David Harrison Beckett recounts his many incredible diving experiences in his autobiography, The Loonliness of a Deep Sea Diver.

Diving enthusiasts, along with anyone intrigued by man’s ability to thrive in extreme conditions, will be gripped by Beckett’s amazing stories. The book is gritty, honest and at times comical, as it offers an insight into life at sea – more precisely, at the bottom of it.

A twist of fate saw Beckett become a deep sea diver at the end of the 1960s – which led him to working in a saturation chamber, submerged to depths of over 500 feet. Beckett has had brushes with death on multiple occasions, notably when helping to recover 45 bodies of the victims of the Sumburgh chinook disaster in the Shetland Islands in 1986.

Amongst the perilous accounts there are also joyous moments including treasure hunting in the Philippines, almost clinching a contract to salvage the Bursar’s safe from the Titanic, and surviving a 24-hour typhoon and perilous 80-foot waves crashing against his boat.

Written alongside experienced biographer Paul Zanon, who has previously worked with former boxers Paul Ingle and Jimmy Tibbs, The Loonliness of a Deep Sea Diver gives an in-depth personal account of the hardships faced in this obscure profession.

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from The Loonliness of a Deep Sea Diver.