Eric Takakjian is, among other things, a diver of great experience. In "Dangerous Shallows," he describes the efforts he has made to document and dive on wrecks in the Cape Cod area (many more of which exist than I could even have guessed.) Takakjian's book covers everything from subs to liners to steamers, each with a chapter dedicated to them that mixes present-day experience with flashbacks to try to imagine the moment of their loss.

What's good: If you're at all interested in wrecks, this is a fascinating book.

What's iffier: Takakjian mentions taking artifacts from wrecks and talks about this culture in the diving community. (To the extent divers typically have ship rooms with their finds.) I wish he would have discussed this further, even if to define what makes grave robbing and what isn't. (Some of these ships went down without casualties.) I can't judge his decisions as I'm not there, but a part of me leans back when I hear he's digging numbers off the walls, just to give an example.

With gratitude to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

Nicely written and it kept me up. Which says a lot because I teach online beginning at 1 am. I strongly encourage people to read the book.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

this was very interesting to read, I love learning about history and had no idea that there was so many sunken ships in cape cod.

The narrative switches between diving stories of going to shipwrecks and what you find there, to the stories of how those same ships sank. The sinking stories are truly chilling! The author keeps the tension and has put a lot into researching the histories of those ships.

There is also quite a lot about the daily life of the divers. How dangerous it actually is to dive, and what you can die from. Also, the drama that comes with finding a new wreck and how some people will backstab you to learn where it is. Then there is a lot of background on some really famous diving sites, sunken ships and u-boats, their histories and even some photos. All of this stuff that a layman would absolutely not know.

The book is extensive on detail - however, if you're not a big sailing / diving / ship history buff, you may find it a little tedious to read.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

What an amazing book! Undersea archaeology is one of those pursuits that probably a lot of us would like to take up, but few of us have the know how (or the ability) to pursue. So settle down here to explore some fabulous wrecks, enthralling stories and a heap of history too. Well written and expertly descriptive, "Dangerous Shallows" doesn't quite take you to the bottom of the sea, but it's close!

AUTHORS

Find out more about Eric Takakjian on his linkedin page here. He can be found on Boston Sea Rovers here. Finally you can find some information on Eric at Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc. here.

You can find some information on Randall at Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc. here. Randall Peffer gives a 90 second video biography here.

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE

This book is for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a sailor, a diver, a history buff, an adventurer, or you just like a good thriller; this book has it all.

SYNOPSIS

Dangerous Shallows: In Search of The Ghost Ships of Cape Cod is a superbly written book that grips the reader from the very onset. Eric Takakjian takes the reader from the earliest of times in relation to diving techniques to modern mixed gasses. He intersperses his experiences with spellbinding tales of sunken ships and the events that led up to their tragic fates.

Eric explains in terms that are easy to understand all of the intricacies of diving and especially deep diving. He guides us through the uses of mixed gas to get to exceptionally deep wrecks and the troubles associated with each dive. He brings into view the price of miscalculation and bad circumstance and the lethal effects associated with deep diving. Intermixed is his own journey as a USCG crewman through his marriage and operating his own dive company while looking for those “virgin” wrecks.

Dangerous Shallows covers a myriad of different vessels and reasons for their current predicaments. The wrecks that Eric explores cover centuries of accidents, war, and depression. He takes the time to relate to the reader exactly what he sees and feels as he dives the wrecks. While swimming over the wrecks, he takes the reader back in time and makes the reader feel as if they are there for each vessel’s demise. The reader can feel the panic, the elation, the fear, or the determination of the people associated with each vessel.

Included within the book are the stories of his own trials and tribulations. He talks about the hardships keeping “virgin” wreck locations secret and the betrayal of “friends” who want to use his work for their own gains. He explains the research he, his wife, and friends undertake to locate and find each lost vessel. Eric describes the dangers each particular dive has; from currents, to sharks, to visibility issues, to the “bends.”

The author interfuses pictures and illustrations throughout the book. The color and black and white photos enhance the readers perceptions of the boats and the wrecks. Some of the photos are historic as are the schematics.

CONCLUSION

This book is thrilling, mysterious, and intriguing. Even if you don’t know much about diving and especially deep diving, this book easily explains the terms and conditions. The stories of the individual wrecks are told in vivid detail. The reader can easily feel as if they are right there with him on this journey of discovery. I heartily recommend this book for everyone.

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Eric Takakjian and Randall Peffer, NetGalley, and Lyons Press for affording me the opportunity to review Dangerous Shallows: In Search of the Ghost Ships of Cape Cod.

I am a shipwreck book junkie, that's what made me jump when I saw this title. Sadly, I found this title to be a letdown. I found really exciting wrecks made tedious to read about. I would have liked different pictures/figures in the book as well. These didn't help you immerse yourself in the story of the wreck. I was just so let down by this book. You can tell the author is very passionate about the subject but the execution falls flat.

Reading this book was like sitting in a bar listening to seafaring tales, the tone was conversational and easy to read. The author tells us the stories behind a number of shipwrecks and the dives planned and carried out with his team of expert wreck divers. And there are some great stories here - from wartime, peace-time, and different historical periods. What struck me was just how many wrecks there are, and how difficult it is to find them. The research and planning was well described, and there was plenty of technical detail about diving, gases and processes. The individual ships were well researched too and the stories of the ships and their crews were the best parts of the book, for me.

The author describes a different world to me, a non-swimmer who loves the sea from the shore! I don't understand how someone can put themselves in so much danger on a daily basis, and I am in awe of his exploits and those of the mariners he writes about.

I've given the book 4 stars because I think it would have benefitted from some editing as there was some repetition within paragraphs, although anyone sitting at a bar telling stories is likely to repeat themselves! Also I regularly had to leave the book to go and look something up rather than have it explained in the book, hedgehogs or what happened in the post-sinking enquiries for example.

That said, I am now encouraged to seek out other similar books, although I still shan't be venturing far from the shore.

I received this book from Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love the thrill of reading about lost ships and sunken treasure. In this well -researched book, the author has done the work and put in the time to flesh out the experiences of these lost ship captains and crew. The book includes maps, charts, photography and paintings, along with detailed information on the ship and crew. He goes further, however, to write a narrative report of each sinking. It's as if you were on deck, going down with the ship! These "ghosts" of the sea are not well documented until now. Years of research into their whereabouts has been done before they embark on the mission to find the vessel. Then the safety of their own crew and family in board is paramount. He relates tales of other divers and runs into some trouble himself. The sea is never mastered, commanding utmost respect for its currents and stormy depths.
I really enjoyed this book. The detailed reports of each ship and the workings of this crew to find the families of the lost, the frightening possibility of dangerous dives and the sea itself enthralled me.

I found this book to be very informative. I liked the history of the ships before they became shipwrecks. I think my favorite story was about the U-boat from WWI. I wish the author had explained a little more about how he found where the locations of the wrecks were, but maybe this is a trade secret kind of thing. At times, the writing got a bit repetitive, but overall I was really hooked to reading this book.

Wreck explorations of ships such as Lusitania and USS Yorktown by Bob Ballard fascinate me. Those were done by submersibles. Dangerous Shallows is about divers unprotected by little submarines. This is about the art of diving.
This is more about finding the shipwrecks than exploring inside. The author states that shipwrecks are like time capsules, enabling the diver to interact with history. Especially with passenger liners, which were floating cities, there’s much to see and personal valuables to find. There’s no indication any valuables were found.
Much discussion focuses on the gases for breathing, diving before software programs and arm-mounted dive computers, moon phases and slack tide. Complicated stuff. Diving isn’t for the faint of heart.

This was a very interesting look at cold cases involving crimes at sea. Recommend this book for purchase.

The formatting of this book made it unreadable. I dont know if it was a publisher error or what, but I was looking forward to reading it.

Author Eric Takakjian reminisces about devouring the National Geographic issue that featured the recovery of The Atocha, which sets the stage for this very chatty book on wreck diving. I, too, read that NatGeo issue over and over again, poring over the pictures and reading about the divers and their work, so I was right at home with Dangerous Shallows.

Writing in the first person, Takakjian draws you with his stories until you feel as though you're ready to brave unpredictable currents, errant fishing nets, and sharks just to experience the thrill of standing on a wreck that hasn't seen the light of day in a century. Takakjian's storytelling style hooks you right away, and his enthusiasm keeps you enthralled through wreck after wreck.

This will appeal to armchair divers who are fascinated with wrecks and treasure. I expect Takakjian would be a marvelous speaker and hope he gets the chance to go on tour with this book.

4 stars

As a child I sat in front of the television entranced by Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt. Then Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea came out and I was glued to my set every week. I have always been fascinated with underwater adventures, diving and so on. And then there was Jacques Cousteau...I studied marine biology for it was my dream to join Mr. Cousteau. But life intruded. I still catch every documentary I can.

I loved this book and read every word, including the foreword and epilogue.

Mr. Takakjian explained many things to me, including the new mixed gas combinations that enables the divers to go deeper and other technical things that I wondered about, but never had someone describe them so well.

I like the way he blended his current narrative with flashbacks to the actual wrecks. It was very well done. I admire his and his friends' bravery, but thought them a little foolhardy at times. I was a very good book and I went to Amazon and his website to look for other books written by Mr. Takakjian.

The depths of the ocean sometimes seem as far away as the moon and never more so than when a ship is in distress and is lost. The loved ones of those lost, the owners of the ship, the media and the public all want to know what happened. How and why did this happen. Here the authors look at the wrecks of over twenty ships to discover how and why they met their watery end