The Shipwreck Hunter: A Lifetime of Extraordinary Discoveries on the Ocean Floor

by David L. Mearns Narrated by Dan Woren

Overview

This gripping memoir by the world's foremost marine geologist is an enthralling blend of maritime history, popular science, and Clive Cussler-style adventure.

David L. Mearns has discovered some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. From the mighty battleship HMS Hood, sunk in a pyrrhic duel with the Bismarck, to solving the mystery of HMAS Sydney, to the crumbling wooden skeletons of Vasco da Gama's sixteenth century fleet, Mearns has searched for and found dozens of sunken vessels in every ocean of the world.

The Shipwreck Hunter chronicles his most intriguing finds. It describes the extraordinary techniques used, the detailed research and mid-ocean stamina and courage required to find a wreck thousands of feet beneath the sea, as well as the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies. Combining the adventuring derring-do of Indiana Jones with the precision of a scientist, The Shipwreck Hunter opens an illuminating porthole into the shadowy depths of the ocean.

Editorial Reviews

Booklist

A fascinating view into the process of conducting a marine quest. Whether viewed as occupational inspiration or as a true-life deep-sea Clive Cussler entertainment, Mearns’ chronicle will inform and interest many a reader.

Alexandra Shackleton

In 1916 Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance sank into the icy depths of the Weddell Sea. David Mearns has long wanted to pay tribute to Shackleton by finding his ship. Given David’s amazing track record and outstanding abilities, I am quite sure that one day I will be able to see images of my grandfather’s Endurance, no longer lost.

Science

Mearns’s thoughtful and detailed account chronologically traces each shipwreck, sharing vivid stories of every vessel from design to demise. The rich historical details and singular characters offer at least one chapter for everyone: from the murderous plot aboard MV Lucona to the World War II battles of HMAS Sydney. Equal parts a suspenseful story, a lesson in hard work, and a compelling argument for the modern importance of discovering and documenting shipwrecks.

National Geographic

For Mearns, setting world records and recovering centuries-old treasures is just another day at the office—or ocean, rather.

Clive Cussler

The underwater worlds of past and present collide in the depths of the ocean in this gripping and suspenseful narrative by David Mearns, a true expert on mysteries of the deep sea.

Science

Mearns’s thoughtful and detailed account chronologically traces each shipwreck, sharing vivid stories of every vessel from design to demise. The rich historical details and singular characters offer at least one chapter for everyone: from the murderous plot aboard MV Lucona to the World War II battles of HMAS Sydney. Equal parts a suspenseful story, a lesson in hard work, and a compelling argument for the modern importance of discovering and documenting shipwrecks.

National Geographic

For Mearns, setting world records and recovering centuries-old treasures is just another day at the office—or ocean, rather.

Booklist

A fascinating view into the process of conducting a marine quest. Whether viewed as occupational inspiration or as a true-life deep-sea Clive Cussler entertainment, Mearns’ chronicle will inform and interest many a reader.

Kirkus Reviews

2018-04-04
In his first book to be published in the United States, famed shipwreck hunter Mearns (The Search for the Sydney, 2009, etc.) provides an engrossing collection of his most exciting undersea finds.With stories that would befit an adventure novel, the author recounts seven of his dramatic shipwreck journeys, including a number of famed World War II ships (like the HMS Hood and the HMAS Sydney), a 15th-century vessel belonging to Vasco da Gama's fleet, and commercial freighters featuring sordid histories straight out of a soap opera. Beyond the stories of the ships themselves, Mearns, a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and the Explorers Club, shows how the life of a shipwreck hunter is itself dramatic and fraught with risk. "I have experienced," he writes, "just about every emotion imaginable for a person in charge of such costly and technically complex adventures….Searching for shipwrecks is basically an all-or-nothing proposition, where you either find what you are looking for or go home empty-handed." The chapters are only loosely connected, with little overarching narrative arc, but the author does well to keep his tales highly entertaining and understandable for lay readers. Mearns doesn't ignore the necessary technical detail, but he smartly keeps it to a minimum. At the end, the author includes two ships he'd yet like to find, but one of them—the USS Indianapolis—was located in 2017. While Robert Ballard's 1985 discovery of the Titanic remains the most famous individual shipwreck find (and therefore made him the most famous hunter as well), Mearns deserves a spot in the upper echelon of deep-sea explorers, not only for his work of finding lost wrecks, but also for his continued efforts, along with the oceanographic community, to map the entire ocean floor.A touch overlong but required reading for any maritime enthusiast.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169753943
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/26/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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