This wonderful book inspired me incredibly as a child, and led to my thirst for gathering as much knowledge as I possibly could about these wonderful creatures. Although it is now a little dated, the information it contains is incredible for its time. From fishing techniques, to first hand accounts of attacks, to amazing facts on shark biology, this book has it all. My sincerest compliments to Mr. Robert Burgess on his masterpiece.

This was just an awesome book! I read it several summers ago and it was the most intriguing and interesting book. I'm totally into that stuff and it was awesome! Everyone should read it. It's fairly easy to understand.

This book is actually a revised and updated version of a book by the same name that was published in 1976. It has about 12 new chapters and some minor revisions to some of the old ones.

Some of this book, especially those chapters dealing with underwater archaeology, deal more with diving in springs and sinkholes rather than in horizontal caves.

Most of the book, however, is devoted to harrowing tales of cave and wannabe cave divers. Many of these stories are woven into what seem, to this long time cave diver, to be the equivalent of fish tales told by fisherman. In other words, the veracity of some of the underwater horror stories may be questionable and are apt to be given to hyperbole. On the other hand, if you have a son, daugther, spouse, significant other, etc. that you don't want to take up this sport, just have them read Burgess' book.

I must admit it is well-written, but borders on a work of fiction rather than being a factual book. It also contains some erroneous information. Its biggest sin, though, appears to be one of omission. This book hardly mentions one of the most fascinating regions of underwataer caves--Florida's Woodville Karst Plain--and the world's most innovative and daring cave divers, those exploring it: Woodville Karst Plain Project.

If you wish to be entertained by macabre tales of a dark water-filled realm, nonetheless, then you will enjoy reading this book.

Jeff Wexler Florida

New to technical diving, I found this historical perspective very interesting. Being French, I was most impressed by Burgess' firsts stories about early dives by pioneers. Each chapter recounts a Cave diving exploration history, and can be read independently. It is also well written, in an entertaining style and does not try to play it too "tekkie". The focus is on exploration. I spent a straight week nights on it, and loved it all the way down. You gonna be hooked.

Gale Research says: "Robert F. Burgess has written a number of books examining underwater exploration and adventure. Many reviewers note that these books appeal to both the beginning student and to the person reading for adventure and entertainment. For instance, in a review of The Cave Divers published in the Christian Science Monitor, W. W. Smith remarks that "Burgess has written a highly readable and exciting book about the adventures of brave divers who ventured into sunken caves. . . . This book has enough technical background to interest the diver and spelunker, yet enough suspense and fresh insight to interest the casual reader." And of the same book L. E. Logan comments in Library Journal, "This book is highly recommended reading for all scuba divers, cave divers, and anyone else who has an interest in the development of underwater paleontology and archaeology." To advanced and exceptional cave divers disappointed because their record cave penetrations of recent years was not detailed in this edition of my book, I most sincerely apologize. The reason is that this edition of the book was completed long before their records but was not published until now. I regret my inability to recognize their tremendous contributions to advancing these highly dangerous explorations, but do hope they understand the difficulty of this necessary delay between the actual writing of a manuscript and the years it may take before it appears in print.

This book was a quick read, chronicling the exploits of six treasure hunters and their efforts to recover some of the billions of dollars worth of treasure sitting at the bottom of the oceans. Although the accounts were interesting, I would have preferred a bit more historical context of the ships they were searching, along more post-find follow up (ex, more information on where the treasure ended up, etc). I also found that the inforamtion on all of the stories was presented the same way -- the way the story was built up all the way to the discovery of treasure became very anti-climatic after the 4th or 5th example. It's also fun to discover the words that are spelled incorrectly.

Here are the real life stories of those daring few who risked everything, and sometimes suffered greatly, searching for the fabled sunken treasures from centuries ago. Read how gold fever consumed these treasure hunters, driving them into amazing perils and through many years with little to show for their efforts. Read also how they eventually hit it BIG! A great mix of gripping adventure telling, technical explanations, and historical fact. Lots of great photos, too. A word of caution, though: you'll find yourself packing for Florida when you hear about tales of treasure that still wash up on its shores, even to this day!

For the diver looking to expand their geographical horizons. The info for the most part is very general. It's an overview of interesting and less visited dive spots. If you're serious about travelling & diving 'off the beaten path' you'll need to supplement this with a more specific guide for your destination. But a good 'idea book' for those casting about for new travel & dive destinations.

A fascinating look at marine animals and how they communicate with each other and with humans. The author is not a biologist and his observations on fish intelligence and other topics would probably be dismissed as "anecdotal." But he does cover the latest research as of 1982. A new edition would be a good idea.