Staying Alive:: Applying Risk Management to Advanced Scuba Diving

I'm only part way through Steve's book but am already impressed! It is written with the wisdom of a true veteran and the integrity of a mentor who desires to see excellence in his students. Steve offers no nonsense guidance on risk management and safe diving techniques. He shares strong opinions where behaviors are safety critical, yet carefully describes "why" safe divers choose to do things in a particular way. More importantly he offers flexibility and ideas when there is more than one right way to conduct an activity. Doing "what works" makes so much sense when an individual can justify their approach as safe and effective. It allows for innovation and open mindedness in our sport.Complex activities are broken down into easy steps with explanation for every stage of the process. Activities are described thoughtfully and pragmatically rather than in a rigid and mechanical manner.Frankly, that is why I am still reading the book... I often pause to digest a meaty statement and want to savor its consideration before moving on.There is a phrase, "learning to shave on another man's beard." Steve's book embodies this concept. He has spent years in the trenches, in many varied diving environments and technologies. He offers the details of his lesson's learned, giving you a fast track to safe, risk-aware diving. Every diver at any level can benefit from his wisdom and experience.

I read a lot about diving, diving accidents, non-fiction diving adventures, etc. I also try to take at least 1-2 advanced dive courses a year, in the belief that the more I know and the better trained I am, the safer a diver I will be. Staying Alive is a must-read for any scuba diver. At any level. The tone is serious, thorough and professional. If you're a newer diver, you'll quickly be shaken awake from the "strap on an air tank and go look at the fishies" mentality promised in some dive schools' marketing brochures, mentality that can get a diver killed if taken literally. Steve stresses the nuts-and-bolts, real-world side of diving and dos so in a direct and "here's how you do it" manner. He also shatters some "myths", e.g., at the outset, he states, "There is absolutely no reason to ever....EVER...run out of air on a dive" and then proceeds to teach us why. Very much like what aspiring new pilots are taught, when they learn that '98% of airplane crashes are the result of pilot error", Steve stresses that preparation, training, practice and self-reliance are the responsibility of every diver, regardless of certification level and includes dozens of examples of how to apply the techniques presented. I, for one, will be a much better diver as I continue to try to absorb and master what's taught in this book.

If you are a certified recreational or technical diver you need to read this book. For 30 years I have been teaching young and old to scuba dive safely. I have used several text books over the years to teach safe diving principles to my classes. The focus is always on safety. Well, diving is not safe. Diving is inherently dangerous, We are not only in the water, we are surrounded by it. And we breathe compressed gas at varying depths. Staying alive underwater while having fun, exploring, hunting, photographing, etc. and returning to shore unharmed is the foremost objective of every dive. Steve Lewis explains how to stay alive using 8 principles of diving survival and Attitude is the first principle. Newspapers refer to diving mishaps as accidents. Steve points out that the mishap is usually not accidental but caused by the diver's attitude, using poor judgment, oversight, bad decision making, arrogance, or hubris. A proper attitude is to be an informed and knowledgeable diver, one who continues their training and learning about diving beyond the receipt of a plastic c-card. Staying Alive contains information your instructor did not teach you. This book is for all levels of divers who want to learn how to manage the risks of diving. Enjoy diving, stay alive!

This is about diving mindset and how to stay alive. While written with the technical diver in mind - especially the later chapters - the information is valuable (really critical) to even the most casual diver. Without being alarmist, the author explores the real risks with the sport (stuff the certifying agencies won't emphasize) and how to make yourself safer. The book gives you the tools to understand what risks you are taking and how to control them.To paraphrase one of the most important passages in the book: 'to prevent "trust-me dives" the weakest (least trained, experienced, etc) diver leads the dive'.If you want a book on techniques I highly recommend "Six Skills" by the same author.

This is a good, solid, somewhat advanced book on safety. I say somewhat advanced as much of what is covered would not be geared toward somebody right out of Open Water cert, but it could certainly help them. This is more for advanced recreational and tech divers. The reason I gave it 4 rather than 5 is that it is a little like reading a text book. I found myself skipping pages that I thought were overly exhaustive, to parts that were more relevant to me. I am glad that the information is there, but it does make for slow reading at times.

Hmm, a little hyperbole about the danger of diving. Not much new here. Experienced divers will know this (or should) and most of this info is covered in open water and advanced open water certification. Those seeking advanced knowledge or safety information have better resourcesavailable.Divers who don't know this are probably not going to look here (or anywhere) for the information.

Great book for novice and expert alike interested in expanding his/her knowledge of the physiology and science of breathing air and gas mixtures under the waves. A very thorough book that even sport divers should gain much from, as this is knowledge that could help save your life.Although my aging brain required multiple reads of certain technical concepts and formulas, I thoroughly enjoyed the learning process.

Finished reading this last night: Steve's book Staying Alive, delves through much of the training and guidance given by multiple agencies and, by rights and qualification, is well situated to reviewing and assessing a great deal of the world of diving. With decades of experience behind him, Steve's advice, anecdotes and assessments covers everything from basic open water diving through trimix rebreathers, back-mount, side-mount and everything in between. While he doesn't press to heavily on any one particular configuration, indeed he makes a point of this, his insights into risk management stem from a genuine love of diving and 'saving another starfish'. It could have done with a thorough proof-read though which does occasionally throw the reader off but, those aside, still a good read.

The subject material is fascinating and Steve is incredibly knowledgable. The kindle edition however needs editing and is littered with layout problems, spelling mistakes, gramatical errors and the tables especially are virtually unreadable. The subject matter demands an attention to detail over basic issues to improve risk management for divers. This attention to detail is not modeled in the book itself and unfortunately detracts from general message, a real pity as the subject matter is of real value.With the current level of errors this book is not worth the £6.27 its priced at.

I trust the paper version is a lot more readable - The Six Skills in paperback is excellent - but I am annoyed at the poor quality of the kindle version. In a couple of places paragraphs start halfway through and it's not clear how much text is missing. Numerous tabular items are more or less illegible. Working from the text, I can recreate the tables on paper, but then what was the point of buying an electronic edition?I have however read and enjoyed the whole book and will read it again. Recommended - if an editor will give it some attention!

Very down to earth tells it as it is very good book for instructors

Great book. Pragmatic approach of diving. highly recommended for recreational divers who look for more than sterilized theory of padi and other organizations