The problem with manuals is that they often have to cover a lot of familiar ground before getting to the bits that its variously informed readers would define as useful.
If you have reached the point in your diving development where you're thinking of organising expeditions, chances are you will already have a fair idea of many of the aspects covered in this new British Sub Aqua Club manual - dive-site location, equipment, emergency management, possible projects to pursue and so on. So parts of the book may prove a bit tedious.
Having said this, The Expedition Manual does pull a lot of different strands together well, and overall would make a useful handbook for leisure-dive "managers" trained by any agency.
"Expedition" in this context might mean a trip up the Amazon to record extreme piranha behaviour, but equally it might just be a club outing to visit a home-waters wreck.
And if you haven't organised a club outing before, this could be every bit as challenging as that piranha trip if you don't have the sort of guidance this book (and, one hopes, more experienced colleagues) can offer.
The manual gets better as it gets into its stride, away from the generalities and deeper into specifics, whether these are wreck-detection techniques, disease prevention tips or legal requirements. The case studies are interesting, too.
Foreword is by Prince Charles, and how many books can boast that? Recommended reading for leaders of men and women.
Steve Weinman
British Sub-Aqua Club
ISBN: 9780956481306
Softback, 160pp, £25
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