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The Dive Atlas Of The World, edited by Jack Jackson
The Dive Atlas Of The World, edited by Jack Jackson
When you have assembled such a big collection of international dive-guides as has publisher New Holland, you hold a lot of information that begs to be repackaged.
Â?Â?Â?Â? The Dive Atlas of the World should be a very useful companion to the travelling diver, but because of the way it has been sourced, its sins of omission are glaringly obvious. When I searched this 'Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites' for some of my favourites, many were nowhere to be found.
Â?Â?Â?Â? For instance, I expected the section devoted to the Pacific Ocean to start with the words: 'By far the largest of the world's oceans...' but in fact this important third of the world's surface was hardly served at all.
Â?Â?Â?Â? From Cocos and the Galapagos across to Fiji, this ocean is seen as an unimportant tract of blue water, when in fact islands-groups such as those of Tahiti, Hawaii and Bikini Atoll offer some of the finest diving available.
Â?Â?Â?Â? This atlas instead positions peninsular Malaysia, the east coast of Australia, the Sulu and Celebes Seas, Indonesia and Kalimantan as part of the Pacific rather than the Far East. Most of the other maps also reveal how few worldwide possibilities have been examined. They look rather sparse.
Â?Â?Â?Â? This book represents an array of dive locations that New Holland authors happen to have visited. It should have been called An Atlas of the Favourite Dive Sites of Jack Jackson and Others! That aside, this is an attractive and well-designed volume and is easily referred to as long as it covers the area that interests you. With around 300 pages, it is brimful of beautifully reproduced colour photographs and maps.
John Bantin
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The Dive Atlas Of The World, edited by Jack Jackson (New Holland, ISBN 1592282067). Hardback, 300pp, £35
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