Advanced First Aid Afloat,

Good hands on emergency medical text which could save a life. Details handling much more serious crises than typical first aid books. Have your physician check it out, however, and recommend appropriate updated meds. The author's list is out of date and in some cases is no longer appropriate.

I'm very happy to be the first reviewer of this, but a little suprised since it means there are a lot of sailors who don't know what's in this great book. Levinson and Eastman (both physicians and active sailors) did a great job laying out serious medical problems in a way that even I can understand them. Also, they give readable scenarios that help put these accidents in context. A good example is the opening chapter, which goes into a story of a helmsman who wasn't paying close enough attention, and from an accidental jibe, suffered a head impact from the boom, leaving him out cold on the side deck. Situations like that are real, and the authors have certainly laid out sound and solid advice for keeping your crew (and yourself) safe. The only reason I'm dinging a star from them is because I wish it could have been a bit bigger to cover even more.