Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship

Holy Cow! Kurson seems to have done it again. He's brought back the magic he's had ever since Shadow Divers.Now be forewarned that this book is kind of like a sequel to Shadow Divers (which is a truly fantastic experience to read). This can be read as a stand alone book but their is a synopsis of Shadow Divers included inside Pirate Hunters and reading this book first before Shadow divers might ruin some of the magic and wonder you experience by reading Shadow Divers first and then this one after.Robert Kurson is a fantastic writer and in his books he becomes a conductor of a great symphony that guides your emotions from Sympathy, to Love, to Wonder, and then in a forceful ballad he makes your heart pound throughout a booming Adventure. Each emotion is delivered in a perfect sequence that only a master could craft.Ever since Shadow Divers I have searched for a book that would renew that spirit of Adventure I experienced in reading Kurson's first foray into the Novel world. I searched but came up empty until I saw Pirate Hunters. Now that I've read it I'm saddened that its over and now I have to return to my search.One Critic I would give is that the pictures in the middle of the book kind of spoil the ending, so just don't look at them until after you have read the book. It will give you a better experience.As you can tell, I enjoyed this book immensely. I've passed it on and bought copies for friends and family and every single one of them became just as entranced by the book as I was. So my suggestion to you is buy this book. Buy Shadow Divers.And a note to Robert Kurson:Please keep writing. I like that your books a few and far in between (because it keeps the quality above par) but please get cracking on another adventure. You keep writing and I will keep singing your praises.

..Is confusing. Pirates were modern day thugs killing and stealing so I don’t get the constant compliments by Mattera in particular. With that said, an amazing discovery by 4 guys who refused to give up.

Joseph Bannister, the captain of the <i>Golden Fleece</i>, was one of the most notorious pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy (1650 - 1720). His name isn't as recognizable as some others like Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, or Anne Bonny. Bannister began life as a merchant captain, ferrying cargo between the Caribbean and London. This was a well respected job that earned him a decent salary and would have ended with him retiring comfortably. For reasons unknown he decided to throw all that away, steal his ship, and turn pirate. This is the story of the men who set out to find that ship.John Chatterton and John Mattera are two divers with a penchant for finding lost wrecks. Chatterton is famous for finding the wreck of a German U-Boat right off the coast of New Jersey. That story is told in Kurson's other book "Shadow Divers". The problem with finding pirate ships is that pirates were by their nature very sneaky. They were wanted men with prices on their heads so they didn't exactly broadcast their whereabouts or paint the names of their ships on the hull, despite what movies would have you believe. At the time the search begins only one other pirate ship had ever been found and identified, so the odds of finding this one are very long.The book is great, fast paced, well researched, and full of great information. Not only does it chronicle the long and exhaustive search for the ship. A search that saw Chatterton and Mattera travel around the world hunting for clues and doing research. It also gives you a view into what the life of a pirate would have been like back in the late 1600s.Kurson's "Shadow Divers" is one of my favorite books, "Pirate Hunters" is a fantastic follow up.

Diving and history of pirates

I read this book after having read Shadow Divers because I enjoy Robert Kurson's writing. This is an easy to read historical account and quiet interesting. However, not nearly as compelling ash Shadow Divers. There is a lot of back story on the main characters; however, the accounting of the actual discovery of the sunken pirate vessel seems almost an afterthought in places. I would have appreciated more about the actual salvage and what they found. The book sort gets to the find, and states "and then they salvaged.. the end" .In contrast, the background on pirate history was extremely fascinating and caused me to research piracy a bit more and read additional accounts of the 17th century pirates. Overall worth your time, but not as good as Shadow Divers.

This book is engaging, but it's no "Shadow Divers". For one thing, there's not much plot and the author had to sort of create a narrative and stick in bits of Pirate history to glue it all together. Then the two primary personalities come off pretty badly. One is portrayed as crazy-violent, the other as an obsessed ego-maniac. I guess it's all meant to paint a picture, but it's a little too much personal information for me. The book also ends abruptly, with 97% devoted to a fruitless search and 3% a quick summary of what they found.So although I enjoyed reading it, and made it through to the end. It will not be a keeper and is headed to a used book store shortly.BTW, if you have not read "Shadow Divers", for Pete's Sake go get a copy now! Now that was an extraordinary tale.

Deep dive, pun intended, with apologies, into the time, the hearts, the men and the women who make a living seeking and finding sunken history. A page turner for all who love well written non fiction. Bravo, Mr. Kurson! I look forward to reading your next book(s!)

Like it very much!

Kurson`s previous book "Shadow Divers" told the story of one John Chatterton , who, with a partner, discovered a WW2 German U-boat off the New Jersey coast and their efforts in examining and identifying it.In this book the same Chatterton and his partner John Mattera are engaged in trying to find a sunken pirate ship, the "Golden Fleece", captained by the infamous Joseph Bannister and lying somewhere off the coast of the Dominican Republic.John Mattera`s life would serve as a book in itself, growing up with ties to the Gambino crime family, then a police officer, a covert government agent, bodyguard to the rich and famous, and finally an accomplished diver and researcher into sunken ships.Along with the search for the "Golden Fleece", one also learns of the seventeenth century`s golden age of piracy, life on board a pirate ship, famous captains and sea battles and subsequent discoveries of lost treasure.A fascinating and exciting story of sunken ships and the men who search for them.

nice to reading in the shadow of parasol or sunbathing on the beach during summer vacations in Italy /Tuscany/Viareggio& Versilia.

I felt quite compelled to write a review on this book, my first Amazon review of anything.I read a lot as a youngster, but lost my way with reading books for nearly 20 years. Now at 35 I picked up this book because it featured one of my favourite subjects: Pirates! The fact that it is a work of truth and real history combined with a modern day treasure hunt, and the premise had me hooked immediately.It was the first book in 20 years I just couldn't put down. I powered through it in a couple of days and absolutely loved it. The history was fascinating and the modern day obstacles the guys faced was almost pirate-esque in itself. I cannot speak more highly of how much I enjoyed reading it.Only problem is now, it isn't like a crime thriller where you can just pick up or try another from the genre, it is so specific I don't know where I could find another book of its kind, especially not concerning pirates ;) If anyone has any recommendations for any further reading, please let me know!

A story so gripping, you'd hate putting it down! The story unfolds from one peak to the next taking us on a journey so fantastic that after this story, who needs fiction?The chapter organisation is excellent so you can have the breaks you need at the appropriate places.