Book Review and Corrections! Shore Diving near Seattle

[nwscubamom]

I've been debating whether to say anything about this for awhile now, but at the urging of another fellow instructor, I decided to throw in my 2 psi on the subject.

There is a new book out by Kent Wallner and his sons Alex and Max. It's called "Shore Diving Near Seattle - Where, how and why to explore the most popular urban shore dive sites of Puget Sound". It's published by SmartMedicine Press and retails for $26.95.

What I liked:

• LOTS of photos.
  Spells things our pretty good at a beginner's level
  Includes landmarks, hazards, things to look for
  Interesting blurb on the underwater cam at Seahurst Park

What I was disappointed in:

• There were numerous mistakes in the marine life ID labels. A LOT.
  More typos than I'd like to see in printed matter, but then again, I'm pretty picky about typos
  Showing marine life at the depth they were found at, as if that is the only location you'd find them

The other instructor and myself were concerned that since this book is marketed towards newbies, they could pick it up and think all the marine life they see is called what it's labeled in this book - simply because it's a book, and books are usually pretty dead on accurate, right?

Here's what I came up with:
93 - Alki pipeline opening labeled as being at 235 ft depth
95 - Brown Rockfish labeled as a Quillback Rockfish
95 - Stimson's or Striped Sunstars labeled as Brittle Stars
96 - Painted Anemone labeled as Giant Anemone
96 - Stimson's or Striped Sunstars labeled as Brittle Stars
97 - Opalescent Nudibranch labeled as Variable Dendronotid
98 - Purple Ochre Star labeled as a Blue Star
Throughout - Jellies are labeled as Jellyfish (minor deal, but worth mentioning)
135 - Not sure what that stuff is, but labeled as Brown Sponge
138 - Painted Anemone labeled as Giant Anemone
138 - Vermillion Star labeled as a Blood Star
152 - Whitespotted Greenling labeled as a Canary Rockfish
154 - Brown Rockfish labeled as a Quillback Rockfish
168 - Helmet Crab labeled as a Black Clawed Crab
196 - California Sea Cucumber labeled as a Nudibranch
236 - Red Rock Crab labeled as a Dungeness Crab
249 - Buffalo Sculpin labeled as a Cabezon (marbled sculpin)

So, granted, you know I'm a marine life geek and I'm gonna be sensitive to this sort of thing, but I guess I'm disappointed from that perspective.

Here's hoping the 2nd edition will be better!

- Janna

[Paulicarp]

Kent is a friend of mine, and he has a great deal of passion for diving. He's a very talented physician and has put together some good publications in that field. As a publisher myself, I now how hard it is to get every "i" dotted and "t" crossed just right, and in the end, you always have something that the gremlins sneak in there at the last minute no matter how hard you try to get it all just so. I did get the chance to see it before it was printed, and at that point I already agreed with you that the second edition could very well be fantastic!

--Paul

[Dusty2]

So, granted, you know I'm a marine life geek and I'm gonna be sensitive to this sort of thing, but I guess I'm disappointed from that perspective.

Here's hoping the 2nd edition will be better!

- Janna

Picky, picky, picky.

[Pinkpadigal]

I agree with Janna, and there are some obvious typos, and he could have done a better job IDing critters. Overall, I really like the book. It is a fun read, and even some of the typos give the book a little comic relief, for us who know better. It is a great resource to the new or out of town diver. For someone not familiar with diving in Puget Sound, it gives them 11 choices of good shore diving, and much more. For the uncertified or new diver, it lets them know what to expect.

I am anxiously awaiting the 2nd addition.

[gcbryan]

Hi Janna,
Some of those are some pretty big mistakes! I know I was disappointed in that aspect of the Northwest Boat Dives book of a few years ago by Dave Bliss where every other site was populated with China Rockfish!

[coachrenz]

I don't think you are being picky at all, Janna. Thanks for posting this. I read through the book once and noticed the same mistakes. Kudos for the guys for publishing a book, hope they take some feedback and fix some (all) of these issues.

[dieseldude]

As a diver who is neither a newbie at this point nor vastly experienced I find these things frustrating. The same can be said when asking poeple to help you ID you photo-it's great when everyone agrees but awefull when you get multiple opinions. I am working hard to be able to ID right, so a book like this would really throw me off. I think it emphasizes that when my reference material has left me in doubt, it's time to turn to a forum/public discussion & try to get a majority vote on what I am looking at .
Thanks for the heads up Janna.
MJ

[FlyinV]

I am a new diver and I like the information in this book on the dive sites.

Certainly I would use one of the excellent books like Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds And Selected Fishes for any creature identification needs I love that book!

To get some heads up on parking, where to gear up, where to enter the water, where the bathroom is and so forth - I haven't seen material presented like this for newbies and I found it very interesting. I wish the 151 dives book went into more detail like this and had some color pictures.

I think this books is really for new divers only -- Had I been diving these sites for years I don't think I would need this book, but since I have only dived 1 of them so far its a good resource.

So for new divers whos buddy might also be a new diver its a good book for some ground info about the sites themselves.

Throwing out 2 cents

[Chevayea]

Thanks for the review Janna,

I thumbed through a copy, noticed a few mistakes, and in the end didn't buy it. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that it is a good resource for new divers when there is some obvious misdirection in there. The last thing we want to do is start confusing people. I would suggest a more comprehensive and accurate book like Northwest Shore Dives or something, being nearly the same price.

On that token, hat's off to those who take it on to publish a diving book. Keep at it until its right, and have someone review the unpublished piece before it goes to press.

[eliseaboo]

Certainly I would use one of the excellent books like Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds And Selected Fishes for any creature identification needs I love that book!

I second that. Excellent book!!