The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths

I first read this book while my son was still doing a lot of diving. The book resonated with me as it is as much about the relationship of a father and son as it is about diving. It also is set in the context of the U-Who German Submarine that divers were trying to identify at the time so it contains WWII history info and local dive history. I thought it was a great book and recommend it.

One of my favorite dive books. The story of a father and son dive team and their tragic accident. Well written and gripping story of what happens when you get complacent. Just a good book that really pulls you in and keeps you in till the end. Written in a way to really get you attached to the characters.

"The Last Dive" is a very engaging read that is every bit as much about why people take risks at the edge of human ability (diving, mountain climbing, racing, etc.), their personalities, and their weaknesses, as it is about Chris and Chrissy Rouse and their fatal dive on the U-Who.

Although I found "Shadow Divers" and "Deep Descent" a bit more riveting; after the somewhat flowery prose of the initial couple of chapters, "The Last Dive" did an excellent job of bringing me into the club of elite cave and wreck divers, introducing the history and exploits of the key divers including the Rouses, helping to understand a bit of what motivates these divers to make the deep dives and take the risks they do, introducing some of the key wrecks that help to set the stage, and taking you inside the head of the author as he experiences the same fascination, thrill, fever, risk, and pain of a dive gone bad.

The author is a friend of many of the key divers and has personally made many of the same cave and wreck dives and has been through a serious episode of the bends, so he knows what he is talking about. He does a good job of describing technical issues in lay terms, so "The Last Dive" will engage the diver and non-diver alike.

While the lives and personalities of Chris and Chrissy Rouse are a thread running through "The Last Dive"; it is just as much the author's story and that of the other deep wreck divers who take the same risks, and their inner needs and drive to do so. Once you get through the first two chapters, you will find "The Last Dive" to be a page-turning adventure.

Definitely read the postlog chapter, "Ever Deeper". It's not the same rate of adventure as the rest of the book, but the additional information about many of the divers, advances in the science and psychology of deep wreck diving, and further information about identifying the U-Who (covered better in Shadow Divers) is worth the additional reading.

If you are looking for a great book about scuba diving you search has ended. The last dive is amazing and is a great story about a diving family and their quest for improvement.

This isn't Shadow Divers. This isn't written like a NY Times bestseller. It doesn't intensify or create drama like some other books do to try to captivate your interest. This book is written by a diver and is most appreciated by a fellow diver. Some complain of tangents which they say detract from the father and son story. These only serve to richen the experience for me. It not only tells the story but teaches valuable lessons and makes a diver desire further understanding on the many subject which are touched upon.