Download Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea Audio, Cassette – Abridged, Audiobook

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea Audio, Cassette – Abridged, Audiobook

Author: Visit Amazon's Gary Kinder Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0375403469 | Format: EPUB

Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea Audio, Cassette – Abridged, Audiobook Description

Amazon.com Review

The full horror as the mighty Central American, a ship carrying almost 600 people and a wealth of gold, sank in a "perfect hurricane" in 1857 is brilliantly re-created in the audio version of Ship of Gold. Gary Kinder's book cries out for audio interpretation due to its abundance of dramatic descriptions from that hellish night. "The hoarse screams of 500 men rose as she began a slow watery spin--the water turning faster and faster and faster until the swirling vortex sucked the men into a suffocating darkness with the once majestic steamer." Bruce Davison delivers Kinder's rich, descriptive narrative with appropriate drama and flair. It is truly a delight to hear this incredible story read out loud. The chilling testimonies of passengers and crew are also convincingly re-enacted by Davison, who assumes the voices of frightened young women, exhausted crew men, and the steadfast voice of the brave Captain Herndon as he fights to keep his ship afloat. Davison is rather soft spoken, which makes for a pleasant listening experience, especially because the tapes run for five hours.

It really is impossible not to become fully engrossed in this fascinating story of a ship's demise, and the subsequent operation to recover her treasure some 130 years later. (Running time: five hours, four cassettes) --Naomi Gesinger

From Publishers Weekly

Enormous publicity surrounded the 1989 recovery of an estimated billion dollars worth of gold?one of the greatest sunken treasures ever found?from the 1857 wreck of the SS Central America. Most of the publicity, however, came from media that, according to the author, "didn't have a clue what it was all about" and centered on the sensational aspects of the find off the Carolina coast. The story of the wreck itself, and the staggering effort it took to locate and recover the treasure, is the subject of Kinder's involving, fully realized history of the ship that amounts to a treasure in itself. He begins with a vivid account of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California, then seamlessly moves into discussions of everything from the ship's departure from San Francisco to nuclear submarine technology to the modern legal mechanics of securing offshore salvage projects. Along the way, Kinder (Victim) introduces the reader to a genuine American archetype?the eccentric Tommy Thompson. The inventor/scientist/adventurer, who led the decade-long "treasure hunt" (a term he despised) from start to finish, is constantly at the center of activity that involves not just finding a wreck 200 miles offshore but the juggling of investors, competitors, lawyers, scientists, a sea captain and an endless cast of cantankerous characters. The reader is thrilled by the thoroughness and intelligence of Thompson's planning and execution, as well as by Kinder's research and writing. This account of discovery, greed, technology and the elements makes for a splendid sea adventure.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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• Product Details
• Table of Contents
• Reviews

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (May 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375403469
• ISBN-13: 978-0375403460
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces

Gary Kinder tells three spell-binding narratives as he describes the search for the SS Central America, a sidewheel steamer which left Panama in 1857 and went down in the Atlantic while carrying gold from California (then valued at over $2 million). First person accounts by some of the survivors tell of the ship's journey, the hurricane which suddenly arose in the Atlantic, and the frantic efforts of crew and passengers to keep the engines fired and the ship afloat. Touching love stories revealed in these accounts give human faces to the drama, as women and children were put into lifeboats while their husbands stayed with the ship.

These survivor accounts alternate with the narrative of the life of young Tommy Thompson, a phenomenally inventive child who grew up in Ohio, studied engineering, became fascinated by the challenges of underwater engineering, and eventually worked for famed treasure hunter Mel Fisher, learning what kind of underwater equipment was needed but not available. In the early 1980s, Thompson, more interested in research than in treasure, decided to search for the SS Central America, with the backing of a group he convinced to underwrite his expedition. As the ship was thought to be in eight thousand feet of water, deeper than had ever been explored, Thompson would succeed only if he could design the necessary equipment.

The third story describes the search for the ship itself, a search which had two false starts before the site was finally located. Kinder develops almost unbearable tension as he describes how Thompson has to fend off rivals who are "treasure hunters," rather than scientists.

This well-research and generally well-written book tells two very different and equally fascinating tales, the sinking of the Steamship Central America in deep water off the Carolinas in 1857, and the efforts by Tommy Thompson to locate and salvage the vessel in 1989. Both stories are skillfully told, and for a book whose outcome is known by reading the book jacket, the suspense remains high.
First, the shipwreck. Anyone who, like myself, had ever visited the U.S. Naval Academy and watched plebes hopelessly trying to climb the impressive Herndon Monument will appreciate the true story of Capt. Herndon and his gallantry aboard the Central America, as he supervised rescue efforts to incredibly save the women and children in the deep Atlantic while valiantly remaining with his ship, laden with Gold Rush loot.
The other half of the story focuses on Thompson, a skilled engineer who managed to do something the United States Navy was unsuccessful doing, namely designing and building a workable, unmanned, deep sea salvage vessel. When one fully learns the difficulties presented in this task, and the monumental odds of even locating the Central America, the achievement becomes truly remarkable.
The book is not without its faults however. First, even though the salvage efforts struck gold in 1989, there were no photographs at all. I would've loved to have at least gotten a glimpse of the treasures brought from the ocean floor. ( I understand Thompson has now written a "coffee table" book which might be read as a companion to Kinder's book, complete with wonderful pictures).

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