Subtitled 100 Extraordinary Experiences Under Water, this is another general guide to the best dive locations around the world. Nothing wrong with that, because divers have an insatiable appetite for such books, and the usual classic sites are here, well spread out geographically.
But in this case we have to ask: whatever happened to the pictures?
With British Society of Underwater Photographers luminary Len Deeley involved, the reader might be forgiven for expecting a lot of high-quality imagery for his or her £20.
It doesn't appear to be a matter of poor production, because there are some good shots here, and the text, layout and typography are all fine, but overall the selection of images simply fails to underline the extraordinariness of Len and Karen's experiences.
Many of these photos, most of which are taken by the two authors, suffer from lack of sharpness, wildly wayward colour and in some cases are of the "torch beam in a sea of green" variety. With a fresh set of pictures, this book would be the real deal.
Steve Weinman
John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780470744925
Softback, 242pp, £20
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