Rating: 
Summary: the greatest risk takers don't always survive...
Review: More like two brothers than father and son, Chris and Chrissy Rouse met their fate while exploring a newly discovered German U-boat in deep water off the coast of New Jersey. Far from the normal safe depth of 130 ft for recreational divers, this german wreck split in two on the ocean floor (200+ feet below the surface) lured father and son to explore its deep interior in search of a log book that would reveal its secrets. They had been this deep before, and on normal compressed air instead of safer mixed gas. But carelessness and lack of focus will catch up to any diver no matter how much experience they may have. This book tells the story of such carelessness. Even the author himself, a veteran diver suffered from the bends when he had to abort his decompression stops from making a simple mistake while diving another deep water wreck, the famous Andrea Doria. I really enjoyed this book. Having recently gained my first scuba certification, I am just beginning to explore the underwater world. When I can't be in the water, I can still be learning and gaining precious knowledge that may one day save my life or the life of a fellow diver. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in scuba, or to anyone who likes to read stories about those who take risks doing what they love. The greatest risk takers don't always survive, but it's better to lose your life doing what you love then to never have really lived at all.
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Summary: Chowdhury scores with "Last Dive"
Review: Frankly, the Last Dive was probably the best book I've read, ever.I recently got my introductory PADI scuba license. I'd heard some about tech diving, but hadn't really payed attention. Anyway, I picked up the hard-backed copy of Last Dive recently given to me by my girl friend, and I couldn't put it down. I read the whole book in maybe three days. The Last Dive gave me a clear picture of hard core deep and cave diving on the east coast. Chowdury is one of the few authours that I know that can write a non-ficttion story, but have it read like a novel. Last Dive also has several sub-plots in it, not just diving U-869(if you like U-boats, read Operation Drumbeat by Micheal Gannon) or the Andrea Doria(Deep Descent by Kevin f. McMurry), but also the history of scuba diving and deco research, and the pioneers of deep and cave diving, such as the late Sheck Exely. After reading this book, I was bitten by the deep, cave, and ice diving bug(no not sea wasps) and I am currently pooling money for the thousands of dollars worth of gear that will someday lead me to the silent steel superstructure of U-869,the Northern Pacifac, the Andrea Doria, and the Empress of Ireland. To put it simply, Last Dive was a great summer read, and a must read for any deep or cave diver, aspiring or otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Inevitable
Review: This true story of a father and son dive team is well written and throughly researched. I enjoyed reading about the pair's interest in recreational diving and subsequent interest in technical diving. However, the book clearly portrays them as pushing the envelope ever further, even past the limits to which their friends and mentors were comfortable with. Their experiences on the Andrea Dorea only served to bolster their confidence, which I believe, led to their ultimate demise on the "U-Who". As a certified diver, I enjoyed the book. However, it was similar to the movie The Perfect Storm in that these men are portrayed as heroes or martyrs when in fact they died by their own hand, as a result of taking unnecessary risks.
Rating:
Summary: Lessons to be Learned
Review: As a New Jersey diver who has encountered trouble at depth off the Garden State's coast, The Last Dive rang shockingly true. In the spirit of "Into Thin Air" and "A Perfect Storm," The Last Dive focuses on what happens when tragedy strikes when the best of the best just isn't good enough. My only criticism of the book would be that there's too little about the U-boat that plays such a large role in the characters' lives, and perhaps a bit too much about the author's own experiences and feelings. While they are perfectly valid and relevant to the book, the book's ending trails off as a result. Nonetheless, a great summer book and one that divers will certainly enjoy before passing on to non-diving family and friends.
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Summary: Primer for the want-to-be technical diver
Review: An excellent view into the world of the technical scene as it evolved in the 90's. Anyone who is interested in taking up technical diving should read this book first. It's chilled a few bloodstreams of the gung-ho crowd and awakened many to the need for technical training.
Rating:
Summary: A heart-warming learning experience
Review: I have just been certified in open water diving & this book extended the teaching I learned to date. I started reading & found that I was unable to put it down until finish. Bernie's writing taught me to have more respect for this sport. Each dive is a new an exciting experience, as I recently learned in the Bahamas(2 weeks after certification on north shore of Long Island, NY). Read this book with an open mind, there is alot to be learned. Thank you Bernie for my lesson.
Rating:
Summary: Taking the Plunge
Review: Scuba diving at the extremes...taking the big plunge. This book was a fascinating look into the world of "tech diving." Chris and Chrissy Rouse were lured into the underwater realm and we are lucky enough to get to follow their adventures. The father and son team consistently strived to be the best, and ultimatly paid the price. This book not only chronicles their story but also gives history of how scuba diving developed and the current advancements. The descriptions of diving theories and principles are explained very well and offer the non-diver a good background. The Andrea Doria, a shipwreck that lies at 250 feet below the surface of the Atlantic is considered the "Mount Everest" of scuba diving is pictured and beautifully brought to life in this book. The hunt to disclose the identity of a mystery U-boat discovered in the Atlantic is the scariest part of the book, and as an outside observer you will find yourself yelling "turn around, turn around!" The description and harrowing bravery displayed in this book will make shudder. A must read for non-divers and divers alike, it just may make you think twice next time you want to "take the plunge."
Rating:
Summary: Respect the ocean - it shows no mercy
Review: About a group of friends who dive to the Andria Dora, "The Mount Everest of Diving", at 230 feet below the Massachusetts coast. They also go down to sunken German U-Boats off the New Jersey and New York coast. In one U-Boat, this guy was swimming through the walkway 70 meters down, with his tanks on his sides, when all of a sudden a freaking inflatable life raft inflates - after being sunk for 50 years! The goddam thing traps the guy in the U-Boat, pinning him to the floor! It tells a history of how people throughout the ages have gotten the bends - including the people who worked underwater in caissons building the Brooklyn Bridge, a history of diving, the pain of decompression chambers after being rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter off of a dive charter boat, breathiing mixed gases like helium and guys decompressing for 3 hours on an anchor line after a 30 minute bottom time deep dive.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor writing mars a brilliant outline
Review: Don't be fooled by all the dive junkies giving 5-star ratings to this dreck. Unless you're a diver, you'll be bored to tears. If you *are* a diver, be prepared to trudge through uninteresting crap looking for the treasure. The story of the Rouse deaths is merely a hook--their story only takes up a small portion of the book. Essentially, what Chowdhury is pedaling is a history of tech diving. The outline is brilliant, and in the hands of a skilled writer, this could have been a real gem. The prose is mediochre at best. Hard to believe anyone could make so fascinating a topic into a dull read.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly disappointed....
Review: Perhaps because I knew how it was going to end, I found this book an incredibly slow read. Normally I would put it down after a couple of weeks, but it did get such rave reviews. I felt this book would have been better as a magazine article rather than a book.
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