Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking
Review: Wow. I was blown away by this sensitive, poignant account of tragic loss of life. The author's own near-death experience had me sitting on the edge of my seat. It was absolutely terrifying, and was written in such a way that I was right there in the chamber with him. The book also has an unexpected bonus--a brief history of the evolution of technical and recreational diving as we know it today. I especially loved the fact that Chowdhury shared his sessions with a psychologist with the readers, and delved somewhat into what motivates a tech diver. Most importantly, this book made me re-live every single one of my dives, and all the stupid things I have gotten away with. I dug out my dive logs and shuddered. Chowdhury may have saved me from my own accidents. This is a book that every diver, technical or recreational, needs to read. I can't stress that enough. It is incredibly sad. Hats off to Bernie Chowdhury and to Sue Rouse.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Dive
Review: If your a certified diver, you gotta like this book. Bernie gets into the technicalities of high-risk adventure diving well enough to satisfy the trained diver. Neophytes to diving will develop a more serious attitude toward the sport. The next time I go under, I will be a little more careful, a little better prepared, and more wary. Very few books influnece your life. "The Last Dive" will definitely change every diver's attitude.
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Dive
Review: The liner notes say "Like `A Perfect Storm,'" and that's not a bad comparison. It has a similar feel to it, although the author(s) aren't quite as gifted writers as Junger, they tell the story well. Stories probably is a more accurate description, since the father-son tragedy may be the centerpiece of the book, but there are many tales related about the (crazy) pioneers of technical diving. If you read "The Right Stuff," you might recall the constant refrain about test pilots crashing and "being burned beyond recognition." In The Last Dive, it's divers constantly getting bent, drowning and other awful tragedies. It's a very personal story for Chowdhury, a friend of many of the victims, and one himself. His exploration on what drives people--including himself--to risk their lives diving for artifacts on wrecks 200 feet and below is fascinating. All in all, an excellent book for anyone who pushes the envelope, especially divers. After reading this, I think I'll stick to rec diving.
Rating:
Summary: How a bad arbidgedment can kill an audio book
Review: "The Last Dive" has two of the three keys to a great audio book. First, there is Kevin Conway's gripping naration of the text. His voice makes the words real and draws you into the panic on the dive boat that fateful day. Next is the strong details provided in the text by Bernie Chowdhury that allowed me as a non diver to understand the drive these men and women have. But the arbidgement is awful. Just plan bad. Major sections of the book dealing with the author are introduced and then droped. While books of this detail are hard to abridge, "BlackHawk Down" is a classic example of how a very detailed book can be abridged the right way.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Inspiration
Review: Bernie Chowdhury has managed to totally captivate and intrigue me concerning the world of technical diving. The story focuses on a father and son who lost their lives in their pursuit of ever increasing levels of risk and penetration into the sport. However, the book is so much more that their story. Mr. Chowdhury weaves a spell-binding tale of pure adrenilin on the subjects of decompression sickness, mixed-gas deep air diving, diving accidents, the history of diving and an introduction to an elite group of explorers known as cave divers and tech divers. I experienced tremendous levels of excitement in reading The Last Dive. I am an advanced open water diver in pursuit of becomming a technical diver. Bernie Chowdhury, who instilled in his own students repeated drills to help ensure their safety, has helped me file away some index cards that may one day help me to solve an underwater problem underwater. Thanks Bernie. Jerry Summers Miami, Fla
Rating:
Summary: The Last Dive - Bernie Chowdhury
Review: "...for man's true purpose in life is to live, not to waste time merely sustaining himself." - Jack London as quoted by Bernie Chowdhury As an aspiring tech diver I found this inspirational while at the same time setting off warning bells as to what I intend getting into. Chowdhury tells the tragic tale of Chris and Chrissy Rouse intermingled with the technicalities of extreme diving, the psychological aspects of what make extreme divers tick and presents a good historical account of sport and technical diving. An excellent read which must go highly reccommended to all sport and technical divers - novice and swordsman alike.
Rating:
Summary: Blew me away!
Review: I didn't want to read it, but my dive buddy gave it to me for Christmas. I stalled untill the night before we left for Mexico. Started reading at 9 pm in the hotel and didn't sleep till I was on the plane at 6 am the next day. Finished it on the plane. Couldn't put it down. Mentioned it to the DM at our resort's dive shop. He wanted it. We did a daily post mortem each day at the counter. He was as enthralled as I was. It's not just about two divers dying. It's about how tech diving as we know it came to be. It's about the diving greats that we read of in the magazines. It's about diving on the edge. It's about the secret aspirations of most divers. It's about the reality and danger and fear and exhilaration of going deeper longer. It's about penetrating black water-filled holes in the ground. It scared the hell out of me. It also made me very happy I had arranged to do my very first cavern dive while in Mexico. This book tells a sad story, but it's really more about why we dive. It tells us how bad it can be, and how awesome it can be. If you love diving, or think you could love diving, read this book. It scared me, but at the same time inspired me to push a little harder, but to do it with more respect for the forces we're messing with. Oh, and in case you didn't catch my message ... I loved this book. It blew me away. Read it! Now!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating but Perplexing - Almost Everybody Dies
Review: As a diver, I found this book fascinating, although Chowdhury did jump from plot strand to plot strand a fair amount. Diving is my favorite activity, but I cannot understand why anybody feels compelled to gamble their lives with such poor odds. I didn't stop to count up the bodies, but nearly every major "character" in this book met a gruesome fate (even the author should be dead as a result of a nasty "hit"). I dive because it is beautiful and peaceful - these people seem most interested in chasing death; they dive deep, often solo, and often without the proper equipment or training. The other thing that struck me as odd about this book was the utter loathesomeness of Rouses. They may have been wonderful people, but they came across as people I certainly wouldn't want to dive with. Still, I reccomend it, especially to cocky, young divers who may be tempted to test the old maxim that "there are old divers and bold divers, buth there are no old bold divers."
Rating:
Summary: There are no old...bold...divers.
Review: This book gave me cold chills. As a Supervisor Public Safety Diver and certified Underwater Investigator, I've seen firsthand the deadly consequences of diver complacency. The author vents his frustration and anger in the pointless and senseless deaths of the Rouses by marking the clear path they took to their own demise. The Rouses killed themselves. The author makes that perfectly clear. Both the Rouses died of an overdose of testosterone. The central figures in this tragedy are people we all know. Anyone who has ever taken a scuba class will remember the "Guy we are all gonna read about someday!" The Rouses, in their sadly obvious quest for recognition in an unforgiving and relentlessly perilous pastime, give all divers a standing warning - check your attitude as well as your equipment before you dive! The book is an excellent reminder to the amateur and professional diver alike to put safety first and foremost on each and EVERY pre-dive checklist. It whispers in every exhausted breath a single, deeply personal question "Is this dive worth dying for?" Woven throughout the narrative in a clearly experienced, thoughtful, and conscientious manner is the old diver adage..."There are old divers... and there are bold divers...but there are no old, bold divers." The Rouses paid with their lives to say it again. Divers everywhere would do well to stop and listen once more about the value of weighing the risks versus the benefits... because the Rouses are talking to all of us. And as the author points out in a brutally honest way, there are always going to be the few who can't hear them above the noise of their own ego.
Rating:
Summary: A great Technical Diving book
Review: This book may not be for everyone, but if you are interested in cave/wreck/technical diving it is a must. The account of the actual incident in question is just one part of what this book achieves. It looks into aspects of why some of us want to "push the limits", not in a completely definitive way maybe, but to a depth where it does encourage the reader to question the motive for the dive. The technical aspects of deep, mixed gas penetration diving are also well covered, as well as the consequences of pushing it too hard, making mistakes and suffering the effects of "the bends". All of the above is intertwined in a very readable true story that kept me interested from the first to last page. A great book that makes me want to go diving again as soon as possible.
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