FREE THE LAST DIVE: A FATHER AND SONS FATAL DESCENT INTO THE OCEANS DEPTHS PDF Bernie Chowdhury | 384 pages | 13 Sep 2011 | HarperCollins Publishers Inc | 9780060932596 | English | New York, NY, United States The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths by Bernie Chowdhury Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. Published February 19th by Harper Perennial first published October 1st More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, The Last Dive: A Father and Sons Fatal Descent Into the Oceans Depths sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Last Diveplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jul 20, Woman Reading rated it liked it Shelves: 3-stars-mildly-entertainingnonfictionchallengenfbc-botm-brnf- other. But there have always been people who have ventured into the deep despite the superstitions. If simple curiosity didn't help us overcome our initial fears and superstitions of the water, greed did. Depending on your beliefs, they were either brave, foolish, or insane. The Last Dive was not only about the last dives of the father and son team, Chris and Chrissy Rouse, but it also included cautionary tales about the myriad ways one's underwater excursion can go tragically wrong. I ha But there have always been people who have ventured into the deep despite the superstitions. Inthe shipwreck had been discovered lying in a broken heap feet below the sea. I described more about the U-boat in my review. But even though I already knew the outcomes of their failed dives inlistening to this book's detailed account of the Rouses' last hours was gut- wrenching. The Rouses had been a part of a very small community with its own social customs and particular perspectives. They began as recreational divers in warm waters but quickly became enamored by cavern diving in Florida and then by deep shipwreck diving off of the East coast. Their passion eventually helped the sport niche, now called technical diving, to progress. Technical divers go beyond feet, and this exposes them to potential complications from oxygen toxicity and decompression sickness aka "the bends". Existence was elemental under the waves: It was easy to eat or be eaten, live or die - not so different from how divers themselves had to function in the alien world. The diving community We demand near perfection in skill and form, including the method and style of our dying. And dying was mentioned repeatedly in The Last Dive. Technical diving is aptly named; these divers can carry equipment equal to their body weight. The choice of gas mixture, the depth of the dive, the time spent below, and the diver's breathing intensity are all factored into determining the most appropriate decompression The Last Dive: A Father and Sons Fatal Descent Into the Oceans Depths. Decompression sickness doesn't just lead to a diver "getting bent" which is stigmatized within the diving community but could result in neurological damage, paralysis, or even death. I'm not a diver, though I would like to be one. I have no aspirations to join this community of technical divers, but it was still beneficial to learn more about the sport. Hardcore divers would likely derive the most enjoyment from The Last Dive. View all 4 comments. If you have not read Shadow Divers and are planning on it, read this book second. If you don't do it that way, you have to read a very brief, depressing version of the deaths all over again. I love that they have some decent books about scuba diving out there. This book makes you see everything they went through in their diving careers and how all of your training can still fail when you make one mistake diving. Also, no matter how much you know how you are supposed to react in an emergency situ If you have not read Shadow Divers and are planning on it, read this book second. Also, no matter how much you know how you are supposed to react in an emergency situation, you heart will not allow you to save yourself when the fate of your own flesh and blood is impacted as well. I dive with my father a lot as well so this book hit close to home. Beautifully written and I read the last pages with tears streaming down my face. A must read for any scuba diver! Oct 22, Chris rated it it was amazing. What I learned from this book It does a really good job at describing technical diving, even in a way that a non-diver can understand. May 08, Derek Simon rated it it was ok. An interesting story, but the book contained far too much filler. At it's best, it provided a compelling human drama which it set in the context of the advances in diving of the time. However, it was amazing how often the author veered off into telling stories about himself instead of the Rouses. He also had a habit of repeating certain points endlessly, while leaving out other key details and then dropping them into the story later out of time and context. The author also tried to use the book An interesting story, but the book contained far too much filler. The author also tried to use the book as a platform for advocating The Last Dive: A Father and Sons Fatal Descent Into the Oceans Depths use of personal communications gear in diving, when it is far from clear how that would have saved lives in this case. Ultimately it was best as a cautionary tale of two divers who pushed the limits of the sport too far, too fast, with a blind faith in their skill to get them out of any situation. The book has a wrong title, it should be a more general one about tech diving. The Rouses incident took one and a half chapter, the background maybe one chapter plus some sprinkles here and there. The family dynamics was intriguing, and it could be one of the factors causing them to decide their plunge to the ocean for one The Last Dive: A Father and Sons Fatal Descent Into the Oceans Depths time despite advice from others not to dive. But anyway, at least half of the book is actually about the author himself. I don't mind since he had some interesting and re The book has a wrong title, it should be a more general one about tech diving. I don't mind since he had some interesting and relevant experiences that he shared quite in details - his bends accident and a few scares. All of which are very well written and gripping. He also made a few argumentation on the psychological effect that makes tech divers doing what they do, keep trailblazing beyond any human record, getting artifacts from wrecks, anything disregarding their own physical limitations, families, faulty equipment, bad weather, zero visibility, and so on and so forth. But he did not go far enough, I need more. Also, I got a few bad The Last Dive: A Father and Sons Fatal Descent Into the Oceans Depths from the author's statement about bends and gender issue in diving, I could not help it if that skews my rating. Heck, I just participated in a Zoom call last night with some female cave divers from my own country and I thought there are already some progress even here where the tech diving world is not only for the macho. Though I am still not convinced at all about cave diving, yikes. Even the people are the same as the tech diving world at that time was their own small world. Oct 11, Tim Williams rated it it was amazing. This book is everything I love about non-fiction. There is a bit of technical filler re: mixed gases, dive gear, etc that may bore some readers. For Philly folks there are local tie ins. Jul 04, Courtney Niederer rated it really liked it Shelves: in-my-libraryread-in A tragic story of a father-son diving team who die while diving a German u-boat wreck. This wreck was thoroughly described in the book Shadow Divers. This book focuses on the pair, their dives, and their relationship. A good and very informative account of their lives. Sep 02, Bernadette Calonego rated it really liked it Shelves: disaster The Last Dive: A Father and Sons Fatal Descent Into the Oceans Depths, adventure. Sometimes I like to read about topics that are out of my comfort zone. This book is about recreational diving of the risky kind. Technical deep diving, it is called, I think. Reading this book, I dove into a world pun intended that is very foreign to me. The diving realm is still very male-dominated, rather macho who can dive the deepest? The last dive : a father and son's fatal descent into the The lowest-priced brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging where packaging is applicable. Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag.