HISTORY OF WRECK-DIVING
It has come to my attention that many people either do not read or fail to understand the importance of a book’s subtitle.
A subtitle is an explanatory device which describes the topic of a book more fully than its title. A case in point is “The
Lusitania Controversies.” At first glance this title implies the sole subject of the Lusitania. But each of the two volumes
possesses a subtitle which explains in greater detail the global premise of which the Lusitania is but a part.
Together, both volumes present the entire history of wreck-diving, from its meager beginnings in the 1950’s to the advent
of technical diving in the 1990’s. Book One is subtitled "
Atrocity of War and a Wreck- Diving History." One quarter of the volume is devoted to the construction, career,
sinking, and aftermath of the Lusitania. Three quarters are devoted to the history of wreck-diving and to autobiographical
experiences of the author, who became an essential element in wreck-diving and a pioneer in technical diving. Coverage
extends to 1979.
Book Two is subtitled "Dangerous Descents into Shipwrecks
and Law." This volume continues the history of wreck-diving
from 1980; describes numerous dives on ever-deeper shipwrecks
and into the vast interior of the Andrea Doria; and details the
beginning of mixed-gas diving to the point at which an
expedition to the Lusitania became practical. The volume
concludes with a detailed description of the expedition (of
which the author was a part) and subsequent legal activities.
The two volumes of "The Lusitania Controversies" are
larger than the sum of their parts. They comprise biographical
content with incredible underwater adventures: some
hair-raising, others deadly, all exciting: a fascinating
excursion into the real world of wreck-diving and the evolution
of the activity.
Another titled of particular interest to wreck-divers is The Peking Papers, a wreck-diving adventure novel that is more rip-snorting than any of the author’s nonfiction works. It reads like an underwater version of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Read it. You won’t be disappointed.
