Shadow Divers is a great read!

[brandtryan]

Had to take a quick hiatus from Clay Blair's excellent history "Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters", and decided to listen to "Shadown Divers". (http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Divers-Adventure-Americans-Everything/dp/0345482476/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268398867&sr=8-1)

Audible, here (http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BKOT_000231&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes).

I actually bought it for the u-boat discovery story, but found myself absolutely pasted to the pages regarding the art of deep sea diving. The u-boat information/story was just as good.

However, I wondered in the end, how the US hunter/seeker groups didn't hear an explosion on their sonar gear. The book states that "they (hunter/seeker group) wouldn't have been able to hear/notice a thing..."

I don't want to talk too much about the u-boat, so as not to spoil the mystery u-boat identification for any future readers--just wanted to discuss the possibility of hunter/seeker groups not hearing an explosion within a few miles of it, and no deeper than 200 feet.

[Blood_splat]

I read it last summer. They really pushed it to the limits when it came to the scuba equipment that was available back than.

[brandtryan]

The last section was so intense, it's almost unbelievable. I guess it's true though, that "real life is stranger than fiction".

They even mentioned a certain "WW2 U-Boat simulation" in the book--about one of the divers taping the SHIII grid poster on his wall for reference!

[Wulfmann]

I also read that last summer.
A friend loaned it to me and I said jokingly "Well. I knew what happened before I read the book because it is listed in the U-Boat encyclopedia and don't understand why they just didn't pick up a copy of that"

Of course that was published in 2004 and it was because of Shadow Diver's findings the correct information was in the encyclopedia but I had to pull his leg

There were times I felt like I couldn't breath in that book, good read

Wulfmann

[Erik the Black]

Being a deep wreck/technical diver myself, who has dived the U-352, the U-701, and the U-85 (among several other war casualty wrecks in the Outer Banks), and as member of our rather small and insular community, let me clarify things just a bit. We generally chuckle at Shadow Divers just a tad, because several of us have met, dived with, or know at least one or two (or more) of the guys who were there and were in the book.

It is also generally accepted among our community that even though John Chatterton and Richie Kohler are highly respected technical divers, and pioneers of deep wreck diving, they milked the whole thing for every ounce of publicity they could get out of it, and there is a lot in the book that is exaggerated or incorrectly represented to make it appear as if they were the ones who performed the deeds.

In short, you can't read Shadow Divers without reading Gary Gentile's book "Shadow Divers Exposed". Only then can you truly be the judge.

[brandtryan]

Erik,

I'll definately check that book out--sounds like they got one thing right in the book though--that history (i.e., someone's account of events) might be a bit off, eh? :arrgh!:

After reading Shadow Divers, I have the greatest respect for you guys, and found myself fascinated with this extreme sport. I plan to get SCUBA certified. I'm sure I'll never become a "deep" diver, but some of the most peaceful moments in my life were snorkeling, and swimming under the water checking out reefs in Maui. I think I'd really enjoy scuba.

Anyway, thanks for the post, and best of luck on your future dives.

[Wulfmann]

I rarely research any account in which I do not find exaggerations and colorful rewriting for a better read to be the case.

So, this does not surprise me and in fact is typical.

The movie "300" was a very exaggerated depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae but the spirit of the heroics was a good representation of those very brave men and so that movie was great fun.

Research the "Bridge on the River Kwai" sometime and you may consider Shadow Divers very accurate by comparison.

Wulfmann

[Erik the Black]

Well, the guy who wrote the Shadow Divers didn't have much of a storied history in regards to literature. I think the most he had ever written were some books about the Three Stooges. Richie Kohler and John Chatterton actually hired him. When researching for the writing of Shadow Divers, rumor has it that he didn't conduct many interviews with other divers, and most of his material came directly from John and Richie themselves. Some say they wanted it that way so they could embellish more, and affect the writing in a way which would cause it to appear they were more "hero characters" than bystanders as they were in some of the situations described in the book. It worked. Not only did the success of the book help them nail down their TV show "Deep Sea Detectives", it garnered them both enough fame to get Hollywood to contemplate making a movie over the past couple of years. It also spawned a NOVA documentary show about it, which ironically enough, certain parts (the parts box recovery for example), were filmed a few miles off the coast, and not at the site as implied. Anyway, Ridley Scott was originally slated to direct the movie, but that fell through. Who knows where it's at now. Most of us kinda got burned out on the whole thing and stopped keeping track of it.

Not to take away from the book though. It was actually quite good. I enjoyed the book, even though I knew more about the story than the average reader. And his historical accuracy is relatively good (with some minor mistakes) as is his explanation of the dangers of deep wreck/technical diving. And let's face it, in their defense, Richie Kohler and John Chatterton are quite skilled and highly respected, even after the Shadow Divers "debacle". They both have done some amazing stuff along with some other pioneers, and my mask is off to them, and they actually spearheaded a great awareness of U-boats in American Waters, and the history behind them.

I just wish more credit was given to the several other divers who were just as involved in the story than they were, some of whom didn't make it back alive.

As stated, check out http://www.ggentile.com/ and take a look at his non-fiction book list for Shadow Divers Exposed. I own almost all of his works, and have actually talked to him on a couple of occasions when I had some artifact preservation questions. Good stuff, and quite the brutally honest fellow. By the way, he was actually on the boat when several of the situations in Shadow Divers took place, being a member of the elite technical diving pioneering cadre.

[Erik the Black]

And thank you Brandt. If you do choose to delve into an environment more dangerous than outer space and place your hand on history, let me know.

And even then, if you choose to play it safe and hang out with the bikinis and coral reefs, well ...there isn't anything wrong with that either!