Comments on: Submerged: Adventures of America’s Most Elite Underwater Archeology Team

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:40:04 +0000

I remembered a lesson of basic diving when reading “Submerged”: If you throw up in your regulator, keep on breathing. I’m glad I did, because, as a nautical archaeologist, I choked on a lot of this book. “Submerged” is an opinionated, macho, horn-tooting, self-glorifying piece that focuses not on underwater archaeology, but more on SCRU’s “elite” diving stance. Unfortunately, the book opens with an anecdote about a diver communication screw-up that could easily have gone fatal: Not impressive, not very elite.The theme continues throughout: there are a lot of macho cave diving stories and “how deep/dangerous can we go” tales — the type of butch diver-specific “… envy” stories told to impress high school girls. Serious scientific divers who value cautious diving so they can make it back to the conservation lab alive will find them pretty lame. For the general public, it sets a really bad example of what real underwater archaeology is all about. One wonders what kind of liability insurance SCRU carried, and if retired Dan can tell these tales now because OSHA can’t come in and axe his program.But, archaeology is actually pretty dull stuff, even underwater. Reading dusty books about ceramic typologies for 8 hours a day isn’t the stuff of a page-turning best seller. Neither are painstaking and protracted excavations that fill gaps in our knowledge of the past. You won’t find any talk of this in “Submerged,” because Lenihan’s SCRU team rapidly surveys and documents wrecks — mostly very recent steel hulled wrecks — they don’t excavate and piece old wooden hulls back together. Dan doesn’t tell the reader much about SCRU’s archaeological qualifications for his “most elite” claim, this is a dive story full of his opinions. SCRU has done a lot of good in protecting some of our recent maritime history. However, there are a number of Lenihan’s contemporaries who could have their feathers rightly ruffled by such self-appointed elitism. Not macho wreck divers who picked up archaeology on the way, but real archaeologists who learned how to dive because their research led them under the sea.
Rating: 2 / 5

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:52:59 +0000

“An engaging, articulate,and suspenseful writer; Gripping; Enjoyable adventure”: These are expressions that have been used in previous reviews of this book. For the non-archaeologist, or perhaps even for the terrestrial archaeologists, this book may be construed as “fun”. In explaining the dangers of deep and cave diving, it is most certainly on the mark. It is even fun to say how “great” the author and his team are for having done such things in an adventure book. Unfortunately, for the professional archaeologists, this book is just an adventure book. The adventures are real, but many of the archaeological “claims” may be considered to be half-truths, or outright lies by those who were there first and along-side of SCRU. For instance, HMS Fowey was not first located by SCRU or anyone in SCRU. Lenihan was not able to see the crest of the Tudor rose on the cannon when it was found in the water, as it only became visible in the labortatory after conservation began. There appear to be more inconsistancies as well. All of these are probably just the result of leaving out a sentence or two in the narration. Whatever the case, too bad, because it is in print now. This may have otherwise been a useful book for professionals. If you want a rip-riding, roaring adventure, buy the book. If you want to know what real underwater archaeology is all about, do not buy this, read Keith Muckelroy or maybe even George Bass.
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Scotty Mon

Scotty Mon — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:12:24 +0000

“Most Elite”? What arrogance from a nobody in the diving community. Another nauseating account by a bureaucrat mooching off taxpayer funded trips and trying to justify it as notable archaeology. Lenihan and James Delgado are the two worst. They haven’t discovered or located anything on their own yet they call themselves “elite” and promote there books as “adventure”. Hardly. Without the risks taken by the divers who actually found these sites at their own expense, Lenihan and Delgado are just two jealous gov’t employees who can only fantasize about adeventure. Are we taxpayers footing the bill for Lenihan to write this self-promotion during his work day?

If you want real adventure, read any Robert Marx book. America’s most “elite” ? Bleep!
Rating: 1 / 5

By: Nara Cox

Nara Cox — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:15:12 +0000

I loved this book so much! I was truly saddened when i reached the end. Mr Lenihan obviously loves his job and brings these stories to life with vivid storytelling. I’m never letting this book leave my possesion.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: John Cuipka

John Cuipka — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:30:18 +0000

the stories in and of them selves for the most part are interesting however a major drawback is that he can not write. he says he is waxing prosaic. and guess what he is absolutely correct. for a much better examppe of underwater adventures and vastly superior writing would be shadow divers. the writing makes this almost unfinishable however it is written at a grade 10 level so it doesnt take much time to blow through it. newmarket press should have insisted on a real writer to tell the story . this is truly a waste of very interesting material
Rating: 2 / 5