The Heroic Age of Diving

The Heroic Age of Diving PDF Author: Jerry Kuntz
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438459629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
A comprehensive history of the first three decades of underwater exploration in antebellum America. Beginning in 1837, some of the most brilliant engineers of America’s Industrial Revolution turned their attention to undersea technology. Inventors developed practical hard-helmet diving suits, as well as new designs of submarines, diving bells, floating cranes, and undersea explosives. These innovations were used to clear shipping lanes, harvest pearls, mine gold, and wage war. All of these underwater technologies were brought together by entrepreneurs, treasure-hunters, and daring divers in the 1850s to salvage three infamous shipwrecks on Lake Erie, each of which had involved the loss of hundreds of lives, as well as the worldly goods of the passengers. The prospect of treasure, combined with the national notoriety of these disasters, soon attracted the attention of local adventurers and the country’s leading divers and marine engineers. In The Heroic Age of Diving, Jerry Kuntz shares the fascinating stories of the pioneers of underwater invention and the brave divers who employed the new technologies as they raced with—and against—marine engineers to salvage the tragic wrecks of Lake Erie. “Jerry Kuntz has filled in a previously blank page in the story of diving—and done it well. The Heroic Age of Diving tells the story not only of the development of salvage technology but also the human side of this always-dangerous and often-deadly career. This is not a tale for the faint of heart (‘helmet squeeze’ is a gruesome fate), but one well worth reading for those interested in early technology and the men brave (or foolish) enough to gamble their lives using it. This book is a window on an unexplored (and unexpected) world, and the author deserves great credit for bringing it back into the light.” — Chuck Veit, author of Raising Missouri: John Gowen and the Salvage of the U.S. Steam Frigate Missouri, 1843–1852 “The Heroic Age of Diving is both very interesting and very important. Having spent over twenty years researching and publishing general diving history, I am confident that this book will fill an important gap in the nation’s diving history.” — Leslie Leaney, Cofounder, Historical Diving Society

The Heroic Age of Diving

The Heroic Age of Diving PDF Author: Jerry Kuntz
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438459637
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
A comprehensive history of the first three decades of underwater exploration in antebellum America. Winner of the 2016 Dr. Art Bachrach Literary Award presented by the Historical Diving Society Silver Medalist, 2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Sports/Fitness/Recreation Category Beginning in 1837, some of the most brilliant engineers of America’s Industrial Revolution turned their attention to undersea technology. Inventors developed practical hard-helmet diving suits, as well as new designs of submarines, diving bells, floating cranes, and undersea explosives. These innovations were used to clear shipping lanes, harvest pearls, mine gold, and wage war. All of these underwater technologies were brought together by entrepreneurs, treasure-hunters, and daring divers in the 1850s to salvage three infamous shipwrecks on Lake Erie, each of which had involved the loss of hundreds of lives, as well as the worldly goods of the passengers. The prospect of treasure, combined with the national notoriety of these disasters, soon attracted the attention of local adventurers and the country’s leading divers and marine engineers. In The Heroic Age of Diving, Jerry Kuntz shares the fascinating stories of the pioneers of underwater invention and the brave divers who employed the new technologies as they raced with—and against—marine engineers to salvage the tragic wrecks of Lake Erie. Jerry Kuntz is an electronic resources consultant and the author of Minnesota’s Notorious Nellie King: Wild Woman of the Closed Frontier.

The Heroic Age of Diving

The Heroic Age of Diving PDF Author: Jerry Kuntz
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438459629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Get Book

Book Description
A comprehensive history of the first three decades of underwater exploration in antebellum America. Beginning in 1837, some of the most brilliant engineers of America’s Industrial Revolution turned their attention to undersea technology. Inventors developed practical hard-helmet diving suits, as well as new designs of submarines, diving bells, floating cranes, and undersea explosives. These innovations were used to clear shipping lanes, harvest pearls, mine gold, and wage war. All of these underwater technologies were brought together by entrepreneurs, treasure-hunters, and daring divers in the 1850s to salvage three infamous shipwrecks on Lake Erie, each of which had involved the loss of hundreds of lives, as well as the worldly goods of the passengers. The prospect of treasure, combined with the national notoriety of these disasters, soon attracted the attention of local adventurers and the country’s leading divers and marine engineers. In The Heroic Age of Diving, Jerry Kuntz shares the fascinating stories of the pioneers of underwater invention and the brave divers who employed the new technologies as they raced with—and against—marine engineers to salvage the tragic wrecks of Lake Erie. “Jerry Kuntz has filled in a previously blank page in the story of diving—and done it well. The Heroic Age of Diving tells the story not only of the development of salvage technology but also the human side of this always-dangerous and often-deadly career. This is not a tale for the faint of heart (‘helmet squeeze’ is a gruesome fate), but one well worth reading for those interested in early technology and the men brave (or foolish) enough to gamble their lives using it. This book is a window on an unexplored (and unexpected) world, and the author deserves great credit for bringing it back into the light.” — Chuck Veit, author of Raising Missouri: John Gowen and the Salvage of the U.S. Steam Frigate Missouri, 1843–1852 “The Heroic Age of Diving is both very interesting and very important. Having spent over twenty years researching and publishing general diving history, I am confident that this book will fill an important gap in the nation’s diving history.” — Leslie Leaney, Cofounder, Historical Diving Society

Dive Smack

Dive Smack PDF Author: Demetra Brodsky
Publisher: Tor Teen
ISBN: 0765396955
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Theo Mackey only remembers one thing for certain about the fire that killed his mother: he lit the match. A school family history project causes new memories to surface that make Theo question what he really knows about his family, the night of the fire, and if he can trust anyone--including himself.

The Antarctic Dive Guide

The Antarctic Dive Guide PDF Author: Lisa Eareckson Kelley
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691163448
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
The Antarctic Dive Guide is the first and only dive guide to the seventh continent, until recently the exclusive realm of scientific and military divers. Today, however, the icy waters of Antarctica have become the extreme destination for recreational divers wishing to explore beyond the conventional and observe the strange marine life that abounds below the surface. This book is packed with information about the history of diving in Antarctica and its wildlife, and features stunning underwater photography. The Antarctic Dive Guide covers 31 key dive sites on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia and includes maps and detailed guidance on how best to explore each site. Essential information is also provided on how to choose and prepare for travel to this remote region, and diving techniques for subzero waters. This book is an indispensable resource for anyone considering diving in Antarctica, and an exciting read for anyone interested in this little-explored underwater world. This fully revised and updated third edition: Covers 4 new dive sites Features revised and updated information for the other 27 sites covered Includes new sections on the Sea Leopard Project and natural product chemistry from Antarctic marine organisms

Trapped Under the Sea

Trapped Under the Sea PDF Author: Neil Swidey
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307886735
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
The harrowing story of five men who were sent into a dark, airless, miles-long tunnel, hundreds of feet below the ocean, to do a nearly impossible job—with deadly results A quarter-century ago, Boston had the dirtiest harbor in America. The city had been dumping sewage into it for generations, coating the seafloor with a layer of “black mayonnaise.” Fisheries collapsed, wildlife fled, and locals referred to floating tampon applicators as “beach whistles.” In the 1990s, work began on a state-of-the-art treatment plant and a 10-mile-long tunnel—its endpoint stretching farther from civilization than the earth’s deepest ocean trench—to carry waste out of the harbor. With this impressive feat of engineering, Boston was poised to show the country how to rebound from environmental ruin. But when bad decisions and clashing corporations endangered the project, a team of commercial divers was sent on a perilous mission to rescue the stymied cleanup effort. Five divers went in; not all of them came out alive. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and thousands of documents collected over five years of reporting, award-winning writer Neil Swidey takes us deep into the lives of the divers, engineers, politicians, lawyers, and investigators involved in the tragedy and its aftermath, creating a taut, action-packed narrative. The climax comes just after the hard-partying DJ Gillis and his friend Billy Juse trade assignments as they head into the tunnel, sentencing one of them to death. An intimate portrait of the wreckage left in the wake of lives lost, the book—which Dennis Lehane calls "extraordinary" and compares with The Perfect Storm—is also a morality tale. What is the true cost of these large-scale construction projects, as designers and builders, emboldened by new technology and pressured to address a growing population’s rapacious needs, push the limits of the possible? This is a story about human risk—how it is calculated, discounted, and transferred—and the institutional failures that can lead to catastrophe. Suspenseful yet humane, Trapped Under the Sea reminds us that behind every bridge, tower, and tunnel—behind the infrastructure that makes modern life possible—lies unsung bravery and extraordinary sacrifice.

The Heroic Age of American Invention

The Heroic Age of American Invention PDF Author: Lyon Sprague De Camp
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Inventions
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The story of thirty-two men who made the modern American era.

The Last Dive

The Last Dive PDF Author: Bernie Chowdhury
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062196820
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
“Superbly written and action-packed, The Last Dive ranks with such adventure classics as The Perfect Storm and Into Thin Air.”—Tampa Tribune Spurred on by a fatal combination of obsession and ambition, Chris and Chrisy Rouse, an experienced father-son scuba diving team, hoped to achieve wide-spread recognition for their outstanding and controversial diving skills by solving the secrets of a mysterious, undocumented, World War II German U-boat that lay only a half day’s mission from New York Harbor. The Rouses found the ultimate cost of chasing their personal challenge: death from what divers dread the most—decompression sickness, or “the bends.” In this gripping recounting of their tragedy, author Bernie Chowdhury, himself an expert diver, explores the thrill-seeking, high-risk world of deep sea diving, its legendary figures, most celebrated triumphs, and notorious tragedies.

The Political Theory of Aristophanes

The Political Theory of Aristophanes PDF Author: Jeremy J. Mhire
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438450036
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Examines the political dimensions of Aristophanes’ comic poetry. This original and wide-ranging collection of essays offers, for the first time, a comprehensive examination of the political dimensions of that madcap comic poet Aristophanes. Rejecting the claim that Aristophanes is little more than a mere comedian, the contributors to this fascinating volume demonstrate that Aristophanes deserves to be placed in the ranks of the greatest Greek political thinkers. As these essays reveal, all of Aristophanes’ plays treat issues of fundamental political importance, from war and peace, poverty and wealth, the relation between the sexes, demagoguery and democracy to the role of philosophy and poetry in political society. Accessible to students as well as scholars, The Political Theory of Aristophanes can be utilized easily in the classroom, but at the same time serve as a valuable source for those conducting more advanced research. Whether the field is political philosophy, classical studies, history, or literary criticism, this work will make it necessary to reconceptualize how we understand this great Athenian poet and force us to recognize the political ramifications and underpinnings of his uproarious comedies.

Beyond the Deep

Beyond the Deep PDF Author: William Stone
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 9780446561273
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The Huautla in Mexico is the deepest cave in the Western Hemisphere, possibly the world. Shafts reach skyscraper-depths, caverns are stadium-sized, and sudden floods can drown divers in an instant. With a two-decade obsession, William Stone and his 44-member team entered the sinkhole at Sotano de San Augustin. The first camp settled 2,328 feet below ground in a cavern where headlamps couldn't even illuminate the walls and ceiling. The second camp teetered precariously above an underground canyon where two subterranean rivers collided. But beyond that lay the unknown territory -- a flooded corridor that had blocked all previous comers, claimed a diver's life, and drove the rest of the team back. Except for William Stone and Barbara am Ende, who forged on for 18 more days, with no hope of rescue, to set the record for the deepest cave dive in the Western Hemisphere.

Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives

Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives PDF Author: John Volanthen
Publisher: Aurum
ISBN: 0711266115
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
READ ABOUT THE HEROIC RESCUE, AS SEEN IN RON HOWARD'S THIRTEEN LIVES, FROM THE MAN AT THE HEART OF THE SEARCH. ‘A profound and thrilling read.’ —COLIN FARRELL ‘Riveting...a powerful story written by a hero who lived it.’ —RON HOWARD, Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 This is the thrilling account of the dramatic Thai cave rescue which saved the lives of thirteen people, from the diver who led the rescue. In this first-hand account, John Volanthen reveals how he pushed the limits of human endurance in the life-or-death mission to rescue the Thai youth soccer team trapped in the flooded cave. The world held its breath in 2018 when the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach went missing deep underground in the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand. They had been stranded by sudden, continuous monsoon rains while exploring the caves after practice. With torrential rain pouring down and the waters still on the rise, an army of rescue teams and equipment was deployed, including Thai Navy SEALs, a US Air Force special tactics squadron, police sniffer dogs, drones and robots. But it was British cave diver John Volanthen and his partner, Rick Stanton, who were first to reach the stranded team and who played a key role in their ultimate rescue. As John’s light flickered from one boy to another, he called out, ‘How many of you?’ ‘Thirteen,’a boy answered. After 10 days trapped in desperate darkness, the boys and their coach were all alive. Each chapter of Thirteen Lessons that Saved Thirteen Lives tells one part of the edge-of-your-seat mission from Tham Luang but also imparts a life lesson, gleaned from John’s previous rescues and record-breaking cave dives, that can be applied to everyday obstacles and challenges. In this story of breathtaking courage and nerves of steel, John reveals how responding positively to the statement, ‘But I can’t…’ by stating, ‘I can,’ led to one of the most incredible rescues of all time. He hopes that his story will inspire the superhero in you. Meanwhile, he is always on standby for the next rescue.