Visualisation Aid
WORLD WAR TWO SHIPPING GRAVEYARD Truk Lagoon is one of, if not the, world’s greatest wreck-diving destinations, and Dive Truk Lagoon, Rod Macdonald’s valuable guide to the area, first appeared a couple of years ago.
Reviewing it for DIVER, Alex Khachadourian, one of those divers who loves to absorb every detail of a wreck and its history before diving it, said “this book has it all… a must if you’re thinking of going to Truk”.
Thirty-eight diveable shipwrecks were described in detail, from shipyard through to wreck tour, complemented by the illustrations of the author’s collaborator for 27 years Rob Ward, attractively rendered in a variety of styles from sketchy to highly finished.
Now we have Dive Truk Lagoon’s little brother, a companion booklet light enough to make little difference when you’re packing for a trip to Micronesia. With only brief notes about each of 21 of Truk’s finest wrecks, this publication revolves around Ward’s illustrations, a valuable visual guide for divers (below). So now you can read DTL before you go but just take SoTL on the plane.
The only criticism of Dive Truk Lagoon was the overwhelming blueness of its photographs, but this isn’t a problem in the new book because it contains few photos other than small historic shots. The cover does continue in true-blue Macdonald style, however, and with lettering to match, as you can see above.
But that won’t bother all those divers who just want a score of Ward’s visuals in their heads when they go diving – though perhaps, for such a slim volume, the cover price will.
Steve Weinman
Macdonald Publishing
ISBN: 9780993292101
Softback, 48pp, £20
Appeared in DIVER April 2017
