Scuba Diving »

Dennis Graver has more than 30 years of experience as a scuba instructor and instructor trainer. He has authored 27 books and manuals on scuba diving, including three previous editions of Scuba Diving from Human Kinetics. In his position as director of training for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), he designed the PADI modular scuba course and wrote the PADI Dive Manual, which revolutionized scuba instruction. During his tenure as director of education for the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), Graver wrote several diving texts, including the NAUI Openwater I Scuba Diver Course Instructor Guide. He has also contributed hundreds of articles on diving to magazines such as Skin Diver, Sources, and Undercurrents as well as several NAUI technical publications.

From the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt to the barrier reefs of Australia, Graver has spent the past 32 years photographing many wonders under the water. He has won numerous awards from the Underwater Photographic Society, and his photos have graced the covers of numerous magazines and illustrated several diving texts and audiovisual educational programs.

Graver and his wife, Barbara, live in Camano Island, Washington.

Packed with full-color photographs and illustrations, Scuba Diving offers step-by-step instruction on preparing for and managing a dive safely with information on the latest equipment, gear selection, recommended dive locations, technologies, and techniques. Scuba Diving is your one-stop resource before taking your first or next plunge.

Library Journal

Graver easily achieves his stated goal ``to create the most complete, up-to-date text available for entry-level scuba diving and to improve diving safety through education.'' Study guides in the margins of the text prompt the reader to constantly focus on important points, and the writing provides in-depth elaboration and direction--for the more advanced scuba information seeker--on topics such as equipment, management of physical problems during a dive, the aquatic environment, and general planning in preparation for dives. Appendixes include lists of diver training organizations, the tenets of the ``Responsible Diver Code,'' and equipment inventory. The book serves dual roles as student text and basic introduction. Recommended, especially if your collection is limited to a single title in this subject area.-- David M. Turkalo, Social Law Lib., Boston