did not appeal to me.
Secondly, there also seemed to be a recurring "What my first dive was like" or "What it feels like when you are down there" theme. I also found this a bit tiresome after awhile. As a diver, unending explanations of how clear and blue water is, the sense of weightlessness, etc got to be a bit much. Almost drove me to the best example I could think of - a bottle of Bombay Gin.
Closing: A large enough body of work that I think that every reader will find some of the stories very worthy reading. Light enough for a good vacation or bedtime read. Worthy enough purchase - I think a good gift type of purchase for that diver's christmas fin.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Down Time
Comment: I loved this book. Diverse writing styles, coupled with humor and drama make this book addictive. I thought Dave Barry's story was a crack up! Buy two because it's the kind of book you loan out to share the joy and never get back! If you like diving and diving tales, this is the book you've been waiting for.
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Editorial Reviews:
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More than 35 passages from novelists, journalists, poets, playwrights, essayists, and scientists detail an intertwined passion for diving and the written word in this collection. From Robert Stone's portrayal of a diver who faces the terrorizing prospect of his air running out to Clare Booth Luce's search for the treasures of the underwater realm, every passage reveals a perspective of the world that only divers have known. Humor columnist Dave Barry battles a lobster and explains why staying on the ocean's surface is like "going to the circus and staring at the outside of a tent." From Rangiroa to the Red Sea, from deep within caverns to the eerie light under ice, from the lethal silliness of nitrogen narcosis to the elation of soaring over unfathomable depths, every selection, like every dive, is a unique experience.
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