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When history's most famous pirate, Captain Kidd, was hanged in 1701, he left behind a trail of treasure and treachery that stretched halfway around the world. For undersea explorer Barry Clifford, the biggest prize of all would be to find the Adventure Galley, Kidd's legendary pirate ship. In the world of pirate archaeology, it was the Holy Grail. ... Return to Treasure Island and the Search for Captain Kidd weaves together two exciting stories: the saga of Captain William Kidd, one of history's most baffling and mysterious figures, and Barry Clifford's obsessive quest to find perhaps the most notorious pirate ship of all time. The result is a tale of treasure and adventure that ends in death -- both Kidd's and, three hundred years later, that of a rival archaeologist who attempts to stop Clifford's expedition. --From publisher description.… (more)
User reviews
That was the heart of my response to this book. Part of the book was about glamor archaeology -- the search for the sunken hull of the Adventure Galley, Captain Kidd's ship. The other part was about Kidd himself.
The two really don't fit together. It's too easy to get lost. This
The tale of Captain William Kidd, his privateering voyage, and his execution on what he considered trumped-up charges is fascinating. And it is not very well-documented, simply because so few records were kept. Good archaeology might have filled in at least a few useful details. Sadly, they aren't to be found here. It makes me wonder why Barry Clifford signed on a second writer. He certainly didn't do much for the book. It's really too bad they couldn't start over and do this right.
The history is interesting, and Clifford does a fairly good job
The details of how an archaeological expedition is funded and operated are interesting, but sometimes overly detailed, especially the chapters where they just sit around stewing because of the delay in getting permits to work, although that may be interesting to students of government.
As it happened, the delay was instigated by another archaeologist on the island, in search of a different wreck, who had a long-standing grudge against Clifford (of which he claimed to be unaware), indicating that some of the "Indiana Jones" plotlines are not too far out of line.
The ultimate result of the excavating is somewhat disappointing, even though they do find the wreck that most likely is Kidd's.
One odd note: Kidd is sometimes referred to in histories and other sources as "Robert" Kidd, for some reason.
Research was funded by The Discovery Channel for a TV episode.
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SHELF: 3