Underwater Potholer: A Cave Diver's Memoirs, by Duncan Price. Whittles Publishing, Scotland, 2015. ISBN 978-184995-158-6. 6.5 by 9.5 inches, 185 pages, softbound. £18.99, $24.95.
"Cave diving is dangerous--do _not_ do it. Remember I told you so. Everything else I say is bollocks!" This book is a welcome addition to the small number of well-written cavers' memoirs in English, most which have come from British cavers. Duncan Price has had a long and active career in cave diving, and he has worked with pretty much all of the other British cave divers I've ever heard of. Most of his diving has been sump diving in the UK, especially in the part of it where w is a vowel. But he has also laid new line in France and the US. Sometimes the blow-by-blows of some of his more complicated sump dives get a bit tedious, but there are flashes of understated humor or drama. Some cave maps can help with the geography, but they are all grouped together as pages XI–XIX, apparently as an afterthought. The sixteen unnumbered pages of color photos could have used a lot of adjustment. But these production problems do not detract seriously from enjoyment of the book. Besides sump diving, which often includes difficult dry caving to reach the sump, Price has done tri-mix diving, rebreather diving, and scooter diving, despite the fact that his only formal training certification is from the British Sub-Aqua Club--for snorkeling. A lot of cave divers will be amused, or not, by a certain cavalier attitude about equipment. "One of my regulators started free-flowing on account of the cold water even before I'd set off; I hit it against a rock at the entrance until it stopped leaking and then headed into the cave." He did a dive using a home-made rebreather borrowed from Rick Stanton after receiving instruction in its use: breathe in, breathe out, add gas as required. Do _not_ do it, but do read it.—Bill Mixon ---------------------------------------- A man cannot be too careful in his choice of enemies. ---------------------------------------- You may "reply" to the address this message (unless it's a TexasCavers list post) came from, but for long-term use, save: Personal: [email protected] AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected] _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com [email protected] | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
