Review
It''s well researched, well interviewed, and written without frills. It doesn''t need frills. Wreck diving is already on the edge, an extreme sport with virtually no margin for error. Drama is built in. Haberstroh does a nice job with these issues, the profiles of the five who died are effective, and he understands the sport without having dived himself, which is quite an accomplishment." --National Geographic Adventure
Review
"A gripping true story of treasure hunting and tragedy on the Doria, the world's most dangerous shipwreck."--Daily News
"Should be required reading for all divers."--Immersed
"Well researched, well interviewed, and written without frills. It doesn't need frills. Wreck diving is already on the edge, an extreme sport with virtually no margin for error. Drama is built in."--National Geographic Adventure
"[This is] a well-narrated tale. Haberstroh does a deft job of laying out the character and motivations of five ill-fated divers and their guide...And Haberstroh's restraint serves him well, giving the book a fully informed breadth . . . a solid, intriguing contribution to the genre." --Seattle Times and Post Intelligencer
"Haberstroh gives about as close a look at the world below that you'll get without strapping on a set of steel 120s."--St. Petersburg Times
"An extremely well-researched and fast-paced book."--East Hampton Star
Book Description
The gripping true story of treasure hunting and terrible tragedy encountered by divers exploring the world''s most dangerous sunken shipwreck.
From the Back Cover
At 11:10 p.m. on July 25, 1956, the luxurious Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria collided with the Stockholm forty-five miles south of Nantucket. Half a century later the wreck of the Andrea Doria is still claiming lives.
Professional and amateur divers the world over consider the Andrea Doria to be the Everest of diving. At 225 feet below the surface, the wreck lies at the very edge of human endurance and accomplishment; ordinary air becomes toxic, and the divers who go there suffer nitrogen narcosis or "the rapture of the deep." Symptoms include confusion, lack of coordination, and perhaps most deadly of all, a loss of the ability to make clear decisions. As a result, divers use Trimix, an exotic blend of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium to descend through the strong currents, rusted metal, and twisted wires to the ultimate symbol of deep sea diving accomplishments: china teacups and plates from the wreck of the Andrea Doria. For serious wreck divers, these fragile artifacts are genuine proof of their abilities.
During the summers of 1998 and 1999, three elite divers lost their lives, all on separate dives from the top dive boat out of Montauk, the 65-foot Seeker. Craig Sicola was clearly suffering from "china fever" before he went down. He''d handled teacups brought up by veteran Doria diver Gary Gentile, and the gleam in Craig''s eye was unmistakable. Craig dove on June 24, 1998. A few hours later his body bobbed to the surface. He was carrying a plate.
Joe Haberstroh, the award-winning Newsday reporter, watched events unfold during the summers of 1998 and 1999. In this remarkable and intriguing book he recreates what was the pride of the Italian fleet, how it sank, the dangers of the deep, and the gripping personal stories of the men who live or die for a teacup from its remains.
Fatal Depth: Deep Sea Diving, China Fever, and the Wreck of the Andrea Doria FROM OUR EDITORS
On July 25, 1956, the luxurious ocean liner Andrea Doria, the pride of the Italian fleet, sank after a collision with another ship a mere 45 miles south of Nantucket. For nearly half a century, the secrets of this proud ship have lured underwater-treasure hunters deep into its sunken hull, 225 feet below the surface of the Atlantic, at the very limits of human endurance. In Fatal Depth, Long Island Newsday columnist Joe Haberstroh describes how several elite divers were ultimately doomed by the enticement of the legendary liner.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
At 11:10 P.M. on July 25, 1956, the luxurious Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria collided with the Stockholm forty-five miles south of Nantucket. Half a century later, the wreck of the Andrea Doria is still claiming lives. Professional and amateur divers the world round consider the Andrea Doria to be the Everest of diving. At 225 feet below the surface, the wreck lies at the very edge of human endurance and accomplishment; ordinary air becomes toxic and the divers who go there suffer nitrogen narcosis or "the rapture of the deep." Symptoms include confusion, lack of coordination, and perhaps most deadly of all, a loss of the ability to make clear decisions. As a result, divers use Trimix, an exotic blend of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium to descend through the strong currents, rusted metal, and twisted wires to the ultimate symbol of deep sea diving accomplishments: china teacups and plates from the wreck of the Andrea Doria. For serious wreck divers, these fragile artifacts are genuine proof of their abilities as divers.
During the summers of 1998 and 1999, three elite divers lost their lives, all on separate dives from the top dive boat out of Montauk, the 65-foot Seeker. Craig Sicola was clearly suffering from "china fever" before he went down. He'd handled teacups brought up by veteran Doria diver Gary Gentile, and the gleam in Craig's eye was unmistakable. Craig dove on June 24, 1998. A few hours later, his body bobbed to the surface. He was carrying a plate. Joe Haberstroh, the award-winning Newsday reporter, watched events unfold during the summers of 1998 and 1999. In this remarkable and intriguing book he recreates what was the pride of the Italian fleet, how it sank, the dangers of the deep, and the gripping personal stories of the men who live or die for a teacup from its remains.
SYNOPSIS
The gripping true story of treasure hunting and terrible tragedy encountered by divers exploring the world's most dangerous sunken shipwreck.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Since 1956 the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria has lain in 250 feet of cold Atlantic water off Nantucket-a reachable but dangerous depth for freedivers using advanced deep-sea apparati. Indeed, five ambitious divers died over the site in two seasons in the late 1990s, and the Andrea Doria site seems to operate for amateur deep sea divers as "the underwater Everest." But the quest to make it down to the Doria and back with artifacts like its first-class dinnerware, brass instruments and random fittings hardly seems noble: the last fatality in the summer of 1999 was during an attempt by a clearly underqualified diver from the Midwest in quest of an authentic liner toilet to complement his new basement d cor. Almost everyone in this account seems sublimely unaware that for many others it is this risk itself that propels the ship's wreck-diving fraternity. That includes Haberstroh, an outdoors recreation reporter for Long Island Newsday, who labors to make up for the murkiness of the Doria divers' motives by emphasizing eyewitness accounts and interviews-and even some quoted conversations from victims, which, he announces in his introduction, have no primary sources. The most conclusive chapter in Haberstroh's investigation is called, without apparent irony, "When Your Number's Up, It's Up." Like its 2001 predecessor, Deep Descent, by Kevin McMurray, this journeyman's account is a murky adventure, even for those who are familiar with the magic of scuba diving. Photo insert not seen by PW. (Feb.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
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