Bob Marx is well known for his vaste number of books on maritime archaeology and treasure.
For full details, see:
http://classicdivebooks.customer.netspace.net.au/oeclassics-a-marks.html
This recent (February 2006) photo is of Bob signing one of his books at a conference in Florida for author Dave Crooks. 
Dave has written The Bibliography of Sunken Treasure. 

TITLES:
Diving Physiology in
Plain English
Health & Fitnessin
Plain English

After serving in the Army she became a scientist for the US Navy. She completed a ellowship in cold immersion, and a post-doctorate in altitude decompression. She's lived, studied, and worked in sites from an underwater laboratory to the mountains and deserts of India, Nepal, Asia, and Northern Africa, is advisor to The Discovery Channel and the Philadelphia Police Training Department, was researcher at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine analyzing oxygen toxicity research - studies on hyperbaric, hypoxic, and hypercapnic response to rest and exercise, and was professor of anatomy at a college in the mountains of Mexico where the entrance exam was getting up the mountain without a nosebleed.

Most people know Dr. Bookspan as a serious scientist, but few know that her father taught her to dive in the Hudson River in the 1960's, she made two Olympic bids as a swimmer, has a black belt in karate, and had 14 fights in the ring as an amateur boxer. Left paralyzed in a military accident, she rehabbed with her own methods while doctors insisted she accept she would never walk. Two months after walking again, she was a passenger in a 4-car crash, injuring her more seriously than before. She walked again years later, against all expectations.

TITLES:
MacroLife
Malayasia - An Underwater
Paradise
Malaysia Diving Guide

Strongly tied to Malaysia - a country they are madly in love with and which they have been regularly visiting twice a year during the past twelve years - they have published quite a few best-selling guides. Titles worth mentioning are their ground-breaking Malaysia Diving Guide, (originally published in Italy, it has been translated in English, French, German and Dutch), Malaysia - An Underwater Paradise,  Layang Layang - The Island of Dreams Come True, and Top Nature and Dive Resorts of Borneo.  Two other recent and very successful general, in-depth photographic marine life guides of the Ferraris have just been published in French, Spanish and American: Reef Life, and Sharks. At the moment they are hard working on a complete photographic guide to the Macrolife of Malaysia, scheduled to be out  by the end of 2002. 

They live in the cold, foggy countryside south of Milan, Italy, in an old refurbished farm going back to the eighteenth century, with their beloved third English Bull Terrier (yes, they're addicted to that lovely breed!), which comes by the name of Undaunted (he's Scottish) but has been rechristened Glen (he likes it better). 

And his Sharks and Shipwrecks, published in 1975, still attracts great interest. Two more recent titles include Shark - The Shadow Below, and Port of Pearls (on the north-west town of Broome and its pearling industry). Regarded as one of Australia's finest non-fiction writers, he is both a gentleman and a scholar, a diver and adventurer. He lives in Perth, Western Australia

TITLES:
Jack wrote over a hundred books
and smaller booklets, including
the 'Wrecks On..." series covering
the Australian coast.

On the 10 February 1995, Jack Loney was to be presented by an award from the Victorian Government for his contribution as a maritime historian, author, and story-teller. Sadly, he was admitted to hospital a week before the award was to be presented by the Hon. Rob Maclellan, Minister for Planning.In lieu of this personal award, the Victorian government decreed a perpetual memorial award - called the Jack Loney Award - for outstanding contribution to maritime history. The inaugural award was presented to Jack's long-time friend and collegue Peter Stone in July 1998. Peter published several of Jack's books through the Lonestone Press imprint, and also co-authoured two small books with Jack - Australia's Island Shipwrecks and High and Dry. Peter recalls, "Jack was one of the most sincere friends a person could have, an extremely kind and generous man, and a thorough gentleman in all respects. He would never hesitate to help anyone interested in maritine history and was always willing to share his knowledge. He will be sadly missed." 

The following is part of the presentation speach made by Peter on accepting the Jack Loney Award. "We are here today for many individual reasons to honour Jack Loney. To me, Jack's greatness is not because of his extensive knowledge of maritime Australia, nor because he had written over one hundred books, nor because he was involved in a large number of maritime associations. It is simply because he was - a gentleman. To me, the respect and admiration I have for Jack Loney is because he had always been willing to share his knowledge with others, and to encourage others. He has never horded his research like some authors do. He always graciously gave of his time to help others, often at some considerable expense. It is for this reason alone that he is known personally to literally thousands of divers and maritime enthusiasts. Jack had done much to ensure that our national maritime heritage is never forgotten. Through his publications and his personal presentations and time spend with individuals, he has encouraged people to take a greater interest in our past, thus in a sence preserving our history for the future. Quite a few divers, perhaps not enough but quite a few, have reverted from a wreck bashing mentality to one of respect and consideration for those generations to come because of Jack's encouragement. I guess I am one of these. There may never be a Noble Prize awarded for a maritime publication. But if there were an award for respect and humility, I'd put Jack down for it."

Helmut (left)

He has contributed to many books. His specific titles include:
Coral Reefs - Natures Richest Realm.

Allan

Reece

Reece Discombe did his stint in the New Zealand Army and after the war, started his own marine engineering business in Auckland, repairing war damaged ships. He went into war salvage, and came to the New Hebrides in 1947 with wife Jean. Ater extensive salvage work, he established an engineering company in Port Vila and has been there ever since, although retired from business. A skilled and 'utterly fearless' diver with a penchant for adventure, Reece re-discovered the ships of the missing French explorer La Perouse. He found the Astrolabe off the island of Vanikoro in 1958, and then in 1962  discovered La Perouse's second vessel Boussole, lost in 1788. For these achievements he was made an Officer of France's National Order of Merit, the civilian equivalent of the Legion Of Honour. In 1972 he was awarded the British Red Cross Silver Medal for his services.  In 1978 he was 'gonged' once again, this time with the Queen's Jubilee Medal; on the eve of Vanuatu independence he received the Resident Comissioner's medal for services to the country, and an OBE was confered in the 1980 Queens Birthday Honours. Quite a remarkable man. He still lives in Port Vila and regularly visits family in New Caledonia and New Zealand. Sadly, Jean passed away several years ago

In March 1969, after two years of preparation, he conducted the "Australian Coastal Marine Expedition", a total of almost four years travelling 64,000 kilometres around the Australian coast, observing, recording, photographing and collecting many thousands of marine creatures.  Unfinanced, unsupported, unknown, undermanned and unlikely to succeed, he overcame all these obstacles and produced the first photographic subtidal survey ever attempted on any continent. The Australasian Marine Photographic Index of which he is curator, is the largest scientifically-curated visual identification system in the Southern Hemisphere with over 10,000 species photographed and catalogued.

Neville is a fascinating and colourful character with tremendous love of life.  He has an infectious enthusiasm for his work and has developed,  through his experiences and knowledge, a confident understanding of and affinity with the marine world. He has had encounters with sharks and sea snakes, venomous sea wasps and stone fish, and has allowed himself to be bitten or stung by many denizens of the deep. He has even photographed the stings and recorded the pain level and effects, in an effort to help other divers to know what to expect and how to handle it. (See Neville's excellent Dangerous Sea Creatures). 

In July 1980, LondonATV flew Neville to Papua New Guinea for a 30-minute documentary in their Nature Watch series.  ABC's Big Country programme also discovered Neville in 1980 and produced a 30-minute documentary on his work at Lord Howe Island. Early in 1985 Mike Willesee's Trans Media Productions produced a documentary entitled "Sink or Swim", on Neville introducing young Australians to the wonders of the underwater world.
 Author of some forty books, Neville has written and illustrated more four colour underwater education natural history books than any other single person in the world, and as such, is the most successful writer on marine life in Australia's history.  His articles have been carried by over 140 magazines with photographs being reproduced by the National Geographic Society, Timp-Life and Reader's Digest.
Since returning with the Australian Coastal Marine Expedition, over 50 minor expeditions have been carried out in world oceans, logging over 10,000 dives, and discovering over 400 species new to science. His photographs are on display at most major museums and aquariums in Australia. Underwater Geographic magazine was entirely produced by Neville in 1981 in an effort to bring about a greater understanding towards the aquatic environment and its much maligned inhabitants.

As the first full time freelance underwater naturalist/ photographer managing to exist in Australia, Neville and his work are part of the pioneering spirit the country was built on. To this extent Neville lectures regularly through the world on underwater marine biology and conservation and is a limited field instructor for all recognised diver instruction agencies in Australia for marine awareness and underwater photography courses. As a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography, he judges many international underwater photography competitions and shoot outs and has received several high profile industry and foundation awards for his role as environmental educator and pioneer marine conservationist. His "Education through Entertainment" audio-visual programmes have been enjoyed by many thousands of Australians.

Neville Coleman has a mission statement well worth considering in our estimation of the value of the marine world:
Since time immemorial human nature has been at war with nature.  We have conquered every life form.  We have diminished the rich diversity of creatures and destroyed many of their habitats.  In the "Arrogance of our Ignorance" we have cast aside the laws of the universe and altered the nature of things. Deluded by illusions of our own importance we have assumed "God-like powers". We must look beyond the oblivion of perceived perception and unshackle our minds from the programming of the past.
There is only one world of water.  It connects the entire planet.  Everybody across the planet may be accountable, but not everybody across the planet, is responsible.
However, the world of water isn't mine, nor do my concepts belong to me. The issues I stand for represent, believe in and fight for, are everybody's issues, and everybody's responsibility.  Unless we, as people, made a stand for the aquatic environment and support the ideals of those whose dreams and commitments go beyond the ordinary, then what we don't see is exactly what will be left.
We must make peace with nature and heal the wounds of centuries.  We must accept the responsibilities of our ignorance and endeavour to change our eternally bad habits.  We must alter our attitudes and understand that this war with nature cannot be allowed to go any further
Knowledge is like a flight of steps through the evolution of time.  We cannot begin to climb unless someone, somewhere builds the first step. Others come along at later stages and using the first step add their own knowledge and build another step. And so it goes on. But before we can learn about things, we must have a reference point, a description, a name, for only then does relevance exist and knowledge begin.
In a lifetime contributing to the steps of knowledge I may not have always been 100% right, acted with discretion, or majored in the role of diplomacy. Perhaps the job I set myself (of) explorer, builder, educator and conserver were too idealistic for the measure of one?  Perhaps they were just the aspirations of a passionate dreamer who chose to fight for his beliefs, who created a reason for his being, a most important reason.