Publisher New Holland is very good at repackaging old material, and this is a prime example. I don't know if Jack Jackson is still actually diving, but NH has drawn on his many decades of experience to select the sites in the world that can be relied on to provide an exhilarating experience.
They are all here, together with well-drawn maps and diagrams and background information on some animal species, together with practical details such as site location and depth, seasonality and safety factors. Let's hope the tour operators cited stay in business in these troubled times.
Since the world became awash with good digital underwater pictures, some of the photos look a little dated, but it was nice to recognise old friends among both the divers photographed and the kit they once used.
I would have liked to know who the specific photographers were, but the credits refer to pages that seem not to have been numbered - oops!
That said, this coffee-table size (22 x 27cm) volume arrives in time for Christmas, and I'm sure that many lucky recipients will be browsing through it over their turkey dinner, planning their next diving trip, or arguing the case for those favourites that inevitably get omitted.
John Bantin
New Holland Publishers (UK)
ISBN: 9781847735416
Hardback, 192pp, £25
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