Gary Kinder

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 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 show more 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. show less

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 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 show more 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. show less

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 final destination New York. A devastating hurricane sunk the ship and only 159 of the 600+ people 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 show more 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 in 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 Central America but no index and no map of the route taken. I regret the lack of both; to me an index greatly enhances the value of a nonfiction book and with the map I could have followed along much more easily. show less

In 1857, the SS Central America, a "side-wheeler steamer" sank, taking over 400 lives--and taking with it 21 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush. The book tells two entwined stories. That of the heroic efforts to save the ship and the struggles of the survivors, and over a hundred years later the tale of Tommy Thompson, a seemingly eccentric inventor, but one with the training of an engineer and the spirit of an entrepreneur who sees the recovery of the ship's treasures not just "as show more an end in itself, but as a way to learn how to work in the deep ocean" given the wreck was at a crushing depth in the ocean lower than many mountains are high. The author handled both halves of his tale well. I bought this book after reading The Perfect Storm, a truly fascinating tale of the sea. Ship of Gold scratched that itch as a great tale of the sea, of science, of human heroism and tragedy and adventure. It's something else I don't see much of--a tale of entrepreneurship. Of smarts and risks and high stakes. The challenges posed in the enterprise included historical, legal, technological, financial, poaching from competitors--and especially the sea, which many experts considered more forbidding to exploration than the moon. Given just the information in the back cover of the book, I thought I knew how this book would turn out, yet the author managed to make it page-turning and suspenseful, making me more riveted to the page the further I read. Kinder had a great story to tell and it wasn't wasted on him. show less