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Lost Wife, Saw Barracuda: True Stories from a Sharm El Sheikh Scuba Diving Instructor by [John Kean]

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John Kean

Lost Wife, Saw Barracuda: True Stories from a Sharm El Sheikh Scuba Diving Instructor Kindle Edition

by John Kean (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

139 ratings

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Want to leave the rat race?

John thought his new life abroad would be simple; go to work and teach people to scuba dive.
How wrong he would be.

For over a decade, this ex-stockbroker has been chased by aggressive sharks, had a 737 airliner drop from the sky into the sea, broken four bones, been arrested three times and finally, blown up by terrorists. On the plus side, John earned a decent living by convincing over 2,000 paying students to stick their heads underwater and start breathing.

His accounts are genuine, enlightening and seriously funny. You’ll find a laugh on nearly every page.

The most explosive chapter is his chilling, minute-by-minute account of the Sharm bombings in July 2005. John Kean’s rare civilian insight of a grand scale terrorist attack shows the human cost of those caught up and the tremendous resolve of unlikely rescuers in preventing further loss of life.

Lost Wife, Saw Barracuda will thrill and entertain… and make you thankful that you’re alive. Read it now.

What the readers say

… An Excellent Read.
... Brilliant Book!!
… Hilarious!
… Very funny and thoroughly enjoyable.
... Fantastic.
... I Read it Twice.
... A super special book, fun to read and enjoyed every page.
... Funny, informative and very well written.
... An Exceptional and Captivating Book.
... Great stories about scuba diving and life in general.
... Thought the narration and stories were excellent.
... It's laugh out loud funny.

It’s a must read if you’ve ever been even remotely near water!

Print length

259 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 9, 2013
File size

1589 KB
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Product details

ASIN : B004WKUEIM
Publisher : John Kean (November 9, 2013)
Publication date : November 9, 2013
Language : English
File size : 1589 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 259 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #969,108 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #558 in Scuba Diving
- #1,542 in Adventurer & Explorer Biographies
- #1,657 in Travel Biographies & Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
139 ratings

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2 star		6%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Great read even if you don't dive

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2013

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I really enjoyed this book about diving - a sport that my terror of water would never allow me to try! It's written in a very accessible style, by an author with a likeable voice and a great attitude to both himself and the people with whom he comes in contact.

I found the descriptions of what a diving course entails very interesting - I hadn't realized how much effort and care goes into the teaching of this skill. I also now have a vivid picture of Sharm el Sheik and its many natural wonders, seen from the perspective of a long-term, although not jaded, resident. The mystery of the odd title provides an understated view of what was undoubtedly a dreadful day for the author!

I would recommend this book as a light and entertaining read, well worth the time.

6 people found this helpful

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Douglas Terry

A Fun Read

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2014

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book. To me at least it's primarily a humorous book but it also gives the reader an idea of what it's like to live an work in a different culture. To someone who is interested in learning to dive, it gives some idea what the certification process is like though this is not the primary purpose of the book. It certainly will promote the pleasures of diving in the aspiring diver. As a scuba instructor myself, I can relate to many of the stories he recounts. And the source of the book title is a hoot in itself. Again, this is a book you read primarily for entertainment and it is a great light read. However you will also learn some things about Egypt, scuba diving, scuba instructing and people in general. The book is well written and edited.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Oh, even Diving can make wonderful Reading!

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2014

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I loved this book. Oh, I loved it! I am not a scuba diver. But I have a fair insight into the sport, what with my daughter and son-in-law being ardent divers. From pool practice to nitrox, I have heard it all. Yet re-gathering the same from John Kean proved extremely entertaining. His lucid pen oozes apt metaphors, without banishing the reader to cohabit the thesaurus. Reading it on the Kindle, I kept right – screen tapping my phone with the ‘excitement of a cat in a Whiskas factory.’ Ever wondered (like Kean does) how every shipwreck transforms into an underwater museum for scuba divers, but not a single air-crash site is of any tourist relevance? Kean is big time rib-tickler. The ‘cadaver’ swaps places with a drowning Kean during his rescue diver course. That robber wreck-diver, losing his pants in the flicking act, ‘auditions like an underwater porn artist’ scurrying to cover his bums. Still, descriptions of the snorkeler’s tragic end or the aftermath of Sharm bombings are a study in sobriety.

Kean’s vivid details of the sunk WWII SS Thislegorm with its well-preserved rows of motorbikes, cannons and rifles, like ‘in an underwater shopping mall,’ would send any diver jetting off to Sharm El Sheikh. Lesser mortals need to hear from a daughter, or invest in his other book SS Thistlegorm - World War Two's Greatest Shipwreck.

Wait! Is Sharm El Sheikh a safe place to visit after all of Egypt’s political turmoil? Well, once I read his Sharks, Fights and Motorbikes - When it Rains in Egypt, I will know. I can’t wait to.

One person found this helpful

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Roger Corman

Great stories about scuba diving and life in general

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2013

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I loved John Kean's book Lost Wife, Saw Barracuda. I read the Kindle version and couldn't put it down for the day or so it took me to get through it. I have recently discovered scuba, later in life, and everything he writes about the scuba business seems so true to my own experiences, and gives great insight into what it's like from the dive guide/instructor perspective. I have more respect for them, having read this book. The book is humorous throughout (having read the book, even the re-reading the title makes me smile as it's such a great punch line). I haven't been to Sharm but got my start snorkeling in Nuweiba in the 70s (during Israeli occupation) and I know the diving and snorkeling are spectacular on the red sea. I think the Open Water class John taught is much more thorough than the one I took in Hawaii (two days total to get certified) and it makes me wonder what I missed. It would be great to go to Sharm for some advanced classes.
John shares his journey from IT professional in the UK to dive instructor in Egypt and gives a lot of insight into the issues and compromises one makes. I look forward to more books from him!

4 people found this helpful

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Livingthedream

One of my favorite travel memoirs ever

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2016

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One of my favorite travel memoirs ever. A lot of Diving Instructor memoirs turn into stories about why the author believes he/she are the god/goddess of diving and the best ever…this one doesn’t. There's just enough explanation of principles important to diving to inform non-divers of what's going on but not in so much detail that it's boring/repetitive for dive industry professionals. Well done Sir, well done.

One person found this helpful

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Geoff Infield

Great book about instructing in Egypt

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2017

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Another great book by John Kean, very interesting tho if you're only buying one book I found his book on deep diving records incredible, just brilliant. Both GREAT books though, this is a wonderful insight into what happens when you chuck your corporate life in the UK and become an instructor in Egypt and it spans an enormous period of time. Hightly recommended. Read both, I did :)

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A Click Away

A master storyteller

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2018

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For those who dive, this book will have you laughing, shaking your head, and marveling at some of the adventures recounted. For those who don’t dive, this book may incur the urge to.

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Tamara Johnson

Very good read

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2013

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This was a great book for anybody who is a diver, or who is interested in maybe becoming one. The stories about student divers, fellow divemasters, taxi drivers - very funny, sometimes touching, and well worth a read. I think, too, that the more we divers read about what has happened to others under water the smarter we get with our own diving (let's hope, anyway). So settle down with the book and a drink, have a good read, and then dream of going to Sharm al Sheik for a visit.

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Top reviews from other countries

Joo

Lost Wife Saw Barracuda

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2013

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As a lapsed scuba diver who did my first dives in Sharm, I was drawn to this book. There are a lot of "me, me, me" books about at the moment, some of which are good and some are just somebody's diary that should be kept hidden away. This one, however, was a delight to read.

The over-riding arc of this book is the author's tale of teaching a group of students to dive. In between he tells various stories, both funny and very serious. He tells of his life living and working in Sharm and also some occurrences such as the bombing of Sharm in 2008 with him being on the scene at the time.

I was reading this on holiday and I hadn't dived for 5 years and was a bit nervous about going back in, but it actually made me want to go diving again, so we had a refresher lesson and a nice dive. Having read some of the skills he teaches and how the students coped with them actually helped me a little.

I found this a very enjoyable read. Would it appeal to anyone who hasn't been diving? I'm not sure, but I'd say probably as there are many tales about human character and less about the fish.

One person found this helpful

Anna Kennedy

A great read, very funny

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2015

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A great read, very funny, and for anyone that has dived in the Red Sea can relate to this. For anyone who's wondered what it's like to be a dive guide and contains lots of funny tales. Perfect for reading on a dive trip as you can pick it up and put it down easily, although I finished this in a couple of days. I won't give away the plot though… but when I got to the part where the title comes from I was in hysterics! I have had to purchase a second copy as I donated my copy to the library onboard MV Sea Queen (Maldives) as I thought the dive guides would love it, but didn't realise my husband hadn't read it yet! So pleased to be able to order a new copy now that the item appears to be back in stock! I shall re-read again myself.

Hisboss

An inspiring and very witty book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2013

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I really enjoyed this book. The author's love and respect for his adopted country and people shine through. I have never been to Egypt or Sharm, but my brother has and he too is drawn back time after time by the beauty of it. John Kean has crafted this book with a great mixture of facts, great wit, and empathy. He paints a beautiful picture of his underwater landscape in words which draws the reader in and makes you wish you were there too!
Maybe this will go on my bucket list of things I need to do before I shake off my mortal coil. I urge you to read this book - brilliant.

STEVE BRIGGS

A good read about being a diving instructor

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 11, 2015

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Packed with easy to read stories from the authors experience as a diving instructor in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh plus some interesting insights into the world of professional diving instruction as a career and lifestyle choice. It would have been easy for the author to focus on himself but to his credit he doesn't and the focus is the students and Sharm, giving the book a nice balance and a loose theme. I enjoyed it, its not a classic piece of travel literature but I would thoroughly recommend it to any sports diver enthusiast.

Kindle Customer

Followed on from in the deep

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2018

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I read this shortly after reading in the Deep. The author is fantastic at painting a picture in his books of his experiences during his life. In short terms..

I'm basically considering a scuba holiday in Sharm and some of the places described in both books!!