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Top 9 Books and Movies for Both Scuba and Swim Enthusiasts

Apr 21, 2023 | Scuba, Swimming

April 23-29, 2023 marks National Library Week, a week to celebrate all things books and movies and about supporting your local libraries.

 

To celebrate, Diventures has collected a list of our Dive Pros and Swim Teacher’s favorite aquatics themed books and movies. Which have you read or watched? 

National Library Week

1. 100 Dives of a Lifetime 

100 Dives of a Lifetime by Carrie Miller explores 100 breathtaking scuba dives sites around the world. This book provides the ultimate bucket list for active scuba divers and features over 350 images from National Geographic. Each location is truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip. 

2. Shadow Divers 

Shadow Divers, written by Robert Kurson, is an extremely popular choice with our Dive Pros. Matt Ingber, Open Water Diver Instructor in Atlanta, GA describes the book like this, “It’s a real-life narration of the discovery of a German U-Boat from WWII that sank off of the East Coast of America and the work it took to try to identify the wreck. This particular boat was located in an area that no ships were reported to be in, and historical records show this ship was not supposed to be anywhere near where it was found. It goes through the lives of the individuals who discovered the wreck, as well as outlining the evolution of deep-water diving and the challenges that it brings. Very easy read that kept me on my toes. I couldn’t put the book down. I’ve read the book a few times so far and highly recommend it to all divers.” 

3. Deep Sea Dive 

Our Business Analyst Dustin Doroh’s daughter is a big fan of Deep Sea Dive by Salina Yoon. “I found the book when my daughter was a baby, and now she loves having it read to her at night. It follows a dive guide leading kids on a deep-sea dive and introducing them to sharks, turtles, and seahorses. Highly recommend for those with babies and toddlers.” 

4. Thirteen Lives 

Another favorite among the Dive Pros is Thirteen Lives. This film follows the true story of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand where 12 junior soccer players and their coach were trapped in a partially flooded cave. The film details the heroic divers who risked their lives to save the team. 

5. Into the Planet 

If you’re into cave diving, you’ll love Lexington Store Manager Beth VanPelt’s pick. Into the Planet follows author Jill Heinerth on her journey to the depths of the oceans. The memoir blends adventure and science and brings readers face-to-face with some of Earth’s remaining unknowns.  

6. Finding Nemo 

No aquatics list would be complete without Finding Nemo. This classic movie follows the journey of a clownfish named Marlin who is searching for his son Nemo along the Great Barrier Reef. Along the way, Marlin learns to take risks and realizes that his son is growing up. This pick is an engaging way to introduce a love of the underwater world to children! 

7. Down Time: An Oral History of the Lee’s Summit Underwater Rescue & Recovery 

Down Time was co-authored by our very own John Monson, an Advanced Open Water Diver in Kansas City.  This book was written from oral accounts and transcripts of past and present members of the Lee’s Summit Underwater Rescue & Recovery Team. The book brings to light the obstacles rescue teams faced during the 1960’s and 70’s and what they managed to accomplish in the murky waterways. 

8. Beneath the Blue Planet 

Beneath the Blue Planet by Alex Brylske, Ph.D. focuses on oceanography, coral reefs, sharks and sustainable dive practices. It’s a great educational guide for divers, snorkelers, children and parents. If 100 Dives of a Lifetime sounded interesting to you, then you’ll enjoy Beneath the Blue Planet. You can also purchase the book at any of our Diventures locations! 

9. Last Breath 

The movie Last Breath follows the underwater survival story of Chris Lemons. One of our Kansas City, MO Open Water Diver Instructors, Mike Dugan says, “Last Breath is a great movie dealing with saturation diving, what can go wrong and why we plan-plan-plan (even if sometimes things happen anyway). Spoiler, it ends well… With that said I do NOT recommend this movie for new divers. It’s a great movie for those interested in intense and commercial diving.” 

Interested in any of these books or movies? Head on over to your local library. We guarantee that you’ll discover even more. Happy National Library Week!

 

Jump in the deep end and learn how to scuba dive at Diventures! Our experienced and passionate dive instructors use proven training methods at cutting edge, comfortable facilities. We offer beginning classes through speciality courses, plus scuba diving certifications at Diventures locations across the U.S.

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