Rating: 
Summary: Too Many Uncritical Reviews
Review: While the book is certainly one of the best I've read in a long time, I do have to wonder at what was not written. The author's attitude towards the "hero" of the book is uncritical, leaving me to wonder at what makes Thompson human, and particularly, whether he was hard to work with. A good book on the whole, but like many biographers, the author falls into the trap of adulation, which undermines in a subtle way, the reader's ultimate appreciation of Thompson's achievement.
Rating: 
Summary: Most excellent historical drama.
Review: Gary Kinder has really written two books in one with this modern classic. First is the historically accurate account of the last voyage and sinking of the SS Central America in 1857. The first national disaster covered by the media, and often called the Titanic of the 19th century, the Central America is given plenty of supporting historical background and drama as Kinder expertly weaves details of the California gold rush with biographies of the famous and infamous people who sailed on her final voyage. The second story is the one of entrepreneur and engineer Tommy Thompson, an inventive genius on the scale of Edison who overcomes a variety of never before solved quandaries to recover billions of dollars in gold at impossible depths on the ocean floor. As the historical drama reaches its climax, Tommy and his team in the 20th century battle treasure hunters and scalawags to recover an astronomical size of gold and scientific data from the wrecked ship. This is truly an exceptional book, and will provide hours of pleasurable reading for the historian and adventure lover alike.
Rating:
Summary: A splendid drama and adventure of the sea and burried treasu
Review: For those who love sea adventures and burried treasure, this is a must read. The sinking of the Central America makes the Titanic disaster seem tame. A great book for summer reading or any time. I wish there had been more pictures of the recovered treasure but the superb narrative and descriptive paragraphs make ones imagination run wild! This year's "The Perfect Storm".
Rating:
Summary: great exciting informative read
Review: just a couple of typos.page 286,5th line from bottom should read "leaned".pg 458,8th line from top should read "and". Page 139 reads " aluminum 304,316".These are grades of stainless steel ,not aluminum.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, fast-paced..an author in command of his subject
Review: A fascinating read. It is really two stories. First, it tells the historical tragedy of the sinking of the Central America and over 500 of her passengers along with 21 tons (yes, tons) of California gold. The most compelling story, though, is of a brilliant young landlubber who dreams of deep-sea salvage. If you're a history buff, or if you enjoy contemporary real-life adventure stories (like The Perfect Storm or Into Thin Air, for example) you will enjoy this book greatly. I've never read anything by Gary Kinder before, but I will keep an eye out for his next book, whatever it is!
Rating:
Summary: A worthy 500-page read
Review: This book was the first that I had heard of this event. It was very well written and exciting to the very end. I would highly recommend it to any one who loves the seas, adventure, history and a good story.What Tommy Thompson and his crew did was extraordinary. Their dilligence and perserverance was inspiring to read. While there can be no mistake that the gold was the carrot, their pursuit of science, and a new science at that, is praise worthy.
Rating: 
Summary: One word - snoooozzzze
Review: Is this supposed to be the biography of a "mad" scientist or the story of a treasure hunt? I kept waiting for the good stuff, but it never came. Read this in bed in the evening and it certainly didn't keep me awake.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: A friend of mine called me one day and said, "drop whatever you're doing and get Ship of Gold". I should have bought the book that moment. If you have a desire for intrigue, engineering, history, and suspence, this is a must read. Five stars isn't enough. What a story.
Rating:
Summary: The best new book I have read in 40 years.
Review: This book is a first rate adventure story, sea story, biography and courtroom drama all rolled into one. The books jacket and synopsis do not do this book justice. When I first picked it up and read the jacket I thought I wont like this book but I will give it a try. I will read almost anything. But once I started into it I was enthralled and could not put it down. This book is absolutely the best new book I have read in 40 years.
Rating:
Summary: Yep, this is a good book even though. . .
Review: the nay-sayers will never be satisfied. The storm waves can be never high enough for them. Thompson is clearly a different sort of person. I wonder what he's doing now.
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