Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea

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Summary: Ship of Thrills
Review: Gary Kinder has written a modern masterpiece with a true American success story of determination and ingenuity. The central figure, Tommy Thompson, is both a charismatic individual and compelling character study. The attention to historical detail that Kinder renders his narrative with is superb. Kinder also provides great insight into the challenges of deep sea exploration and the unclaimed riches that still reside in this unconquered world. I think that you will find that this book will be a fast read and hard to put down. The only disappointment for me was that the adventure had to end. Recommended reading. Great pictures (for those who care about that sort of thing).

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Summary: Well worth the effort
Review: The prospective reader should understand that this it is not a novel but a well crafted and complete documentary of the historical background and recounting of an event that rivals the Apollo Mission to the moon. Those who fault the author for exhaustive detail should skip the pages they consider tedious. What is left is still an amazing and absorbing tail of high-seas drama, engineering genius and resolute dedication to the advancement of deep-sea exploration financed by the promise of rewards from a scientifically conducted treasure hunt.

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Summary: Compelling tale of lost treasure
Review: The good parts of this book are excellent, both the story of the original shipwreck and the hunt for and discovery of the wreck 131 years later. I think it could have been shortened by about 150 pages if the author wasn't so focused on wringing every little detail out of the wreck (how many times need one read about storm-tossed passengers)and about Tommy Thompson (how many pages must be devoted to every phase of his life to convince the reader that he is a true, eccentric genius). Once over the seemingly endless focus on these points, it becomes an engrossing tale of how the treasure was found and recovered.

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Summary: Gripping Tale of Technology and Adventure
Review: Great book for anyone who likes adventure, exploration and science

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Summary: Outstanding audiobook
Review: Some audiobooks suffer from abridgement...character development and detail are edited out until you're left with a soap opera of tragic events. Not so in this case. An outstanding "read" that made a long boring trip a breeze. Highly recommended!

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Summary: One of the most interesting ship recoveries of all time
Review: Gary Kinder describes the sinking and recovery of the Centeral America in the deep sea with great detail. This book is a great page turner!!!!!

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Summary: One of my top 100 favorite books ever read
Review: I bought this book to take for a week's vacation to Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks. I couldn't put it down. I have always been a history buff, but rarely has a book so totally gripped me that I stayed up til all hours of the night reading, wanting to know if they made it. Kinder's book reads like a thriller, but it isn't. The photos in the inside cover of the paperback tantalize the reader. Yoy know that they found something, but was it the ship? Stay tuned, and keep reading. The individual passenger stories were well told. Since I live in the Norfolk area, I immediately went to the library in search of newspaper articles regarding the event and Thompson's search. The newspapers seemed to be a bit critical of Thompson, he definitely appears to be a treasure hunter. The book is very flattering of Thompson, he is very heroic. The truth I guess, must be somewhere in the middle. How can anybody's head not be turned by that much gold? The book is a superb read, and I highly recommend it to anybody looking for an engrossing read.

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Summary: IF only I could give this book 10 stars!!!
Review: Looking for the best adventure story in decades?? This is it!! One persons ascent to Everest or one persons story of a trip around the world solo in a small boat are "mere" achievements. Tommy Thompson and his associates surpass beyond human to achieve a goal decades in the making. This book is a well written, fast paced account of a brillant and driven man to go beyond all others of his generation to find his dream. The author balances the personal stories of the passengers of this ship with the ground breaking technology needed to tell their story along with all of the integrity demanded by Tommy Thompson.

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Summary: What did they find???
Review: This book is every bit as gripping and expertly written as its reviews claim, even if one thought one was immune to shipwreck stories after TITANIC fever. However, it has one glaring flaw. After waiting for hundreds of pages, never do we get but a few glimpses of what was actually found in or around the wreck, other than loving description of the gold, which, let's face it, was more of interest to the investors in the salvaging than to us. Was this possibly for obscure issues of legally-oriented confidentiality, as the preface hints? If so, one cannot help but wonder why this hasn't been an issue with TITANIC. Unfortunately, I felt let down by this book on this score despite what a riproaring tale it certainly is; I STILL wonder what survived the decades under the sea.

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Summary: A wonderful story well told.
Review: Two compelling stories --the sinking of the Central American and the search for and recovery of its treasure. Tommy Thompson is an American original, and the author does a wonderful job helping us understand him and his quest.