Papa Topside: The Sealab Chronicles of Capt. George F. Bond, Usn

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I really enjoyed this book on two levels. First is is interesting in that it covers the scientific proving of saturation decompression. Second, it is a good read. So many diving books require discipline to finish. Not this one. Highly recommended for decompression divers.

Rating:
Summary: A gem of a book that's much more than its title suggests.
Review: Papa Topside not only captures the heydays of saturation diving leading up to and including the U.S. Navy's SeaLab I,II and III programs - that it does admirably, but it also provides the reader with a unique insight into a warm, humorous and kind hearted man, George Foote Bond, CAPT, MC USN. Any diver who has ever pondered the decompression question will find this a highly informative book - factual, but not overly technical. But it's much more than a book about diving physiology. For this reader the book's main attraction was vicariously meeting a most interesting man and, through him, getting to know many of the people whose lives he touched. Beginning with his days as Dr. George - a country doctor in rural North Carolina, it follows his work in creating the first hospital in the remote area of his practice and then follows his entry into the U.S. Navy where his lifelong passion for diving and dive medicine began. Dr. Bond is the indisputable father of saturation diving and developed the respect and love of those who dove while "Papa" or "Pappy" as he was known, maintained the "topside" watch over all the intricate variables that go into the saturation equation. His frustrations, challenges, victories and defeats - including the tragic loss of a Sealab III aquanaut - are all chronicled in the form of a daily log which Dr. Bond meticulously maintained. But to suggest that reading this book, edited admirably by Helen Siiteri, is merely a dry re-reading of someone else's notes would be grossly inaccurate - if not downright misleading. The author was an undergraduate English major which becomes evident within the first few pages. Reading the book, I felt as though I was sitting in a cozy, book-lined den somewhere while Dr. Bond, puffing his ever present pipe, talked to me about his life, diving and the U.S. Navy. His candor, humility and wonderful sense of humor are a breath of fresh air in today's politically correct world. For example, having learned that a colleague gave up pipe smoking, Dr. Bond provides the most eloquent defense of this pastime I've ever read. Reading this fine book, one gets the increasing sense that we all lost a friend when Dr. Bond passed away in 1983. True to his roots, he is buried back in rural North Carolina near his devoted patients. As a former U.S. naval officer and active diver myself, I suppose the highest praise I could give "Papa Topside" would be to say that it made me feel sorry that I will never get the opportunity to meet Pappy in person and dive under his careful eye. I was truly sorry to reach the book's last page.

Rating:
Summary: A gem of a book that's much more than its title suggests.
Review: Papa Topside not only captures the heydays of saturation diving leading up to and including the U.S. Navy's SeaLab I,II and III programs - that it does admirably, but it also provides the reader with a unique insight into a warm, humorous and kind hearted man, George Foote Bond, CAPT, MC USN. Any diver who has ever pondered the decompression question will find this a highly informative book - factual, but not overly technical. But it's much more than a book about diving physiology. For this reader the book's main attraction was vicariously meeting a most interesting man and, through him, getting to know many of the people whose lives he touched. Beginning with his days as Dr. George - a country doctor in rural North Carolina, it follows his work in creating the first hospital in the remote area of his practice and then follows his entry into the U.S. Navy where his lifelong passion for diving and dive medicine began. Dr. Bond is the indisputable father of saturation diving and developed the respect and love of those who dove while "Papa" or "Pappy" as he was known, maintained the "topside" watch over all the intricate variables that go into the saturation equation. His frustrations, challenges, victories and defeats - including the tragic loss of a Sealab III aquanaut - are all chronicled in the form of a daily log which Dr. Bond meticulously maintained. But to suggest that reading this book, edited admirably by Helen Siiteri, is merely a dry re-reading of someone else's notes would be grossly inaccurate - if not downright misleading. The author was an undergraduate English major which becomes evident within the first few pages. Reading the book, I felt as though I was sitting in a cozy, book-lined den somewhere while Dr. Bond, puffing his ever present pipe, talked to me about his life, diving and the U.S. Navy. His candor, humility and wonderful sense of humor are a breath of fresh air in today's politically correct world. For example, having learned that a colleague gave up pipe smoking, Dr. Bond provides the most eloquent defense of this pastime I've ever read. Reading this fine book, one gets the increasing sense that we all lost a friend when Dr. Bond passed away in 1983. True to his roots, he is buried back in rural North Carolina near his devoted patients. As a former U.S. naval officer and active diver myself, I suppose the highest praise I could give "Papa Topside" would be to say that it made me feel sorry that I will never get the opportunity to meet Pappy in person and dive under his careful eye. I was truly sorry to reach the book's last page.