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RECENT
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marine Childrens' books.
All books are also listed
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RICHEST REEFS - INDONESIA.
Michael Aw.
If Indonesian waters are
regarded as having some of the richest reefs in the world, then Michael
Aw has captured them superbly. Not since Newbert's Within a Rainbowed Sea
has there been such a magnificent production. All of the images are excellent
- some exceptionally stunning. And I particularly like the amusing captions,
a play on words, which includes a one line description of the marine life,
and the location. The book is sectioned by location, with a few pages of
introduction on the region before the photographic spread. Most images
are full page - some spread over two pages, others may be grouped in twos
or threes. This is an ideal book as representative of the exotic marine
life of Indonesia, perhaps as a reminder of a past visit, anticipation
of the future, or for anyone who appreciates the marine world - and exceptional
photography. That the book is endorsed by the President of Indonesia herself
is beside the point. If you don't appreciate the excellent photography
then you may as well give up diving. An ideal gift. The production of the
book, its layout and style, complements the images.
Large format 290 x 270 mm,
hardcover, dutjacket, 180 pages, gloss art high quality paper.
$88.00. |
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CELEBRATE THE SEA
Michael Aw and Steven Wong.
"Why do humans insist on
destroying the sea... the very resource that keeps us all alive?". Such
is the quotation at the begining of this excellent book. If this gives
you an indication that Celebrate the Sea promotes environment protection
you could well be right as its shows the marine life of the oceans in dramatic
form, from a drifting salp chain to a huge humpback - there is beauty is
their very existence. The images range from macro to extreme wide angle,
all delightful in their composition and colour, setting a mood that truly
relaxing. The text in informative (the creature and its habitat) and also
personal, expressing the photographers mood. After being absorbed
into the tranqulity of the underwater world, the book ends on a more sober
note, mentioning the indicriminate destruction of marine life for a number
of deplorable reasons.
Softcover, 280 x 275 pages,
180 pages, full colour.
$46.00 |
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THE BUCCANEER'S BELL
Hugh Edwards.
Hugh Edwards is well known
to Australian divers for his many excellent books on maritime history and
diving. His latest offering is a rediscovery of two major explorers of
the modern world. In 1699, William Dampier set sail through the English
Channel aboard the Roebuck, a rotten and ruinous fire ship which was never
to meet its destination of Australia. Similarly in France, 1817, Louis
de Freycinet was aboard his own scientific vessel Uranie, bound on a voyage
around the world. Despite being shipwrecked on rocks off the Falkland Islands,
Freycinet's time was spent shared with that of his new young wife Rose,
who was disguised as a man and smuggled on board before the ship set sail
from France.
The third and final voyage
in the book began at Perth International airport in 2001, where seven men
mulled over their intention of searching for the shipwrecks of Dampier
and Freycinet in their South Atlantic graves. What they were to discover
in their final days of the mission was beyond even their wildest imagination….
A tale of hope, success and immeasurable adventure.
Softcover, A4 size, 212
pages, colour plates, recommended reading, index. $39.95
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PRISONERS OF WAR
Hank Nelson
From 1942 to 1945 some 22
000 Australian service personnel, including 71women of the Australian Army
Nursing Service, became Japanese prisoners-of-war. They were held in more
than a dozen camps scattered throughout Southeast Asia, including Timor,
Ambon, Manchuria and Japan. Only 14 000 survived the brutal years at the
hands of their captors.
In POWs: Australians Under
Nippon, ex-prisoners, interviewed by Hank Nelson, describe their many bitter
experiences to create unforgettable accounts of deprivation, fortitude
and courage in unbelievably inhumane conditions. There have been mny books
written by, and on, prisoners-of-war, which can be rather overwhelming
if seeking an overall view of just what did happen to the Australkian under
Japanese imprisonment. This book stands alone in its value, expressing
the fears and attitudes of the men, during their imprisonmenbt and subsequent
release. An important book in the history of Australia. The well-repected
author is a professor in the Department of Pacific and Southeast Asian
History at the Australian National University. The book is based on the
ABC's Tim Bowden's award-winning radio series of the same name. Softcover,
224 pages, mono drawings and charts, selected bibliography, index. $18.00 |
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A SIMPLE GUIDE
TO DECOMPRESSION ILLNESS
Lee Griffiths. Forward by
John Lippman.
The nemesis of all divers,
decompression sickness, a topic that needs to be understood for safe diving.
The book provides a thorough understanding of some of the medical problems
and illnesses associated with diving, enabling the diver to recognize each
of the individual conditions and have a clear understanding of the best
action to take in the event of decompression illness. It is aimed at all
levels. The text is concise and clearly explains the situation in non-medical
terms. Includes a guide to initial treatment and first aid, with emergency
action charts and recompression tables.
Softcover, 60 pages, mono
and colour photographs and charts. $34.00 |
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U.S.NAVY DIVING MANUAL
For twenty years the US
Navy Diving Manual has been the ultimate reference source for the diver.
It is now available for the first time as a complete book. Potential readers
may feel challenged by the sheer size of the work. At over 950 A4 pages
the book is unsurpassed in technical detail and depth. As the ultimate
diving reference work the book contains everything you ever wanted to know
about diving and many aspects that you could never imagine! The manual
is however surprisingly easy to read. The volumes contained in this one
book are as follows:-
Volume 1: Diving Principles
and Policies
Volume 2: Air Diving Operations
Volume 3: Mixed Gas Surface
Supplied Diving Operations
Volume 4: Closed Circuit
and Semiclosed Circuit Diving Operations
Volume 5: Diving Medicine
and Recompression Chamber Operations
These volumes mean that
despite the books size the individual volumes make for user friendly reading.
Each section has been extensively researched and is widely regarded as
the technical standard for diving information and procedures. The manual
is easily referenced and used internationally by recreational, commercial,
and military divers because of its authoritative and approved procedures.
This 4th Revision contains
the most up to date decompression tables, and techniques for avoiding decompression
sickness. This manual is a must for all serious divers.
Hardback, 950 pages. $220. |
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PORT ROYAL - THE SUNKEN
CITY
Robert F. Marx.
In the seventeenth century,
Port Royal was a legendary city, a city of vast wealth and pleasure-seeking,
the home port of the buccaneers. Today, Port Royal is a city of legends,
legends of the 1692 earthquake and tidal wave that caused the city to sink
beneath the sea, and legends of the fortunes that may be buried there.
Bob Marx was caught up in those legends. Hos excellent book, whiuch has
undergone many editions, describes the fulfillment of his childhood dream:
a two-and-a-half year exploration of the historic Jamaican port. The first
investigation of the site by a trained marine archaeologist, his expedition
discovered thousands of perfectly preserved artifacts of life in the 17th
century city: silver and pewter ware; brass, iron and wooden tools; and
much more, including two hoards of classic buried treasure: Spanish pieces
of eight. But Port Royal did not easily give up its treasures: working
on a painfully slim budget, Marx and his rag-tag crew had to cope with
murky, polluted waters; inhospitable sharks, eels and crabs; razorsharp
coral and ancient walls on the verge of collapse; and the intractable opposition
of some financial and political interests. Blending real-life adventure,
colourful history and the thrill of discovery, Marx has written a fascinating
account of one of the most important marine archaeological expeditions
ever undertaken. Hardback, 304 pages. $48.00. |
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INDO PACIFIC
FISH GUIDE - MALDIVES TO THE PHILIPPINES.
Helmut Debelius.
Indo-Pacific fish, especially
those living in the coral reefs of Southeast Asia, comprise the world's
greatest variety of species. This book featuring more than 800 coloured
photographs provides divers, aquarists and tourists with a perfect overview
of all the ocean fish encountered in the reefs and open waters off the
islands and coastlines of Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia and the
Philippines.
Softcover, 153 pages, colour.
$32.00. |
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LOST TREASURE
SHIPS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Nigel Pickford.
Published by National Goegraphic
and qwrotten by one of the world's ;pading authorities on shipwrecks, this
large format book is superbly presented in large format and full colour.
Just some of the vessels mentioned include Admiral Nakhimov, Lusitanmia,
Titanic, Hampshire, Laurentic, Empress of Britain, Awa Maru and Edinburgh
- and nine others. It really is a remarkable read as most of the ships
were lost in the last century - there are no Spanish treasure ships of
the Carinnean. The book is well illustrated with mono and colour photographs,
and charts. An excellent read. Hardcover, dust jacket, full colour, 192
pages, glossary, index. $52.00. |
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MARK OF THE
SHARK
True Tales of Terror from
the Deep.
Edited by John Long.
This is an excellent compendium
of fascinating shark tales, of encounters and evaluations, from seventeen
authors, many well known. Hugh Edwards and Rodney Fox represent the Aussies,
with shark experts Perry Gilbrt, William Young, and Xavier Maniquet; and
others including Bret Gilliam, Marty Snyderman, Joe Jackson, and others
that I have not heard of, but now appreciate. Its not all blood and guts,
but an excellent insight into these fabulous creatures. $24 |
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LUSITANIA
Diana Preston.
On May 7, 1915, toward the
end of her 101st eastbound crossing, from New York to Liverpool, England,
R.M.S. Lusitania - pride of the Cunard Line and one of the greatest ocean
liners afloat-became the target of a terrifying new weapon and a casualty
of a terrible new kind of war. Sunk off the southern coast of Ireland by
a torpedo fired from the German submarine U-20, she exploded and sank in
eighteen minutes, taking with her some twelve hundred people, more than
half of the passengers and crew. Cold-blooded, deliberate, and unprecedented
in the annals of war, the sinking of the Lusitania shocked the world. It
also jolted the United States out of its neutrality - 128 Americans were
among the dead - and hastened the nation's entry into World War I. This
is a remarkable and tragic story, exceptionally well written by an established
and well-repected author. Hardcover, dustjacket, 532 pages, mono photographs,
notes and sources, bibliography, index. $54.00 |
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COAL HULKS
OF PORT PHILLIP BAY.
Bob Leek.
Many of the sad ships listed
were once proud clippers and barques, but even the most prestigious vessel
ends up on the seabed, the wreckers - or as cut down coal hulks. After,
perhaps, a name change, they continue to give good service storing and
carrying coal to colliers arriving at Port Phillip, until finally, their
usefulness exhusted, they are broken up, scuttled or simply abandoned.
This is most useful book by enthusiastic researcher Bob Leek, as it provides
detail on the final life of many ships that seemed to simply vanish off
the history list. Softcover, 90 pages, mono photographs. $19.50 |
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LIGHTERS AND SHIPS
... Converted into Floating
Docks, Bathing Ships and Bethal Ships of Port Phillip Bay.
Bob Leek.
Call them the forgotten
fleet if you like, but many of these workhorses led glorious lives before
being put out to pasture so to speak. Many of course were purpose built,
and because their lives were not so glamorous, they are rarely mentioned
in the historic texts. And as for their final demise, well, who cared?
Very few were actually wrecked in service - most were cut up, scuttled
or simply abandoned. But there provided an important servic on Port Phillip.
The author, a retired merchant and naval seaman, is most thorough, brought
about by a dedication to rsearch of maritime matters in Victoria. Some
150 vessels are listed, with a further 150 associated vessels included.
The text is detailed, often a chronology of events. Softcover, 152 pages,
mainly mono photos, seven in colour, index.$26.50. |
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THE WRECK
OF THE SCHOONER HENRIETTA
Peter Taylor.
The Henrietta was initially
a Grand Banks schooner, built in 1918 at Massachusetts to different specifications
to that of the regular Australian schooner. She ended her active days on
a reef off Point Cook, Port Phillip, on 28 September 1940, and is now no
more than a pile of pig iron ballast. Yet she had an exciting life, possibly
being the vessel seen in Captins Courageous, (with Spencer Tracy). She
arrived in Australia on a world cruise in 1938, and never left, operating
on charter cruises to the Great Barrier Reef, and the Bass Strait islands.
Her life is very much part of Australia's maritime history, and has been
well documented. A most interesting booklet. Softcover, 26 pages, mono
photographs. $8.80 |
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THE BENDS
Compressed Air in the History
of Science, Diving and Engineering.
John L.Phillips.
Divers were not the only
ones to be afflicted with the dreaded ‘bends', or decompression sickness
- or caisson disease. Anyone who worked under compressed air conditions
were prone to the often fatal consequences of not understanding the consequences
of working under pressure. This excellent book provides a history of ‘the
bends' and the subsequent understanding of its cause. A fascinating read,
and of most importance to th diver. Hardcover, dust jacket, 256 pages,
mono prints and sketches, bibliography, index, author's notes. $45.00 |
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RYS WANDERER - FROM ARISTOCRAT
TO TRAMP
A.B.Demaus.
Some ships struggle through
life, perform their duties, and die on a reef or at the shipbreakers without
achieving any great success. The Wanderer was no exception, although initially
the auxiliary schooner led a glamous life. She was built at Greenock in
1879, ".. the most modern, most luxurious steam yacht ever built... she
was the epitome of luxury travel". Designed to carry just one family on
a world cruise, she had a crew of over fifty - and a parrot. Initialy owned
by the wealthy Charles Joseph Lambert, she went through a number of ownership
and name changes - Vagus, Consuelo, Investigator, and finally Sea Lark
III in 1920 when sold to Patrick Steamship Co., of Sydney. She ended her
days as a tramp steamer, and was finally scrapped around 1925.Based on
the papers of the Lambert family, this is a fascinating read.
Softcover, 160 pages, many
mono prints, bibliography. $34.00 |
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MARINE INVERTEBRATES
Ronald Shimek.
This is a superb guide,
‘the essential concise reference', and although marketed as a ‘pocket-expect
guide', it is 448 pages, in full colour throughout, and covers some five
hundred ‘essential to know aquarium species'. Don't let the word ‘aquarium'
put you off - in fact,the detail for aquarium keepers is just as important
for divers experiencing the invertebrates in their natural habitat as the
text delves more deply than most other publications into their natural
life, their feeding habits, reproduction, predators and the like. I have
found it to b one of the most interesting books availabl on invertebrates.
Softcover, 115 x 185 mm,
full colour throughout, 448 pages, index, bibliography, glossary.$66.00 |
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DIVING THE WORLD
Beth and Shaun Tierney.
A very well put together
publication , providing over two hundred dive sites - and includes a bit
of sightseeing on those ‘drying out' days - or if the non-diving partner
tags along. Of course, thse are warm-water dives - the temperate sites
don't get a look in. The main countries are Australia, PNG, Solomons, Indonesia,
Philippines; and the Pacific islands, and Micronesia. Egypt and East
Africa is included. The entries include diving conditions, and services
available, including live-aboards. This is not a large ‘coffee-table' book;
it is compact, 190 x 210 mm, yet is full colour throughout and well laid
out. Includes ‘essential' dive-travel information - a very useful publication.
Softcover, 350 pages, maps.
$59.99 |
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CLOWNFISHES.
A Guide to their Captive
Care, Breeding and Natural History.
Joyce D. Wilkerson
This is an extremely informative
book if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of what makes Nemo tick.
It has been written for aquarists wishing to raise the species, however
because of its detailed content on breeding and natural history, its audience
is far reaching, and includes the diver, underwater photographer and general
observer. Likewise, the chapers on breeding and raising provide in-depth
knowledge of the species that relates back to their natural habitat. Such
an understanding provides the casual observer and underwater photographer
with knowledge that enhances the enjoyment of appreciating these delightful
fishes, be they in their natural habitat or as a bred species.
Softcover, medium format,
240 pages, full colour throughout, many photographs and diagrams, index,
bibliography, sources and contacts.
$65.00 |
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REEF LIFE - Natural History
and Behaviors of Marine Fishes and Invertebrates.
D.N Tackett & L.Tackett.
Its all very well being
able to identify your species, and there are surely an abundant number
of fish and invertebrate identification books, but if you want to know
more about the natural science of the marine world, this is an excellent
book. "A must-have book for every diver, aquarist and underwater naturalist
(and photogrpaher) who wants to ... understand what he or she is seeing
on the coral reef or in the marine aquarium." I could not agree more. Chapters
include reef explorations, reef origins, reef dwellers, near-reef habitats,
living together, feeding, protection and fenense, masquerade, reproduction
and a chapter on the disappearing reefs. Although mainly tropical species
based, it is not entirely so. This is a well produced book, of A4 size,
softcover, full colour throughout, 224 pages.
Please note: Hardcover no
longer available. Softcover $68.00.
**Highly
recommended** |
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AQUARIUM CORALS. Selection,
Husbandry, and Natural History
Eric H. Borneman.
Although the book is written
for those wishing to keep corals in an aquarium, this is one of the best
book I have seen on the natural history of corals. And understandably so,
for if you wish to keep corals in an habitat, you need to understand their
natural life in some detail. It is also an excellent book as a means of
identification, the greater part of the book being devoted to this. Other
chapters cover the symbiotic relationship with algae, competition and reproduction,
feeding, anatomy, taxonomy, and conservation. An excellent authorative
book even if you have no intention to keep an aquarium.
Hardcover, medium format
22- x 240 mm, 464 pages, full colour throughoput, index, extensive bibliography,
glossary.
$94.00 |
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