Submerged

Submerged is not only the title of the book but describes my feeling when reading it. Lenihan took me on a deep journey. I'm only an amateur diver but the simple clarity of the writing allowed to me a glimpse into the professional side of underwater work. The book was compelling but I must say at times I was uneasy-there was a dark side to even the lighter narratives. He and his diving team had some of the most frightening and even bizarre experiences I've ever read about and ones I personally would not find worth the risks. Nevertheless I must give them credit for such extreme dedication to historic preservation. I read the book over three evenings and most enjoyed the personal stories. My husband found the same book interesting for very different reasons. He was most interested in the history and romance of the shipwrecks.

I am an experienced technical diver and was fascinated with that aspect of this book. Mr. Lenihan is indeed a good story teller. I wouldn't be caught dead doing some of the dives that they did on air-- but then again they were diving years ago when no mixed gasses were easily available. I feel that I have the right to take souvenirs from shipwrecks if I've gone to the trouble and expense to get to them and they're going to just corrode away in the sea. But Mr. Lenihan makes his points about preservation without being obnoxious and self-righteous and I like that. He made me think enough about the value of these wrecks that even though I'll probably still take small souvenirs, my newly informed conscience would keep me from taking anything too nice. Don't buy this book if you want to know the best and safest ways to deep dive or cave dive. I'm not saying they aren't real good divers but they dive with air and a prayer. Still, in all, I really enjoyed it.

Submerged by Daniel Lenihan is an entertaining book by a National Park Service employee who truly and enthusiastically loved his job - doing recon dives on the underwater treasures owned by the American public. The subtitle of the book - 'Adventures Of America's Most Elite Underwater Archeology Team' - may be somewhat misleading, since Lenihan's adventures are usually tales of the initial dives to evaluate an underwater resource for future recreational divers and archeologists who will follow in his team's wake. This is not a book about the day to day details of underwater archeology, and if you buy it with that in mind, you may be disappointed. That said, Lenihan's tales about the founding and early adventures of SCRU [Submerged Cultural Resources Unit] are fun to read and Lenihan's enthusiasm is catching. It is obvious that Lenihan has a dislike for private treasure seekers and if you don't share his opinion, you may not want to read this book. If you have an interest in diving, sunken ships, the preservation of cultural resources, the National Park Service, or just enjoy rousing good tales of underwater adventure, I can definitely recommend Submerged.

I think people of any age who enjoy adventure writing or history will like this book, which recounts the tales of a National Park ranger/diver. His job, along with his team, for more than twenty years, was to map underwater wrecks and preserve the sites for exploration by future divers. Along the way, he seems to have had a really good time. There is an interesting story in each chapter. I am planning to give the book as a graduation gift to my nephew as I think he will enjoy, as I did, the stories about the joys and mortal perils of cave-diving in Florida, mapping wrecks in the Great Lakes in body-chilling 34-degree water, and close encounters with the slow moving - - but potentially deadly - - lion fish in Micronesia.I also enjoyed chapters that show the author's awareness of the benefits and drawbacks of age in a young person's sport. I haven't gone diving in the English Channel - - 170 feet deep - - to explore a confederate wreck (the Alabama, which sank off Cherbourg, France, in 1864), but I could identify with the author when he realizes that his eyesight isn't, umm, quite as good as it used to be: "As the dive progressed, however, I found myself coming face to face with my own aging process. At depth, I usually enjoyed the advantage that experience grants older divers. I could feel smug as I watched younger and stronger men make those myriad little judgment mistakes to which I am not as prone - having already made most of them myself during a quarter century of mucking about in deep water. Depth was, in a sense, the great equalizer. Then, without breaking our pace over the bottom, I reflexively reached for my gauge console and brought it to my face for a routine check of elapsed time and remaining air pressure. I couldn't read it."By the way, the author copes with this difficulty on the next dive (magnifying glass inside the goggles). Also, if you are browsing through the book, I recommend reading the chapter about diving at the site of the USS Arizona. The author, at first trying to keep his distance, gradually comes to terms with his feelings about the ship and the thousand or so young men who lost their lives on one bright day in Pearl Harbor.

I highly recommend this book about underwater archeology. My previous experience with archeology was Harrison Ford and the pursuit of the holy grail. The author's intriguing account of his career, from exploring a Civil War submarine to Pearl Harbor, reaffirms my belief that archeology is one of the most fascinating professions in research. It's a whole new world underneath those ocean waters. Give this book a chance, and you'll be submerged in a good read.