the book is very well written, easy to read and understand. the topics covered are those that any advanced diver may encounter on any dive in saltwater. it goes just deep enough into the subjects to give you a fairly through knowlage of what to expect on a dive into the discribed enviroment without boreing you with lenghty technical terms that only a scientest would understand. it discribes boat diving, deep diving, underwater hunting, cold, kelp, wall, wrecks, night, camera, caves, dangers and hazards with life forms at depths, as well as human physiology and the hazards associated with hyperbaric activity. it also covers the equipment, and educational aspect of learning snorkling and scuba. It IS a very good book, and if you have more than just a passing interest in scuba diving, then this book is a "must read" book. It is the most fulfilling book I have read on diving. it was published in 1980, and some of diving techniques have changed slightly, (at least in my area,-pac.N.W.)the ocean and its critters have remained the same. .....Lou

Our first introduction to the Hawaiian Islands was in the early 1980's; since then we have been conducting research on the islands of Hawai'i and Kauai. Our long association with Hawai'i prompted us to develop a course: The Natural History of Hawai'i; taught by Jamie Deneris, Ph.D., College of Marin, Kentfield, California, and myself, Neil Marshall, Ph.D. College of Notre Dame, Belmont, California. This is a course that includes island biogeography, evolutionary biology, and the geology of oceanic islands. Our text is John Culliney's book, Islands in a Far Sea. This is a wonderfully, scholarly, but eminently readable book. It captures the essence of the geologic and biologic evolution of the Hawaiian Islands, presents the key points of island biogeography, and finally the impact of human activity. A fine book; this needs to be reprinted in a new edition.

This was an excellent book. It really showed people how to germinate, grow, and care for the native plants of Hawaii. After two centuries of gardens being full of exotics that escape and take over the native forests, it's time to start bringing the natives back into the cities. This book really shows how to do this in a quick and easy way.