Overview

. Setting himself up as an underwater diving guide in Sri Lanka in the early 1950s, his services were in high demand by wealthy celebrities, seeking new interests, especially spearfishing. Many invited him to their homes leading to a lifestyle and fame that he hardly imagined. Later both Hans Hass and Jacques Cousteau offered him employment. The diversity of his freediving experiences is fascinating. As the first person to dive in The Maldives, Thailand and Southern India, he became a diving legend. In 1965 he set out to sail around the world on a Chinese junk filmed by award-winning underwater photographer Ben Kropp and diving on virgin Pacific reefs with famed explorer Jacques Dumas. Finally, he became a hugely successful commercial diver in Singapore. The different kinds of diving work he performed were astounding, including a joint venture with Exxon, resulting in a fortune he never anticipated. Buying a leading hotel in Pattaya, Thailand he set up the first significant PADI diving outfit in the country. Branching out into many other businesses, he led a flamboyant lifestyle, counting Kings, Presidents and well-known film stars among his friends. Amazingly, he hardly ever used SCUBA for his work, but diving almost entirely without it, achieved a lifestyle all but impossible today. Anyone interested in diving, especially free diving should read this book.

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9781370257614

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Sixties and early Seventies were the last times that one could enjoy the waning privileges and perks of post-colonialism ByKeith Lorenzon December 11, 2017 Format: Paperback Tony Buxton has an appealing way of describing his many foreign adventures in an exciting life, mainly in Southeast Asia. While exploring the pristine waters, playing polo with sultans in Malaysia, buying and selling hotels and farms in Thailand, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, he does not seem to lose his sense of wonder: Is this really happening to me? The Sixties and early Seventies were the last times that one could enjoy the waning privileges and perks of post-colonialism: in a world not yet spoiled by modernization, globalization, mass tourism, and pollution. If you want to bask in the redolent atmosphere of the disappeared good old days in the lost tradition of Stevenson, Maugham, Conrad, and a bit of Noel Coward, read about Tony's exploits....whether you are, or were, a diver or not. His almost naive quality of conveying numerous encounters with danger as well as beautiful women, princes, imposters and heads of state, actresses and adventurers, makes this armchair tale a wonderful transport into the realm of wishful fantasy. But a fantasy that existed! One person found this helpful Helpful Report abuse5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars ByPaul Brunningon November 3, 2017 Format: Paperback This is Tony's third book, and just as fascinating as the others. What a life..! Helpful Comment

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