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Diving and Subaquatic Medicine by Carl Edmonds, Christopher Lowry, John Pennefather and Robyn Walker
Diving and Subaquatic Medicine by Carl Edmonds, Christopher Lowry, John Pennefather and Robyn Walker
Written by three Australian diving doctors and a diving scientist, Diving and Subaquatic Medicine is the best book on the subject I have come across. It is aimed at doctors and paramedics who tend to divers' ailments, and is ideal for the instruction of divers and diving physicians.
Now in its fourth edition, the book has been extensively revised by the original three authors and newcomer Dr Robyn Walker to cover the latest developments in equipment and techniques. In addition, no fewer than 19 internationally acclaimed medics have generously contributed their specialist expertise.
It's good to see a strong contingent from the UK among them, including Drs Phil Bryson, Ian Calder, Chris Edge and David Elliott.
The format, layout and content of the book are all excellent. The contents lists the entire spectrum of medical topics and the balance of coverage for each subject is just right. The generous use of colour and black and white photographs, diagrams and so on makes a useful contribution to understanding and appreciating the clinically based text. Many illustrations appear for the first time.
As would be expected of an Aussie publication, the book passes the 'no-waffle' test with flying colours. Aussie humour also sneaks through at every opportunity. On spearfishing injuries, for example, an explicit photograph of a skin-diver with a spear impaled in his chest is described: 'The five spear prongs penetrated the pleura and pericardium on the left side. The 2m spear caused excessive leverage and pain when the victim laughed or breathed.'
I readily forgive the failure to acknowledge my graph on survival expectancy in cold water (first published in 1972) but it's a little harder to forgive a description of the history of the diving helmet in which Augustus Siebe is yet again wrongly credited with its invention.
This is despite a reference to The Infernal Diver, which incontrovertibly describes the invention of the diving dress by the Deane brothers. But these are quibbles. Well done the Aussies!
John Bevan
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Diving and Subaquatic Medicine by Carl Edmonds, Christopher Lowry, John Pennefather and Robyn Walker (Arnold, ISBN 0-340-80630-3). Hardback, 719 pages, £85
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