Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea

This is a fascinating look back to the sinking of the SS Central America in 1857, and then to the recovery efforts made some 130 years later -- from the fascination with its treasure, to the hunt, and finally the development of technology that made recovery possible, as well as the people involved

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at each moment. Kinder's work is brilliantly crafted, with research that takes readers back to the California Gold Rush and the nearly 600 men and women who boarded the SS Central America, as well as the treasure that they and the craft were carrying and the tragedy that unfolded some 200 miles off of North Carolina. As noted on the book jacket, "It was the worst peacetime disaster at sea in American history, a tragedy that remained lost in legend for over a century."

Moving between the resent and the ship and the hurricane that it fell to in 1857, Kinder manages to bring 130 years' worth of history into sharp relief, examining human failings, human heroics, and science and technology with an expert eye that brings all of it to life. The result is a fascinating story which is as unbelievable as it is true, and utterly worthwhile.

Absolutely recommended.

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Weaves together the tales of a historical shipwreck and the high-tech deep-water search for its treasure.

A marvelous book; a real page turner. Keep the reader's interest through all the 400 + pages.

The publisher needs to revisit the cover and the title. I thought it would be as interesting as reading the Sunday classifieds on first look. However, Kinder has provided a compelling account of one hell of an underwater adventure. I'd never heard of the sinking of Central America, but the tragedy

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is unique in terms of size, history and consequence. The book follows the project to find and salvage the wreckage. It's a great read. It reminded me a little of Shadow Divers, both in terms of the story, the way it's told and the enthusiasm and drive of the protagonists.

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This is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I have read in a long while. Kinder profiles a very unusual, creative mind, that of the engineer who assembled and led a team which revolutionized deep sea studies, and deep water search and recovery technology and law, while locating and

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retrieving from deep underwater a horde of gold and artifacts from a vessel which sunk off Cape Hatteras in 1857.

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Finished it this morning. Had a few pages left and had to read it. last night I could not stop reading. That is what is so amazing about this non fiction book, it sometimes reads as a thriller.
At the start you read about the sinking of the ship and learn more about the people on the boat. Then we

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were in this century and it was about a guy called Tommy. (At first I wasn't sure if i wanted to read any more to be honest but Oh I am so glad I did. Never in my dreams would I expect to like a book that is about technology,oceanology, science and such, but i loved it. I thought it all fascinating, The way he had to get investors, how the machine (nemo) was invented, but especially I loved the way it felt as if i was there. Among all those people who kept on trying and how they had to fight! so many things. wow. Highly recommend!

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The author describes the hunt for a deep sea treasure. It is much more than a treasure hunt - more about the temperament of the leader and how is creative approaches to problems solved many of the "impossible" problems of working in the deep ocean. Fascinating story, but, at times, a bit repetitive.

Wow! What a great book! This book deals with the sinking of the SS Central America and the eventual recovery of it's treasure of gold 130 years later. It's extremely well-written and engrossing. It combines two of my favorite things in the world, the ocean and lost treasure...how could it be bad? I

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highly, highly recommend this book to anyone.

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I'm not an ocean person or a historic-shipwreck person, but this is a really fun read. A neat story that lives in the world of "suddenly possible" in the rapid technologic evolution of the latter half of the 20th century.

Even more interesting is the fate of the main character Tommy Thompson - look

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it up.

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Buried under a morass of details, which others may appreciate more than I, was the saga of the U.S.S. Central America, a paddle steamer bringing folks from the California Gold Rush, in 1857 from Panama with destination New York. A devastating hurricane sunk the ship and only 159 of the 600+ people

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on board were rescued. Captain Herndon went down with his ship and there is a today a memorial to him at Annapolis. Also was the story of Tommy Thompson of Ohio, an eccentric scientist and inventor, who was in charge of its deep sea salvage of all the personal objects and gold that had been on board. We follow how Tommy and his team obtain funding, find the coordinates where the ship had gone down, find a suitable boat to use and from it to do their recovery ln 1988. Fascinating look at deep sea exploration, not only of old ships and their contents but the discovery of previously unknown species of sea life. It was much too detailed for my taste. There was a drawing of the ship but no index and no map of the route taken. I regret the lack of both.

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Very enjoyable book, though I felt it was overly long. It was a bit of a slog early on with all the stories of the various passengers. Same for some of the periods spent while Tommy Thompson and his crew were on the sea. Some deeper editing might have made it more enjoyable from that standpoint,

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but the author did a good job of conveying the feeling of being on the Central America in 1857 as well as being on the recovery ships in the 1980's. As I got deeper and deeper into the story, it was very hard to put down and stop reading. And I loved sharing bits of the story with friends. Tommy Thompson is a fascinating character, and an inspiring one as well. Also, learning some of the history about the 1849 California gold rush and the options people had then to join it was similarly enlightening.

It's a bit surprising that this book and its story have never been made into a movie. To me, all of the elements are there: interesting characters, history, a treasure hunt, good guys vs bad guys, legal drama, battles with the elements, and a good ending. Maybe some day ...

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In 1857 the steamship Central America, loaded to the brim with gold from the California gold rush, sank off the coast of North Carolina. 130 years later, Tommy Thompson, brilliant scientist and treasure hunter, put together a team and the technology to locate the Central America and succeeded.
The

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story alternates between the sinking of the ship and the few survivors and the modern story of locating the ship and the treasure.

Unfortunately, halfway through the book, I looked up what happened to Thompson to discover that his impeccable reputation (as depicted in the book) was in tatters and that he had stiffed his investors and was presently rotting in jail because he will not release or admit to having the funds from the sale of the gold.

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Non-fiction account of the wreck of the Central America in 1857 and the search, spearheaded by inventor and creative thinker Tommy Thompson, for her wreckage in the deep water of the Atlantic Ocean 130 years later. The book is divided into sections, with the first focusing on the experience of the

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passengers and crew aboard the Central America, the second on the early life of Tommy Thompson, and the third on the development of the technology to search for, locate, and recover artifacts. Did I mention the ship was laden with gold acquired during the California Gold Rush?

This book is so much more than a description of a “treasure hunt.” It is one of the most harrowing accounts of a ship’s sinking I have ever read. The author has done an excellent job of reconstructing the events from source material of the time. Even though I knew the eventual outcome, I felt invested in the tale and was rooting for them to overcome the elements and stay afloat. This section was outstanding!

When we get to Tommy Thompson’s early life, it slows down a bit. It laid the groundwork, though, and I think was necessary to tell the entire story of the recovery. Thompson is a creative thinker, inventor, and scientist. At the time (1980’s) the technology to work in deep water was in its infancy and this book shows how Thompson developed a team, pushed boundaries, designed equipment, and raised funds to do what was then considered impossible.

The section on the search and recovery takes the reader into the wide-ranging disciplines required to succeed in this high-risk high-reward endeavor, including engineering, probability theories, risk management, maritime law, fund-raising, teamwork, communications, and fending off the competition. It also covers the history of salvage operations as of the date of publication (1998). This section of the book is for people that like details. Kinder sometimes inserts a bit too much technical jargon and extensive descriptions for my taste, taking away from his main points. The author also seems a bit taken with Thompson to the point of excusing some rather questionable behavior. Overall, though, if you are looking for “non-fiction that reads like fiction,” this story fits the bill.

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I think what impressed me most is that while depending on the treasure aspect for funding the whole project Tommy Thompson was excited by what could be learned, both technically from working at that depth, but also scientifically and archaeologically by doing it right.