Shadow Divers Exposed: The Real Saga of the U-869

Really pleased with the copy

Just finished all three of the U 869 related books, well done to Kurson, Gentile and Chowdhury. I thoroughly enjoyed everyone of the books. As a very experienced Deep diver I focused more on the diving side of Gentile's book and took the "he said, she said" parts with a pinch of salt as I did the sensationalism of SD.On balance , it was very much worth " the money" and I neither know or have met Gary Gentile, which was a very stupid and childish accusation of a previous reviewer to claim I must be a friend if I enjoyed the book.I bought all three to be entertained ( which is why they were written) and SD Exposed did just that, well done.

Klasse Buch zum Kaltwasser Tauchen und zur Entwicklung des technischen Tauchens. Kann ich jedem Empfehlen der gerne Taucht und sich nicht so unbedingt für bunte Fische interessiert.

I rate Gary Gentile. He is one of the best divers in the wake of early innovators. He knows his wrecks, has been at the leading edge of recreational technical diving and is passionate about his craft. Anyone who is serious about wreck diving should read Gary’s books in my opinion. What I especially like is that like all decent divers he gives it to you unvarnished. If you want to read a novel read Shadow Divers. It’s a good read.

Shadow Divers was one of my favorite books, ever since I read it in 2008. Since reading the book, I became fascinated with the U-869, as well as with the protagonists' diving careers. I was very impressed with their tireless dedication to research, as depicted in the book, as well as with their daring underwater accomplishments. As a recreational diver and WWII history buff, this book was a big thrill to me. I even watched the documentary associated with it, Hitler's Lost Sub.Since reading the original book, I have sought out all other available information on the topic, and also read The Last Dive. I came across the existence of this book, Shadow Divers Exposed, several years ago, but chose not to purchase it, believing all the negative reviews.Two things happened that led me to reconsider and subsequently purchase this book: 1) I recently re watched Hitler's Lost Sub and noted some discrepancies between the documentary and events as described in Shadow Divers, leading me to question whether the program was truly a documentary; and 2) out of interest in reading about diving the Andrea Doria, I read a number of Gary Gentile's other books and found them to be thoroughly researched, detailed, and interesting accounts, and it was clear that he is a true expert at wreck diving.I am baffled by the number of negative and downright hostile reviews of this book. As someone who has no axe to grind in this story, no personal connection to any of the people involved, and someone who was a huge fan of the John Chatterton portrayed in Shadow Divers, I found this book to be quite eye opening.Yes, it is true that Gentile skips around in his writing, and it's also true that a detailed, accurate historical account of the events leading from the discovery of the U-869 to its positive identification lacks the page-turning excitement of Shadow Divers. But I think Gentile's point is right on: since Shadow Divers claimed to be nonfiction, the level of distortion and outright fabrication that it contains is unacceptable, no matter how exciting it is to read.Gentile researched this book thoroughly and provides far more documentation, in the form of interviews with numerous other divers who were present during the events in question, as well as videotape evidence that directly contradicts many key passages in Shadow Divers. I found it quite damning that John Yurga, who figures prominently in Shadow Divers, disputes much of what is described as fact in that book. It is also damning that many dramatic passages, which form some of the highlights of the Shadow Divers novel and portray Chatterton and Kohler as daring heros, are clearly proven as fabrications by multiple eyewitnesses and videotape evidence.Gentile is accused of bias and having an axe to grind with Chatterton and Kohler in many of this book's negative reviews. I got the impression that he tried for years to overlook some of their unsavory behavior, and was finally pushed into writing the novel by their incredibly poor behavior towards fellow wreck divers, as well as their apparent desire to cash in on their fame from the U-869.I took one star away from my review because, while Gentile is incredibly thorough in his research and this book is obviously an exhaustive account of the history of U-869, it is true that it's a more difficult read. I think this is because Gentile's strength is in technical and historical writing, which is not always as exciting to read as fiction. However, this is an excellent account, Gentile is obviously well informed and intelligent, and I, sadly, am disillusioned about one of my favorite stories as a result. I also found that Chatterton and Kohler come across as opportunistic and self-aggrandizing, just based on facts and major discrepancies that Gentile reported, not based on Gentile's "biased" opinion. I think that a person who is interested in technical aspects of wreck diving, WWII history, and values truth and accuracy will find this book an interesting read.