The latest book from Kevin. Written by an English diver and covers diving in UK conditions. I liked this book. It described the sort of diving I did and I was struck immediately that Kevin's normal setup was almost identical to mine (OC that is) and hence I felt that his diving was likely to be very similar in style

This book contains lots of little gems that you have to read to find, the structure is loose and things are not always in the section you expect, but it is bang up to date (2002). Those of us who have been diving a long time will recognise much written here, but those who are newer to technical diving will learn a lot reading this

There is even rebreather coverage in the book and Kevin as an Inspiration instructor and user tells it how he see's it rather than how it should be

Lots of equations and tables for the techie, and nice pictures

Recommended

Written in 1998, this book is beginning to show its age, nevertheless its still a very good read. Better laid out and easier to  read through than the other Tech diving books here, it has very good practical decompression, filling and logistics advice. Beautiful colour pictures and a short section on rebreathers (not very extensive)

A good introduction into technical diving for those new to it, but still good reading for those who've been doing it for years

Again recommended

Tom Mount's attempt at a technical diving volume. The layout is very crude and the printing quality verges on photocopy, but there is good information here. You just have to hunt to find it

Covers equipment configuration and is very Hogarthian (DIR) in layout but not attitude. A lot of coverage is placed on stress management and personal fitness (that rules me out as a diver then)

No mention of rebreathers (1998)

At least a third of the book is tables and charts, and it is sometimes difficult to judge who the book is geared to. Americans obviously as all the equations are imperial and all the dive and rig examples are not suitable for European diving. But in places the explanations verge on PADI open water level and in others they dive into heavy physics and biochemistry. A good list of references is provided. In style it is very like the IANTD material provided on Inspiration classes

Personally I was disappointed at the contents and quality of such an expensive book and I would not recommend it to others.

This was the 1^st book that I bought when looking into CCR’s. At that point there wasn’t a great deal of choice unlike now. On first look, it appears to be cheaply produced being a softback book with spiral binding and a type-written effect with 9 colour photographs and several line drawings. However, appearances are deceiving and the book has proved durable. The author Dan Wible founded AURA in 1995 and sold the AURA 2000 CCR, the first with a separate breathing loop for transport (see the Rebreather Website for further details www.nwdesigns.com?), being involved with rebreathers since the 70’s.

The book is definitely written for the American market, again all calculations are imperial and depths are in feet.  It also describes heavily the BMI 1000 and MK 15 family of rebreathers – all diagrams and check-lists are specific for these variants.

Rebreather Diving
By Bob Cole
Published by Sub-Aqua Association
Printed by Sandford Press
ISBN 0 9519337 9 5 1998
Reviewer: Dave McConnell

 A very good book written by the SAA’s guru on rebreathers, Bob Cole.

Highly colourful with a distinct style, the book covers both SCR and CCR diving. The pages have a separate column of asides next to the main text. After discussing rebreather history and design, Bob talks about divers, physiology and decompression. Dive planning is detailed for both SCR and CCR, with Pro-planner being used for the CCR. Pre and post dive checks and maintenance are described with lots of good advice. A section describes lessons learnt by Richard Pyle as previously published in his “Learners Guide to CCR”. The glossary and appendices are also clear and useful, with lists of actions to be taken and skills.

Overall, a cracking book with plenty for everyone. The style takes a little to get used to but grows quickly on you.