Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines

The largely unexplored underwater world can be compared to outer space, with their enthusiasts finding similar thrills in seeing what no human has ever seen before. Journalist and poet Frank (Flight of the Diamond Smugglers) takes readers into the world of deep-sea diving, discussing the mythology, the history, and the personal submersibles (or PSUBS) community, all placed in the context of a murder committed by a submarine fanatic aboard his DIY vessel. The book starts with Peter Madsen’s murder of journalist Kim Wall in Denmark’s Køge Bay in 2017. Frank then turns to the history of submarines, as far back as Alexander the Great, and finally to the contemporary community of amateur PSUBS builders and enthusiasts, which he says is marked by misogyny. Over the course of interviews with the hobbyists and even a dive on one PSUBS builder’s vessel, Frank interrogates the risks this group takes in their quests to reach the extreme ends of the universe.