Sealab is the underwater Right Stuff: the compelling story of how a US Navy program sought to develop the marine equivalent of the space station—and forever changed man’s relationship to the sea.While NASA was trying to put a man on the moon; the US Navy launched a series of daring experiments to prove that divers could live and work from a sea-floor base. When the first underwater “habitat†called Sealab was tested in the early 1960s; conventional dives had strict depth limits and lasted for only minutes; not the hours and even days that the visionaries behind Sealab wanted to achieve—for purposes of exploration; scientific research; and to recover submarines and aircraft that had sunk along the continental shelf. The unlikely father of Sealab; George Bond; was a colorful former country doctor who joined the Navy later in life and became obsessed with these unanswered questions: How long can a diver stay underwater? How deep can a diver go? Sealab never received the attention it deserved; yet the program inspired explorers like Jacques Cousteau; broke age-old depth barriers; and revolutionized deep-sea diving by demonstrating that living on the seabed was not science fiction. Today divers on commercial oil rigs and Navy divers engaged in classified missions rely on methods pioneered during Sealab. Sealab is a true story of heroism and discovery: men unafraid to test the limits of physical endurance to conquer a hostile undersea frontier. It is also a story of frustration and a government unwilling to take the same risks underwater that it did in space. Ben Hellwarth; a veteran journalist; interviewed many surviving participants from the three Sealab experiments and conducted extensive documentary research to write the first comprehensive account of one of the most important and least known experiments in US history.
#3627156 in Books Rowman n Littlefield Publishers 2010-01-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.44 x .86 x 6.36l; 1.04 #File Name: 0742562026262 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Scarier Book You Are Not Likely to ReadBy Captain KI had the honor of studying under the author in college. He is a Holocaust scholar who strongly suggests we take militant Islamists at their word when they chant "Death to Israel" or worse. What follows is a series of densely-packed essays with three major points: (1) Religious genocide is a prominent feature of certain Islamist theology; particularly in modern times; (2) The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem; known to have been a Nazi ally; was closely affiliated with the "final solution" and made plans to bring it to Palestine; (3) The apocalyptic rhetoric of the current Iranian regime (let alone ISIS; who emerged after this book was published) has a theological basis and should not be dismissed as rhetorical hyperbole. But it is not as if Dr. Rubenstein; who is a VERY realistic thinker; expects Western power brokers to take heed. Motives include latent anti-Semitism but mostly pure; oil-greased greed. Does this branch represent "true" Islam? Probably not; but he argues it doesn't matter because right now they have; or are close to having; the technology; to pull off their own Holocaust.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. ISIS is proof of this book's thesisBy RLRI am the author of Jihad and Genocide. I spent much of my academic career studying and writing about genocide. About 15 years ago; I came to realize that radical Islam had very strong genocidal tendencies. I was also amazed at the consistent attempts of American and British political leaders to deny reality and characterize Islam as a "religion of peace;" especially after radical Islamists had perpetrated horrors such as 9/11 and the recent beheadings and slaughter perpetrated by ISIS. I therefore decided to devote my intellectual and scholarly energies to exploring the genocidal potentialities of radical Islam. I also wrote a book on the perils of mass Muslim immigration into Europe that was jointly published in France as La Perfidie de l'Histoire by Les Provinciales and Les Editions du Cerf; but not in English. If there were ever any doubts about the connection between Jihad and Genocide; the barbaric behavior of ISIS should have settled the matter and confirmed the thesis of Jihad and Genocide.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Objective and scary.By jörgenIt gives a full review of the phenomenon and history of jihad. An important part of Islam; and today the jihad warriors seem to be active everywhere. How many Muslims share the fundamentalist’s opinions? We never know. Hopefully not all.This book gives me the tool to understand and interpret the many reports from all over the world where Muslim groups are involved in actions against non-Muslim civilians. It helps me understand that threats of genocide sadly enough are meant exactly as they are said.For this information I am grateful. It got five stars because of its intellectual content and precise language.
