Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Cus
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Pocket (1990), 373 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:On orders from the Pentagon, marine explorer Dirk Pitt must salvage crucial material from the world's most infamous maritime disaster in this novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series. The President's secret task force has developed an unprecedented defensive weapon that relies on an extremely rare radioactive element�??and Dirk Pitt has followed a twisted trail to a secret cache of the substance. Now, racing against brutal storms, Soviet spies, and a ticking clock, Pitt begins his most thrilling mission�??to raise from its watery grave the shipwreck of the cent
Media reviews
myself
you can not go wrong with ANY of the dirk pitt books!great adventure
Subjects
Original publication date
1976-10
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member gschattgen
For my summer reading I read Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler. I enjoyed reading this book as I have for all of the other books by this author. They provide me with the sense of adventure and excitement that I crave in a good book.
I have enjoyed coming to know the characters of Clussler’s
I liked this book because it was about the greatest ship wreck of all time the Titanic. The story itself starts eight years before the actual wreck of the Titanic was discovered. I liked that in this book almost all of the ideas and action is realistic and not made on some Hollywood scene.
Cussler has always managed to come up with a unique story for each of his books though they carry similar themes. They have always been distinctly different from each other. I liked how Cussler has managed to mix together important events in history with current time. He has always been able to successfully spin a creative tale encompassing multiple sides and ideals. I like that Cussler’s books don’t have a specific order sometimes it is better to read one book before the other, but in most cases you can just pick up any of his books and start to read it with little to no advance information.
I found it to be an interesting read with many cliffhangers, even in the end of the book Cussler manages to leave you waiting for the next adventure of his companions. I like how Cussler has made it so that he somehow plays an important role in his characters development and in their lives. He has been able to make himself as much a part of the book as the book is part of him. I eagerly await finding one of his books to see what interesting adventures it has in store.
While I understand that actually raising the Titanic is impossible, I found it interesting to see what it would take to actually raise a ship that size and in that condition. I thought it was good that the Titanic actually finished her maiden voyage even if it was eighty years late. I like how Cussler has made his National Underwater and Marine Association (NUMA) into a reality and is doing similar things in that line of work as he does in his books. What he tries to do on paper he has turned in to a reality and not many people can say that they have accomplished such a task.
If you were looking for a book that combined history and suspense together, I would recommend Clive Clussler and any of his books. Although some of his stories have been made into movies, I still enjoy sitting down with a great book. It is more fun to imagine how I think it looks than how Hollywood thinks it should unfold. I hope that Mr. Clussler continues to mix history and a good adventure for many years to come!
I have enjoyed coming to know the characters of Clussler’s
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books and how they interact and rely on each other; even when they are not aware that the others are with them. Dirk Pitt is the main character of this book. I have come to love his optimistic belief that everything is going to work out and somehow he always manages to survive the worst things imaginable.I liked this book because it was about the greatest ship wreck of all time the Titanic. The story itself starts eight years before the actual wreck of the Titanic was discovered. I liked that in this book almost all of the ideas and action is realistic and not made on some Hollywood scene.
Cussler has always managed to come up with a unique story for each of his books though they carry similar themes. They have always been distinctly different from each other. I liked how Cussler has managed to mix together important events in history with current time. He has always been able to successfully spin a creative tale encompassing multiple sides and ideals. I like that Cussler’s books don’t have a specific order sometimes it is better to read one book before the other, but in most cases you can just pick up any of his books and start to read it with little to no advance information.
I found it to be an interesting read with many cliffhangers, even in the end of the book Cussler manages to leave you waiting for the next adventure of his companions. I like how Cussler has made it so that he somehow plays an important role in his characters development and in their lives. He has been able to make himself as much a part of the book as the book is part of him. I eagerly await finding one of his books to see what interesting adventures it has in store.
While I understand that actually raising the Titanic is impossible, I found it interesting to see what it would take to actually raise a ship that size and in that condition. I thought it was good that the Titanic actually finished her maiden voyage even if it was eighty years late. I like how Cussler has made his National Underwater and Marine Association (NUMA) into a reality and is doing similar things in that line of work as he does in his books. What he tries to do on paper he has turned in to a reality and not many people can say that they have accomplished such a task.
If you were looking for a book that combined history and suspense together, I would recommend Clive Clussler and any of his books. Although some of his stories have been made into movies, I still enjoy sitting down with a great book. It is more fun to imagine how I think it looks than how Hollywood thinks it should unfold. I hope that Mr. Clussler continues to mix history and a good adventure for many years to come!
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LibraryThing member Bridgey
Raise the Titanic - Clive Cussler ****
This is a typical Cussler offering featuring his hero, the hard drinking, womanising tough guy, Dirk Pitt. When the Titanic sank it dragged with it to the murky depths an extra secret in the form of a mineral mined in the depths of Russia. Fast forward several
What follows is an adventure story set over a number of continents and time periods. As usual the plot is extremely far fetched (at times unbelievable) but as long you can accept this then the pages disappear at a rate of knots. This is one of those novels where as long as you don't get too bogged down in the detail you will find yourself lost in the plot and enjoy the journey.
Some people may be put off by the obvious sexism and macho attitudes, but for me, a Cussler book just wouldn't be the same without them. This is Pitt's fourth outing and is probably the first novel to really hold together a fairly intricate plot. I like reading series in order, but it isn't really that necessary with the Pitt books, so this could well be the ideal place to get an introduction to the author.
This is a typical Cussler offering featuring his hero, the hard drinking, womanising tough guy, Dirk Pitt. When the Titanic sank it dragged with it to the murky depths an extra secret in the form of a mineral mined in the depths of Russia. Fast forward several
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decades and the USA government find that they now need this material to ensure their safety and dominance in the cold war with Russia. A plan is hatched to 'Raise the Titanic' but with international politics rearing its head and saboteurs lurking in every shadow will the mission be a success?What follows is an adventure story set over a number of continents and time periods. As usual the plot is extremely far fetched (at times unbelievable) but as long you can accept this then the pages disappear at a rate of knots. This is one of those novels where as long as you don't get too bogged down in the detail you will find yourself lost in the plot and enjoy the journey.
Some people may be put off by the obvious sexism and macho attitudes, but for me, a Cussler book just wouldn't be the same without them. This is Pitt's fourth outing and is probably the first novel to really hold together a fairly intricate plot. I like reading series in order, but it isn't really that necessary with the Pitt books, so this could well be the ideal place to get an introduction to the author.
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LibraryThing member silva_44
One of my favorite Cussler novels. If only the Titanic had been found intact and raised!
LibraryThing member bronwyn52
it,s a good book even though it is fiction about an attempt to raise the titanic because of a rare substance supposedly hidden inside the ship, and it has excitement, adventure, and romance all the way through. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a mixture of fiction, non fiction,
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adventure, and excitement thrown in Show Less
LibraryThing member MontglaneChess
As an arms race heats up, adventurer Dirk Pitt races the clock to raise the H.M.S. Titanic in order to secure a mineral that stands between the United States and possible destruction. Set predominantly with an engaging crew of characters on the high seas, the parallel plot takes Pitt along the
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trail of the original miners in order to locate the shipment before the Russians. In an eerily precognitive salvage mission, Pitt dives on the Titanic in order to retrieve a valuable mineral that would fuel a national defense system. After a successful salvage, Pitt and the crew are ambushed en route to New York by black op enemy forces determined to either highjack the ship and its precious cargo or send it to its final resting place! When the Titanic finally completes its maiden voyage against all odds, a weary Pitt discovers that the shipment never made it to the doomed ocean liner’s hold. Millions of dollars gone and the clock still racing, Pitt revisits several clues that lead to the true resting place of the miracle mineral. Friendship, teamwork, and patriotism combine for a breathtaking action adventure that is sure to enthrall teens and adults alike. Show Less
LibraryThing member miyurose
This is the best Dirk Pitt novel I've read yet! It was written 9 years before the Titanic was actually discovered by Robert Ballard (whose JASON organization I actually interned for once upon a time), so it was interesting to see how Cussler envisioned it (especially since he didn't yet know that
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the ship was in two pieces). I'm used to there being some big bad evil conglomerate in Cussler's books, but the biggest, baddest evil in this book was the weather! The only thing I would dock this book for is the way Cussler writes women. I hate the way he writes women and about women at this stage in his career. It's very chauvinistic, and it seems like every flaw a woman character has is entirely due to her gender. Thankfully, he seems to move past that in later years. I can see why they tried to make a movie of this. Too bad they screwed it up! There could have been a Dirk Pitt franchise that rivaled James Bond. Show Less
LibraryThing member EastHamptonLibrary
Great Clive Cussler story. The book is better than the film version. There was so much material that is in the book that is not used in the film. Dirk Pitt goes to great lengths to get the Titanic raised, in order to find the needed chemical compound that may still be on board. A++++ Highly
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recommended Show Less
LibraryThing member 5hrdrive
I've read a lot of books since I first read Raise the Titanic over thirty years ago. It's mildly entertaining, but doesn't hold up well to the passage of time. Honestly, all the characters are cartoonish and the main plot (besides being pointless) is way too simplistic.
LibraryThing member TriciaDM
I thought this was a good book, a little longer then the other cussler books I have read, but well worth it. The story just never stopped which was fun in some ways and dragging in others. I read it along with a couple of other books, which I normally do, but this was the type of book that needs to
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be read alone. Worth the read! Show Less
LibraryThing member starkravingmad
Given it's popularity, expected much better. Interesting plot but shallow on the details. Painfully naive on the mechanics of the central event of the plot - raising the Titanic. Naval Architects and Marine Engineers shudder.
LibraryThing member drmaf
My favourite Cussler by a long way. Apart from my lifelong interest in the Titanic, its a cracking read, albeit complete codswallop. Pace is frenetic, there's a satisfying supply of baddies (read, Russians), even a dash of hot sex. For a Titanicphile, there are two moments in the book that resonate
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with real emotion for me - when the ship returns to the surface, and when it makes port in New York. those two moments make the book and they are so well-written they still make hair stand up on back of my neck and bring a lump to my throat. Just for those two moment alone, encompassing every Titanic buff's fantasies, this is a 5 star book. Show Less
LibraryThing member pre20cenbooks
I periodically like an action story ("good" guy vs "bad" guy) with some, intrigue, travel, struggle for survival and historical fiction tied into, with a style of writing that does not bog down with too much detail, just enough to get into the characters mind and at time predict their actions, and
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at times be surprised at their choice of actions. I gave up Clancy novels because too much profanity. I hope Mr. Cussler will continue to keep the profanity low, which in my opinion is intelligence and will keep me reading and reviewing one of his earlier stories at least twice a year. I wonder when someone will make his stories into movies? Show Less
LibraryThing member wyn
Easy to read adventure story with the usual continual twists, some of which are totally unbelievable. You therefore need to see this book for what it is i.e. a casual relaxing read with a superhero type main character which will be enjoyed but did not find Cussler as gripping as his contempories
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like Clancy or Ludlum. Show Less
LibraryThing member atreic
This is a terrible terrible book. Implausible, unlikable characters, a book that is very much of its time in so many ways, and I'm so glad we are no longer in that time. I found the 'struggling marriage because he is busy with his top secret work' plot particularly frustrating and unrealistic,
On the other hand, there is no way you can not be moved as the ghost hulk of the wreckage of the Titanic sails finally into New York Harbour. Or as she sails through the storm, bearing down on the tugs that try to save her in the hurricane. Or when the Russians try to humiliate our heroine, just to have her go 'yep, I look darn hot naked, deal with it'. Or when our heroes are trapped in a slowly filling submarine, on the bottom of the ocean floor, and the only way to save them is to raise the Titanic. A terrible book, but with some truly glorious moments
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possibly because it had so much potential to be more interesting than it was. And gah, the twist at the end invalidates the whole thing!On the other hand, there is no way you can not be moved as the ghost hulk of the wreckage of the Titanic sails finally into New York Harbour. Or as she sails through the storm, bearing down on the tugs that try to save her in the hurricane. Or when the Russians try to humiliate our heroine, just to have her go 'yep, I look darn hot naked, deal with it'. Or when our heroes are trapped in a slowly filling submarine, on the bottom of the ocean floor, and the only way to save them is to raise the Titanic. A terrible book, but with some truly glorious moments
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LibraryThing member MsBeautiful
Adventure/Thriller, Fun to listen to on tape or cd, one of my favorites of his
LibraryThing member Razinha
Context is everything...and should probably be considered when re-reading early Cussler books. He might have thought he was crafting a strong female character, must he was sexist through and through in attempting it. Think 20 something male and a culture of Hugh Hefner in the 70s with an underwater
As this was just his third novel, Cussler had yet to perfect his maddening habit of having his characters voice the things that most people would just think to themselves, but the seeds were here. I must not have noticed thirty years ago that he called the military head of the Navy the "Navy Chief of Staff" - it's "Chief of Naval Operations"...the other is an Army or Air Force term - odd mistake for someone so wrapped up in the sea in real life.
Despite his characters being caricatures and his plots formulaic, for whatever reason, I like his books. I still have a fascination with Titanic, due in some part to this book.
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James Bond who never fails to get the girl, even in the most remote environments and you'll get the picture. As this was just his third novel, Cussler had yet to perfect his maddening habit of having his characters voice the things that most people would just think to themselves, but the seeds were here. I must not have noticed thirty years ago that he called the military head of the Navy the "Navy Chief of Staff" - it's "Chief of Naval Operations"...the other is an Army or Air Force term - odd mistake for someone so wrapped up in the sea in real life.
Despite his characters being caricatures and his plots formulaic, for whatever reason, I like his books. I still have a fascination with Titanic, due in some part to this book.
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LibraryThing member LeslitGS
The top-secret Meta Section think tank funded by the President through even more secret means is madly striving to produce a new super-secret [as well as super-sonic] defense project before the President's last 18 months are up and the department disappears. The two men heading the project hurl
[Warning: This is complete hogwash because my brain isn't functioning on a proper level so I'm just kind of going to babble about the book and play it off as a review...not even. It's just babble.]
This will probably be the last Cussler novel I read for a while, for numerous reasons. One is that I have a lot of new books and a lot of books on the 'to read' list [which suddenly includes Lord of the Rings, since I picked up The Hobbit on a whim...I like LotR, but I absolutely adore The Hobbit.]. Another is that, reading a book about the raising of the great ocean liner that was written before she was found kind of messed with my relatively inflexible sense of reality. First of all, hello, the ship was broken into two humungoid pieces. Not knowing this, Cussler wrote her in whole. Yes, it shows a blatant reluctance to suspend my disbelief, but there was something off about this book. I know it seems kind of mean to say this, but the Dirk Pitt series is basically a 'Dirk Pitt is cool' series, which is totally acceptable. I know that they aren't Tolstoy or Dickens, or some other piece of historical literature, but even for being what they were, this book seemed largely unbalanced. We don't even see the titular character of the series, not really, until several dozen pages in, and we're following a couple of people around that aren't the characters we've grown to know and love. I can handle some twists in a series, but I did not care for these.
The main reason, however, is that I finished the book and spent the rest of the day mad at Dirk because I thought he was a moral upstanding knight-in-white-armor kind of 'I rock the world' hero...sure, he kills people and does spy stuff...but seriously. Did he have to sleep with a married woman? I understand that it makes no sense to impose a morality upon a fictional character written by someone who might have a completely opposing sense of morality, but I guess I found myself doing this. Consequently, I was disappointed in the action and the attitude with which he handled some aftermath and decided that I need a break from silly manslut heroes. Pardon the phrase.
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themselves in for the long run, following a trail of clues that lead them to find that the only stash of the rare byzanium needed to power the defense is located several thousand feet beneath the sea in, as the title would imply, the Titanic. [insert dramatic chord] It is up to Dirk and Sandecker, along with the others at NUMA to raise the old beast and get her into port before the Russians have a chance to either steal the byzanium or down the ship. [Warning: This is complete hogwash because my brain isn't functioning on a proper level so I'm just kind of going to babble about the book and play it off as a review...not even. It's just babble.]
This will probably be the last Cussler novel I read for a while, for numerous reasons. One is that I have a lot of new books and a lot of books on the 'to read' list [which suddenly includes Lord of the Rings, since I picked up The Hobbit on a whim...I like LotR, but I absolutely adore The Hobbit.]. Another is that, reading a book about the raising of the great ocean liner that was written before she was found kind of messed with my relatively inflexible sense of reality. First of all, hello, the ship was broken into two humungoid pieces. Not knowing this, Cussler wrote her in whole. Yes, it shows a blatant reluctance to suspend my disbelief, but there was something off about this book. I know it seems kind of mean to say this, but the Dirk Pitt series is basically a 'Dirk Pitt is cool' series, which is totally acceptable. I know that they aren't Tolstoy or Dickens, or some other piece of historical literature, but even for being what they were, this book seemed largely unbalanced. We don't even see the titular character of the series, not really, until several dozen pages in, and we're following a couple of people around that aren't the characters we've grown to know and love. I can handle some twists in a series, but I did not care for these.
The main reason, however, is that I finished the book and spent the rest of the day mad at Dirk because I thought he was a moral upstanding knight-in-white-armor kind of 'I rock the world' hero...sure, he kills people and does spy stuff...but seriously. Did he have to sleep with a married woman? I understand that it makes no sense to impose a morality upon a fictional character written by someone who might have a completely opposing sense of morality, but I guess I found myself doing this. Consequently, I was disappointed in the action and the attitude with which he handled some aftermath and decided that I need a break from silly manslut heroes. Pardon the phrase.
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LibraryThing member jbarr5
Raise the Titanic! by Clive Cussler
Book starts out in 1900's and it's the night of the sinking Titanic where a man aboard knows the ship hit the iceberg and will sink as he goes to where he's stored the element that was mined that will be needed for future war projects.
Story follows a lot of
There is so much action and adventure, never mind the mystery surrounding it all. Bit of romance and you have a well rounded book for everybody.
Byzantium is the special mineral that everybody wants a piece of. two month submersible that can stay under water for more than 2 months time might just be the answer they need to get the minerals.
Thing that amazes me is that this book was written before they even located the Titanic so this is quite the story about it all.
Just when things are on an even keel a hurricane is in the area...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Book starts out in 1900's and it's the night of the sinking Titanic where a man aboard knows the ship hit the iceberg and will sink as he goes to where he's stored the element that was mined that will be needed for future war projects.
Story follows a lot of
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different groups: one who finds the horn-the horn that was played on the Titantic, Sicilian project, money paid to survivors from miners who died in the past, other private groups that are funded from the government, the President who pursuades others to do things they don't really want to do and a lot more in different countries.There is so much action and adventure, never mind the mystery surrounding it all. Bit of romance and you have a well rounded book for everybody.
Byzantium is the special mineral that everybody wants a piece of. two month submersible that can stay under water for more than 2 months time might just be the answer they need to get the minerals.
Thing that amazes me is that this book was written before they even located the Titanic so this is quite the story about it all.
Just when things are on an even keel a hurricane is in the area...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
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LibraryThing member mattries37315
Deep in the North Atlantic is the rarest radioactive mineral on the planet that can power a strategically redefining missile defense shield, the problem is that it’s in vault of the most famous shipwreck in history. Raise the Titanic! is the third published book of Clive Cussler’s series
A secret U.S. government think tank, Meta Section, sends a mineralogist to Novaya Zemlya in the Soviet Union to look for byzanium that will power their new antiballistic missile defense system. Unfortunately the scientist is discovered by Soviet security until he’s saved by Dirk Pitt whose “interference” of Meta Section’s plan upsets its chief, Dr. Gene Seagram who is married to a NUMA colleague of Pitt’s. The mineralogist how has both good and bad news, Novaya Zemlya does have byzanium but only a tiny fraction that did because it was mined earlier in the century by Americans from Colorado. Gene Seagram and his closest friend in Meta Section begin hunting down this new lead while Captain Prevlov of Soviet Naval Intelligence begins investigating the American incursion of Soviet territory both the recent and newly discovered mine from the turn of the century. Meanwhile Gene Seagram’s quest to get his secret project completed results in his wife Dana leaving him just as he learns that large amount of byzanium was found on Novaya Zemlya by Coloradan miners who spirited from Russia to Britain and loaded it on the Titanic. Gene Seagram finds Pitt and convinces him to lead the salvaging of the shipwreck. Over the course of the salvage, both American and Soviet intelligence agencies have a shadowy back and forth that Pitt only learns about close to the end of salvage which comes to a dramatic end when they raise it to save one of their submersibles. In preparing to tow the now risen Titanic, Pitt and crew learn that a mid-May formed hurricane is barreling towards them which for Prevlov is prefect for his plan to steal the ship and its “secret” cargo. Prevlov and his strike force board the Titanic while it’s in the eye of the hurricane and take the crew hostage, save Pitt, who confronts the Soviet captain before several minutes before Navy SEALS take out the Soviet soldiers except for Prevlov. The Titanic makes arrives in New York to fanfare, but Meta Section and NUMA learn that their efforts were for not because in the ship’s vault were only boxes of normal stones. Gene Seagram, who had slowly been losing his sanity, has a complete nervous breakdown and attacks the mummified remains of the last American miner who by coincidence was also insane by the time he boarded Titanic. Pitt travels to Scotland and makes his way across Britain until he finds a tiny village where one of the American miners was buried, with the bzyanium thus allowing the U.S. to create its missile defense system.
Written almost a decade before the Titanic was discovered, in two pieces, Cussler writes an intriguing narrative of underwater discovery and salvage with some nice Cold War intrigue thrown in. The main plot was basically really fun to read even with the knowledge that Cussler’s details were wrong in every regard to the shipwreck. While the Soviet spy subplot was completely fine as was Gene Seagram’s slow mental breakdown, the other subplots in the book were complete trash. First was Dana Seagram’s independent woman angle in which was asserted herself and also bashed women’s liberation (which went hand on hand with the usual chauvinistic streak of these early books), the second was the President of the United States being persuaded by the CIA and NIA to let Meta Section’s secret project get leaked to the Soviets which was completely unrealistic (even in a story about raising the Titanic!). Even with those I would have been fine, but Cussler for some reason had Pitt bed Dana Seagram after going the majority of the book seemingly like the Pitt later in the series.
Raise the Titanic! for the most part is a good book, which could have been better, but it’s better than The Mediterranean Caper and Iceberg especially since Dirk isn’t a complete jerk. Cussler did write a solid main plot, but the biggest problems were some of the subplots which undermined the work plus some poor decisions around Pitt close to the end. However, after Pacific Vortex this is the best early Pitt book so far.
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featuring Dirk Pitt, who accepts the challenge to bring the most famous shipwreck in history only to find himself in the middle of a shadowy Cold War encounter in the middle of a hurricane.A secret U.S. government think tank, Meta Section, sends a mineralogist to Novaya Zemlya in the Soviet Union to look for byzanium that will power their new antiballistic missile defense system. Unfortunately the scientist is discovered by Soviet security until he’s saved by Dirk Pitt whose “interference” of Meta Section’s plan upsets its chief, Dr. Gene Seagram who is married to a NUMA colleague of Pitt’s. The mineralogist how has both good and bad news, Novaya Zemlya does have byzanium but only a tiny fraction that did because it was mined earlier in the century by Americans from Colorado. Gene Seagram and his closest friend in Meta Section begin hunting down this new lead while Captain Prevlov of Soviet Naval Intelligence begins investigating the American incursion of Soviet territory both the recent and newly discovered mine from the turn of the century. Meanwhile Gene Seagram’s quest to get his secret project completed results in his wife Dana leaving him just as he learns that large amount of byzanium was found on Novaya Zemlya by Coloradan miners who spirited from Russia to Britain and loaded it on the Titanic. Gene Seagram finds Pitt and convinces him to lead the salvaging of the shipwreck. Over the course of the salvage, both American and Soviet intelligence agencies have a shadowy back and forth that Pitt only learns about close to the end of salvage which comes to a dramatic end when they raise it to save one of their submersibles. In preparing to tow the now risen Titanic, Pitt and crew learn that a mid-May formed hurricane is barreling towards them which for Prevlov is prefect for his plan to steal the ship and its “secret” cargo. Prevlov and his strike force board the Titanic while it’s in the eye of the hurricane and take the crew hostage, save Pitt, who confronts the Soviet captain before several minutes before Navy SEALS take out the Soviet soldiers except for Prevlov. The Titanic makes arrives in New York to fanfare, but Meta Section and NUMA learn that their efforts were for not because in the ship’s vault were only boxes of normal stones. Gene Seagram, who had slowly been losing his sanity, has a complete nervous breakdown and attacks the mummified remains of the last American miner who by coincidence was also insane by the time he boarded Titanic. Pitt travels to Scotland and makes his way across Britain until he finds a tiny village where one of the American miners was buried, with the bzyanium thus allowing the U.S. to create its missile defense system.
Written almost a decade before the Titanic was discovered, in two pieces, Cussler writes an intriguing narrative of underwater discovery and salvage with some nice Cold War intrigue thrown in. The main plot was basically really fun to read even with the knowledge that Cussler’s details were wrong in every regard to the shipwreck. While the Soviet spy subplot was completely fine as was Gene Seagram’s slow mental breakdown, the other subplots in the book were complete trash. First was Dana Seagram’s independent woman angle in which was asserted herself and also bashed women’s liberation (which went hand on hand with the usual chauvinistic streak of these early books), the second was the President of the United States being persuaded by the CIA and NIA to let Meta Section’s secret project get leaked to the Soviets which was completely unrealistic (even in a story about raising the Titanic!). Even with those I would have been fine, but Cussler for some reason had Pitt bed Dana Seagram after going the majority of the book seemingly like the Pitt later in the series.
Raise the Titanic! for the most part is a good book, which could have been better, but it’s better than The Mediterranean Caper and Iceberg especially since Dirk isn’t a complete jerk. Cussler did write a solid main plot, but the biggest problems were some of the subplots which undermined the work plus some poor decisions around Pitt close to the end. However, after Pacific Vortex this is the best early Pitt book so far.
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
action-adventure, maritime, suspense
I missed this one when it was originally published, but I'm very glad that I hunted it down! Lots of plot twists and rescues by Pitt, but never boring! I loved it, but then I admit to being a Clive Cussler addict.
I missed this one when it was originally published, but I'm very glad that I hunted it down! Lots of plot twists and rescues by Pitt, but never boring! I loved it, but then I admit to being a Clive Cussler addict.
LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
This book was early Cussler and it shows. Nevertheless, he manages to piece together a story that is still palatable for the reader for what it is. Dirk Pitt seems a little static in this one, and the minor characters do not offer as much as in other Cussler novels, but this was a success of an
2.75 stars.
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early effort and I still think it's worth reading- especially for Cussler/thriller fans.2.75 stars.
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LibraryThing member debs4jc
Dirk Pitt is introduced as a B/A marine artifact hunter who is tasked with raising the Titanic because some sort of secret element was stored on it that can be used by the top secret NUMA to defeat the enemies of the US. Very old school, action movie type plotting with very sterotypical macho male
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type characters. If you are at all a feminist this book will not be your cup of tea. Good for some thrills but definitely dated. Show Less
LibraryThing member jeffome
Took this on a recent camping trip on an island off the coast of Maine....and i pounded it out in a day.....the story grabbed me and although there were multiple aspects that fit into the 'unbelievability realm', I found i did not really care. It is a fascinating ride that made me conjure up images
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and impressions of the story as it was happening......just trying to imagine being there. Of course there was the usual sappy love-stuff that only seems to slow things down for me, but i guess that is necessary for broad-based success. This is the 3rd Dirk Pitt I have read and i look forward to many more. Show Less
LibraryThing member breic
I opened this book for nostalgia's sake, looking for a good adventure story. But the ludicrously implausible plot ruined my enjoyment. From stumbling across the Titanic wreck on their first dive, to raising the Titanic with no difficulties, to then sailing the raised wreck straight through a
I chose this book because I know that Cussler had an interest in maritime archeology. However, perhaps that interest only developed later on, because there's no evidence of it here. The rampant sexism is also rather hard to take.
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hurricane… I can't even. And despite the title, the Titanic is raised "off screen," while Dirk Pitt is elsewhere. I chose this book because I know that Cussler had an interest in maritime archeology. However, perhaps that interest only developed later on, because there's no evidence of it here. The rampant sexism is also rather hard to take.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
Dirk and his trusty sidekick have to stop enemies from getting to something in the Titanic and prevent it from being gotten at forever. Deep sea excitement with a James Bond type of suspense. Don't read it because it is plausible, just enjoy the ride. Good action adventure.
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373