Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson will be published on Tuesday, June 16 and Kurson will be attending two local events (details below) on the following Tuesday, June 23rd. Make sure that “X” marks the spot/dates on your calendar!
Roughly a decade ago, Robert Kurson wrote Shadow Divers
about the recovery of a WWII submarine and I have been recommending it ever
since with much positive feedback from student and faculty readers. His new
book, Pirate Hunters, aptly tells the tale of two divers and
their hunt for The Golden Fleece, a pirate ship lost in 1686 near the coast of
the Dominican Republic. Kurson devotes
chapters to their bravery, ingenuity and life experiences. John Chatterton served
as a medic in Vietnam, was a commercial diver working near the World Trade Center
on Sept. 11, and co-hosted Deep Sea Detectives on the History Channel.
The other partner, John Mattera, is a former security consultant, runs a diving
resort, and loves history, visiting libraries in Europe and the US to research
this project.
Kurson combines their stories
with those of their crew and with the mystery surrounding Joseph Bannister, a merchant
captain turned pirate during The Golden Age of Piracy. He offers one hypothesis
about Bannister’s motives, but with an admittedly 21st century
perspective, I think there could be others: was he thwarted in love? bored or
disgruntled with more routine trade runs? This
book is a quick read and I could truly feel the divers’ frustration at being repeatedly
stymied in their own search. I marveled at their persistence – both in terms of
time (the search took years) and money invested. Hear them tell about their obsessive quest on
this trailer.
It took years of interviews
and reading to research this book and Kurson provides an extensive list of sources
in his author’s notes. One of the most
fascinating is The Buccaneers of America, originally published in 1678,
extensively illustrated and freely available online (requires
Flash) in Dutch from the Library of Congress. Kurson, who is a local writer,
will be speaking at a noon luncheon at the University Club of Chicago on
Tuesday, June 23rd. Call the
Bookstall (847.446.8880) for ticket information. Another event that evening is
free and open to the public – it begins at 6:30pm and will be held at Sheridan
Shore Yacht Club, 20 Harbor Drive, Wilmette.
