Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria

Considered the Mt. Everest of diving, the Andrea Doria is the ultimate deepwater wreck challenge. Over the years, a small but fanatical group of extreme scuba divers have investigated the Andrea Doria, pushing themselves to the very limits of human endurance to explore her -- and not all have returned. Diver Kevin McMurray takes you inside this elite club with a hard, honest look at those who go deeper, farther, and closer to the edge than others would ever dream.

Deep Descent is the riveting true story of the human spirit overcoming human frailty and of fearsome, mortal risks traded for a hard-core adrenaline rush. Chronicling these adventures in his page-turning narrative and in dozens of dramatic photos, McMurray draws us deeper into the cold heart of the unforgiving sea, giving us a powerful vision of a place to which few will ever have the skills -- or the courage -- to go.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Amazing, 2008-04-10
If you want to know about the Andrea Dorea or have read about it before this is a must read.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great read -- a real page-turner, 2008-02-18
After reading "Shadow Divers", I was drawn to read more about the people and about diving the Andrea Doria. "Deep Descent" is a well-written account of the people and dangers of deep wreck diving on the Andrea Doria by an author who has personally dived the wreck several times and interviewed all of the significant players. Once I started, it was hard to put this book down. It is a great read for diver and non-diver alike.

The focus is on the personalities and the emotions driving those involved and how they were a factor in many of the deaths for this dangerous dive. It recounts interesting personalities of the dive boat captains and key Doria divers, their competition, and their concerns. It includes both sides of many issues whose schisms are clear in some of the other books. It is not a travelogue of the ship itself nor is it very technical -- neither detracts from the enjoyment of the book and allows it to retain its appeal for non-divers. He also talks about how advances in diving gases and equipment have made such deep dives safer and reachable for less experienced divers, yet divers continue to die for many of the same fundamental reasons -- driven to the limits of their abilities and beyond.

If you want a book on the technical aspects of deep wreck diving, or accounts of the scenery of the wreck, this is not your book. Otherwise, you will find this a very enjoyable read.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Not worth it, 2008-02-10
There are many other books about real - and harrowing - experiences diving that are much better written. A true disappointment - don't bother.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Gripping and well-written but was too terse at times, 2007-08-22
This was a great book from two standpoints. As a reader, I appreciated how well-organized the book was. The chapters are not broken down chronologically but rather by weaving important ideas into a coherent story about the history of diving the Doria. McMurray knows exactly how to turn possibly hundreds of hours of interviews into a suspenseful adventure for the reader. As someone who has just started diving, it was a great way to cement some of the lessons taught by my instructors regarding panic under water, narcosis, and equipment malfunctions/hazards. This is also a great book if you want to read about some legendary divers in the 80s and 90s. McMurray paints a detailed and honest picture of the book's characters, allowing the reader to step into their shoes and understand their motivations. Thankfully, he didn't seem to baby the reader when it came to explaining the science behind the risks of diving. As a diver himself, he kept the explanations short and simple for those who are not already familiar with the concepts. The only drawback of the book is McMurray's sometimes sparse recountings. Parts of the book were very matter-of-fact as if it were taken out of a newspaper article when I wished he could provide more detail. However, these parts didn't detract from the overall good quality of the writing.

All in all, a great read for anyone interested in the Andrea Doria, deep wreck diving, or a piece of diving history.


0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Disappointing, 2007-07-22
I read this book after reading Shadow Divers. Technically, this book cannot even begin to compete. I would not recommend it.

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