Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World [Hardcover]

In Neutral Buoyancy, BBC journalist Tim Ecott recounts his ongoing adventures in the "liquid world" of scuba diving--from battling rip-tides off the Dorset coast to exploring the shark-rich waters of the Caribbean--musing along the way on the history and meaning of man's fascination with diving, and reflecting on how his underwater experience has reshaped his life.

Four days after my mother's funeral I went scuba diving for the first time ... Surfacing from a dive ... I often think it strange that this mind-cleansing, emotionally charged experience is one that my mother never knew I had. It is something akin to the sense of regret I feel that she never met my daughter, born a few years after her passing. How odd that something so wonderful was not part of our shared experience.

The launch hype surrounding this book pushed it as scuba diving's answer to Nick Hornby's bestselling homage to football fandom, Fever Pitch, but even allowing for a hearty dose of wishful thinking on the publisher's part, there are two key similarities. Ecott, like Hornby, succeeds in explaining his passion in a way that speaks directly to the wannabe or even to the merely curious--lightly humorous; strong on characters; cross-references to popular culture (James Bond puts in an appearance); natural history in the TV prime-time style, rooted in personal experience. And just as Hornby's football fandom carries him back to the same sense of wonder and certainty of purpose that intoxicated him as a young boy, so Ecott portrays a link between diving and dissolving the anxieties and fearfulness of adulthood.

Be warned: if you are already a diver, Neutral Buoyancy will heighten the sense that you are wasting far too much precious time on dry land. For the rest, even if the last time you ventured underwater was in the bath, this inspirational book will have you contemplating a trip to your local swimming pool at the very least. --Alex Hankin

"* 'The Fever Pitch of scuba diving... a modern classic, vivid, lyrical and quite brilliantly written' Tony Parsons * 'A wonderfully engaging book... kept me gripped from beginning to end' Fergal Keane"

In the shock of bereavement, Tim Ecott went scuba diving in the Indian Ocean. What began as an underwater excursion to displace his grief became an obsession that has shaped his life. In "Neutral Buoyancy" he shares his passion for the sea. Gripping tales of historical diving bells, Greek sponge-divers, World War Two frogmen and record-setting breath-hold divers are laced with captivating accounts of the author's own experience underwater in an elegant blend of arcane history, vivid reportage and memoir. The reader is taken from Ireland to Austria, Florida to Papua New Guinea and the islands of the Bahamas and the Seychelles. "Neutral Buoyancy" is a journey filled with exotic, eccentric human characters competing for space with misunderstood sharks, weeping turtles, smiling dolphins and erotically shaped sea slugs. This unique and inspiring insight into our relationship with the deep will allow even the most timid swimmer to lose themselves underwater.

Tony Parsons and Fergal Keane praise Neutral Buoyancy
"This is wonderfully engaging book. It took a subject I knew next to nothing about and kept me gripped from beginning to end. Tim Ecott has produced an eccentric, eclectic and highly readable work of non-fiction." Fergal Keane

"Unforgettable stuff ... Neutral Buoyancy is destined to become the Fever Pitch of scuba diving. Tim Ecott's book is a modern classic about the underwater world that brilliantly mixes personal memoir with travel, history and a cast of characters that defy description ... vivid,lyrical and quite brilliantly written" Tony Parsons

Being underwater revitalises your soul
Being underwater revitalises your soul

Tim Ecott grew up in Ireland, The Far East and Africa. After studying anthropology he joined the BBC World Service as a producer and correspondent in news and current affairs. A specialist on the Indian Ocean states, he spent two years in Seychelles where he developed a parallel career as a dive leader. He lives in London with his family.