A mixed book - John Volanthen is one of the pair of divers, possibly the only two people in the world who could do this, who found and rescued the Thai boys trapped 3km inside a mostly flooded cave. Yet the book is mostly not his story of how the rescue proceeded, there are snippets at the beginning of each chapter and a section at the end. Nor is it much in the way of a biography, John includes a few personal stories of few dives here and there, without much context linking them, but little information about himself. He says a couple of times that even putting himself down on paper as much as he did felt uncomfortable, and I can certainly empathise with that.

As the title suggests most of the theme of the book, is a self-help book. How To Be Like John - worldwide hero - but very much an ordinary bloke, perhaps not shy, but reticent, not unwilling to put himself forward, but not keen unless there isn't anybody else. Bullied at school, working for himself, getting by, happily (? nothing said at all about any personal interactions) married with children, enjoys his hobbies, one of which is cave diving. This is a ridiculously dangerous sport, and so John gives many details about how to minimise risk, how to prepare, how to cope when (not if) things go wrong, and how he used these various techniques at different points during the two weeks of the rescue. However, despite the many attempts, the explanations of how this transfers into 'everyday' life always seem a bit forced.

I've recently read his diving buddy Rick's book about the rescue, Aquanaut, which is both a biography of Rick's life, and his telling of the Rescue story. As a recreational caver I enjoyed that more than this one, but perhaps John's book has more relevance and appeal outside of the niche caving fraternity. That said this is far from a bad book, John is a competent writer, and the details he does relate regarding the recovery of the boys are thrilling and emotional even knowing how it all unfolds. ( )

life-lessons, nonfiction, cave-diving, caves, rescue, Thailand, teamwork*****
The author is a renowned cave diver from England who has been called out to many cave rescues, but the most publicized was the rescue of twelve boys and their soccer coach from a cave system in Thailand during monsoon season with the caves filling with water. The rescue was an international effort and the teamwork was as impressive as the rescue. Against the backdrop of a recounting of the entire event is a defined and applied list of life lessons appropriate for everyone.
1. Start with why not?
2. Listen to the quiet voice
3. Zoom in, zoom out
4. Rest, and decompress
5. One breath at a time
6. Expect the unexpected
7. Step up and step back
8. Harnessing teamwork and trust
9. Hurry up and do…nothing
10. Keep it simple(simple and reliable delivers success)
11. Rehearse. Then repeat
12. Make success a habit
13. Define your own happiness (It's OK to do OK)
I've read two other books about the monumental task, but this one is back drop to things everyone ought to know. EXCELLENT!
I requested and received a temporary digital ARC of this book from Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion and Aurum Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ( )