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Shipwrecks and Sunken Treasure
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Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea / by Gary Kinder

In 1857, the Central America, a sidewheel steamer ferrying passengers fresh from the gold rush of California, laden with 21 tons of California gold, encounters a severe storm well off the Carolinas and sinks, carrying 400 passengers and her treasure with her. She was gone for 132 years--until 1989, when a vessel sailed into Norfolk, VA, fat with a billion dollars in salvaged gold coins, bullion and artifacts. This is the story of Central America's sinking, Tommy Thompson, the man who raised her treasures from over 8,000 feet down, and how he did it. The story of the steamer's sinking alone is compelling enough to make any reader wonder why the Central America sinking isn't synonymous with "shipwreck" in this Titanic-happy age.



America's Lost Treasure by Thomas G. Thompson, Tommy Thompson

This is THE best gold salvage book of all time. With 250 color photos and illustrations, "America's Lost Treasure" chronicles the sinking and recovery of the Central America, the Ship of Gold. It is the coffee-table companion to Gary Kinder's "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea", and neither book is really complete without the other. The awesome pictures are exactly what the numismatic world has been clamoring for since the discovery of the SS Central America first hit the news in 1988. The lavish use of 19th century pictures, drawings, and accounts of the sailing and sinking of the SS Central America add to the records of the search and salvage of her wreck. But far the most impressive thing in this book are the stunning pictures of the tons of gold coins and bars both scattered on the deep ocean floor and arranged for display after recovery.



Atlas of Shipwrecks & Treasure: The History, Location, and Treasures of Ships Lost at Sea / by Nigel Pickford

Defining a treasure ship broadly as "any ship used to transport a high-value cargo of precious metals or artifacts that do not lose their value when immersed for long periods in salt water," Pickford, a professional shipwreck researcher, provides illuminating text set in a sea of illustrations. The result is a book that is a fine starting point for shipwreck research as well as a browsable coffee-table book, because of the graphics for which Dorling Kindersley is esteemed. The first part, "Shipwrecks," examines 40 significant shipwrecks in two-page spreads combining text with profuse use of photographs and other illustrations. The book's second main part, "Gazetteer," has two sections: maps and shipwreck listings with basic information on more than 1,400 shipwrecks. Concluding the book are a glossary and a bibliography of about 100 entries each, as well as an index.



The Search for Sunken Treasure : Exploring the World's Great Shipwrecks / by Robert F. Marx, Jenifer Marx

Here are remarkable stories behind the discoveries of famous wrecks from around the world--the HMS Bounty, the Andrea Doria, the Titanic and the Mary Rose--as well as unsung shipwrecks that deserve to be better known. This history of the search for sunken treasures covers the routes that brought treasure-laden ships into peril and the people who have devoted their lives to reaping the spoils. Ancient and modern underwater techniques used in the search for sunken riches are wexplained. Over a hundred photos from seventy shipwrecks are presented in a blend of history and archaeology.



Discovery of the Titanic: Exploring the Greatest of All Lost Ships / by Robert D. Ballard, Rick Archbold, Ken Marschall

Here is the first-hand account of Dr. Ballard's quest to find the Titanic. Including rare archival photos and charts and a 48-page color insert, this volume recounts the Titanic's tragic last night and describes the drama of the expedition that finally found and explored her. Dr. Ballard reveals the ship's location and lays to rest many of its mysteries. Paperback ed.



Lost Liners: From the Titanic to the Andrea Doria the Ocean Floor Reveals It's Greatest Ships / by Robert D. Ballard, Rick Archbold, Ken Marschall

Here is a beautifully illustrated look at these magnificent ships lost beneath the sea. 400 photos and illustrations. Lost Liners presents the most comprehensive and spectacular volume ever--a guided tour encompassing the beginnings, heyday, and eventual decline of the great Atlantic express liners. Ken Marschall's lavish paintings depict the ships in their shining prime as well as in their eerily poignant underwater repose. There are so many books out there which concentrate on boring things such as interiors, but this book gives a summary on the construction, size, appearence, etc., of each ship, then describes the events leading to the sinking. Paperback ed.



Lost Ships: The Discovery and Exploration of the Ocean's Sunken Treasures / by Mensun Bound

Lost Ships is a chronicle of three of the most fascinating adventure stories in maritime history. Lost Ships intertwines the tale of a shipwreck with that of its subsequent discovery. And what a selection of shipwrecks these are. The Mahdia ship that carried the spoils of Sulla's sack of Athens in the first century B.C.E., then sank off North Africa, and was rediscovered in 1993. The Agamemnon, Horatio Nelson's first ship of the line and victor at the Battle of Trafalgar, one of the great line of British ships whose guns defeated French sea power at Trafalgar ... her own destruction in the teeth of a South Atlantic storm ... the salvage of one of those great guns from the bottom of Maldonado Bay. And the Graf Spee, one of Nazi Germany's most powerful warships, scuttled in the River Plate in Uruguay after the most thrilling naval chase of the century.



Explorations: My Quest for Adventure and Discovery Under the Sea / by Robert D. Ballard, Malcolm McConnell

An expert in marine geology and underwater adventurer recounts his greatest discoveries, including the canyons and plateaus of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the wreck of the Bismarck, the lost ships of Guadalcanal, and the remains of the Titanic. Dr. Ballard, a renowned expert on marine geology and ocean physics, is a true modern explorer--the man who discovered the underwater remains of the Titanic. Here, this brave and brilliant adventurer tells the story of his remarkable career and recounts all of his important breakthroughs. With stunning photos and exciting new information, Explorations is an essential contriubtion to scientific and naturalist writing. The eminent scientist and adventurer who discovered the Titanic now recounts the story of his amazing career. With 16 pages of stunning photos and exciting new information, just now declassified, Explorations is an essential contribution to scientific and naturalist writing. Paperback ed.



Shipwrecks: An Encyclopedia of the World's Worst Disasters at Sea / by David Ritchie, Davis Ritchie

Spectacular rescues, cowardly captains, deadly icebergs, mutinies, a nuclear submarine crushed by the depths, ships that sank the moment of launching, and mysterious losses with no survivor to tell what happened are among the dramatic shipwrecks recounted from ancient to modern times. Most of the alphabetical entries are the names of ships, but others explain such topics as reefs, radar, types of boats, and features of shipbuilding. Includes a chronology and a very detailed index.






Lost at Sea
: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries / by Michael Goss, George Behe


Ghost Fleet of the Truk Lagoon / by William Stewart

Easy reading, chock full of history, photos and maps! Stewart brings his first hand knowledge to show the what and why of the Japaneese build-up and demise at Truk Lagoon. For those who don't know, the US bombed, torpedoed, shot and sank about 60 Japaneese ships and hundreds of airplanes in Truk Lagoon during a 48 hour period in February, 1944 in "Operation Hailstone." They're still there, a popular destination for wreck divers.

World War II Wrecks of the Kwajalein and Truk Lagoons / by Dan E. Bailey

This popular book is the result of 5,000 wreck dives spanning a period of 20 years. An historical narrative traces the attacks on the important Japanese naval bases at Kwajalein and Truk. Detailed descriptions and backgrounds are given for the ships, the aircraft, and the wrecks themselves, with the circumstances of their sinking. Superb underwater color images, vintage black and white action photos taken from attacking aircraft, and numerous illustrations and maps cover the wrecks. If you are interested in these wrecks, this is a must buy and read.


Ghost Fleet: The Sunken Ships of Bikini Atoll / by James P. Delgado

In July 1946 fleet of 242 ships, among them some of the most famous of World War II, assembled off the shores of Bikini Atoll, 4,500 miles from San Francisco. There, in a massive military effort dubbed "Operation Crossroads," thousands of scientists and U.S. military personnel gathered to assess the atomic bomb's effect on warships in the world's first nuclear weapons tests. This work weaves the past--as viewed in thousands of pages of declassified documents, black and white newsreels, and hundreds of photographs, as well as interviews with participants in the first atomic bomb tests--with hours spent on the bottom swimming through irradiated and twisted hulks of ships sent to the bottom in 1946. The book is heavily illustrated with historic images as well as compelling photographs of the wrecks. Paperback ed.

Lost at Sea: An American Tragedy / by Patrick Dillon

In February 1983, two crabbing vessels set out from port in Alaskan waters at the peak of crabbing season. Filled to the brim with crab pots, both ships, the Americus and the Altair, were considered state-of-the-art for the industry: each only a few years old, equipped with thousands of dollars' worth of lifesaving equipment. Neither ship returned to port, and none of their 14 crew members was ever seen again. It was the worst commercial fishing accident in America's history.

Beneath the Waters: Guide to Civil War Shipwrecks / by James E. Hemphill

Dangerous Waters : Wrecks and Rescues Off the BC Coast / by Keith Keller

Graveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast / by David Stick, Frank Stick

The Great Lakes Guide to Sunken Ships / by Karl E. Heden



February 27, 1999


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