If you want to get most out of your diving from the first dive, this is THE book for you. Many people go to Asia to learn how to dive, and most of them go to Koh Tao. This book is focused on marine life around Koh Tao, but it is certainly good to use when diving on a tropical coral reef anywhere in the world. The weird thing about seeing things in nature is that you have to know what to see. If it has no name, and you do not know where to look, you probably will not see it. Especially as a novice diver you need all the help you can get to understand the underwater world around you. Instructors try their best of course, but they cannot tell you everything and at the same time teach you how to dive. If you read this book before you go diving, you will know, I think, everything you need to know to make the most of your diving course. You will see the names of all animals in English, and also the scientific Latin name. The Latin name is important because it is the only way to know exactly what species we are talking about, because often species have many local names. The Latin name of animals always consists of two names: Genus and Species, so for us humans that would be: our genus is Homo and our species is sapiens. I will also tell you what the name means and where it comes from. Homo is man in Latin, and sapiens means thinking.
