For those days that you can't get out diving, here are all the references listed in the sections of this site gathered together. Armchair diving beats watching the idiot box.
Nowadays, it is easy to order books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, eBay, or in some cases, direct from the publisher. "eBooks" can be delivered instantly to your computer, phone, or tablet, and have become my preferred way of reading. Old out-of-print references can be found with an online search at any of the sites above and delivered to your door. All of these sites act as online clearinghouses for used-book sellers across the country, so it is easy to get almost anything.
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A Guide to Fishing & Diving New Jersey Reefs
NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife, 2008 edition
68 pages, illustrated, b&w, waterproof
Includes GPS numbers for all reef sites. This invaluable book has been out of print for years.
More: Artificial Reefs References ...
The Essentials of Deeper Sport Diving
John Lippman
AquaQuest, 1992
320 pages, illustrated, b&w
This book is not about technical diving but covers many important aspects of decompression physiology and deep-diving techniques and equipment that any diver ought to know. I see it for 1 cent used on Amazon - get a copy !!!
US Navy Dive Manual
1999, updated 2001
Free Download: US Navy Dive Manual
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These books are indispensable for identifying the plants and animals found along the North Atlantic seashore. These should be available at any major bookstore.
A good project for rainy days and snowed-in weekends is to go through the plates ( illustrations ) in your field guides and highlight all the species that are found in your area. This will make the guides far more useful, and also give you a chance to become more familiar with the plants and animals you may encounter. Beats watching television.
Peterson's Field Guides - Atlantic Coast Fishes
Robins / Ray / Douglass
Houghton Mifflin, 1986
354 pages, illustrated, color
essential for NJ divers
More: Marine Biology References ...
I find this sort of material to be much more interesting than the endless rehashing of coral reefs, glowingly useless gear reviews, and "buoyancy tips" that fill up the standard glossy diving magazines.
Conservation Manual – Donny L. Hamilton
The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea
Peter Kemp, 1988
Lots of interesting information and trivia.
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There is actually a wealth of books on the subject of diving the New Jersey / New York area. A great deal more information, including loran numbers and/or directions, much more detailed histories and descriptions, and historical photos, can be found in these references, and I highly recommend all of them. You can find these at your local dive shop, or order all of them directly from the links on this page.
Many out-of-print titles are still available from used book dealers and can be found by searching online.
Update 2020:
Unfortunately, most of these are out of print now, but you can search out used copies.
Undiminished Violence by Thomas G Clark |  |
Where Divers Dare The Hunt for the Last U-boat by Randall Peffer |  |
Hidden History of Maritime New Jersey by Steve Nagiewicz |  |
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A harbor pilot is a person who takes control of a seagoing ship when it is entering or leaving port. He is expertly familiar with all the channels, shoals, currents, tides, and regulations of his particular port, and is essential to safely steer the ships in and out. It is an ancient and exclusive profession, often passed down from father to son*. In old days, the top two signal flags at right were used by ships entering and exiting a harbor to call for a pilot, while the bottom flag indicated "pilot on board."
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