Product Description

Journey with scuba instructor Michael Zinsley as he dives his way through 16 countries, rubbing shoulders with the locals and mixing underwater adventure with after-hours escapades.

The Rapture of the Deep is fast paced and rich in content, consisting of humorous anecdotes, insightful histories, underwater descriptions, and terrifying close calls. The diving stories relate events seen once in a thousand dives. Native cultures are revealed with an awareness that only someone who has lived in those lands can describe. The book's lighter side is the combination of underwater adventure mixed with after-hours escapades (imagine Cousteau extending his documentaries to include closing time in the local bars). The descriptions of coral reef life are written in a way that non-diving readers will be as intrigued as the experts.

Featuring stories from:
Antigua, Australia, Bermuda, Bonaire, California, Fiji, Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Palau, Philippines, Ponape, Saint Lucia, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Truk, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, and Yap. Includes over 20 color photos and maps.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #258541 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

From the Author
When the economic recession hit California in 1991, I lost my "real" job and headed off to the South Pacific to become a scuba instructor. Seven years later, I was still doing it, after venturing through the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. I first put pen to paper on this project when I was managing a dive shop on the tiny island of Gili Air, located off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia. Most of the book was written there and in Thailand over the next year. Since then, I've managed to wrestle the monster into what you see here - an adventure travelogue based on scuba diving. Readers have described it as a "fast-paced page-turner." Hopefully you will enjoy it this much also.

About the Author
Michael Zinsley studied civil engineering and geology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and then studied secondary education in graduate school at the California State University, Los Angeles. A seasoned traveler, he has been scuba diving in twenty-four different countries and has visited over eighty different countries and territories. He is also an accomplished mountaineer with notable ascents on six continents. Michael currently lives in Alameda, California. His writing has appeared in Skin Diver magazine and technical rock-climbing journals.

Customer Reviews

Loved It
Puritans this isn't your book. Allow me to state to totally obvious to all the little church ladies out there; the Bohemian lifestyle (think ski instructors, surfing instructors, skydiving instructors, scuba instructors) includes heavy drinking and off the wall antics. But don't miss the point of the wild stories. For every mistake or near miss the author writes about there is a lesson to be learned, even if he doesn't analyze or further expound upon the occurrence in his book. Any diver not narced should be able to figure out the lessons imparted.

Great read about an American living the scuba dream in the "4th or 5th world" as he puts it.

Very Entertaining
This is a great light hearted, tongue-in-cheek look at diving and dive professionals. It is about one mans experiences and passion for diving and travel. This book should be consumed with a six pack.

Funny, fascinating stories of dive travel
I bought this book on a whim because I am a scuba diver and I enjoy reading stories about scuba. I found this book of stories very funny and enjoyable. Many of them are not so much about diving as about the diving lifestyle and living in exotic locations. If you are looking for writing that is more centered around diving itself, I would recommend Sea Salt by Stan Waterman. This book is closer to what you would expect from Bill Bryson - a collection of humorous observations and anecdotes.

Zinskey's writing style is witty and self-deprecating. The stories are pretty short and easy to read. In fact, this would be a good book to read during surface intervals on a dive trip. I found Zinskey's observations of people and cultures to be insightful, occasional biting, but always with affection.

Some of the reviews here seem to have issues with the number of stories that have to do with drinking. In my view, this is part of what rings true about the book. There is a culture among divers and dive professionals and drinking is a part of it.

This was among the most enjoyable book of anecdotes I have read in some time and I will look for more from this author in the future. I recommend it as a good vacation read or as a gift for someone who loves travel or diving.