The Silent World
The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery & Adventure, by the 1st Men to Swim at Record Depths w/the Freedom of Fish is a '53 book coauthored by Capt Jacques-Yves Cousteau & Frédéric Dumas, edited by James Dugan. Tho French, Cousteau wrote it in English. The book has 48 pages of black & white photos & 16 pages of color made available by Nat'l Geographic Magazine. The handheld work in Ektachrome "is the 1st ever made in significant depths, using artificial light & scientific color correction." Cousteau & Émile Gagnan designed, built & tested the aqualung in the summer of '43 off southern France. Opening chapters recount the early days of scuba diving with Frédéric Dumas & Philippe Tailliez. The aqualung allowed for the 1st time untethered free-floating extended deep water diving & ushered in the scuba era. Later chapters include shipwreck excursions