Trapped Under the Sea Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Commercial Diving and our BookBrowse Review of Trapped Under the Sea.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Before reading Trapped Under the Sea, had you ever heard of the Boston Harbor clean-up? Were you surprised by Swidey's description of the harbor before the clean-up?
2. One of the book's greatest strengths is how well we get to know not only the five divers who took on the toughest assignment of pulling the plugs, but also many of the other key players, from sewer agency boss Doug MacDonald to construction manager Dave Corkum to diving company owners Tap Taylor and Roger Rouleau. With whom did you identify? Whose story surprised you the most?
3. Were you surprised by what you learned about the subculture of commercial divers and the difficulty of their work?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Broadway Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.