I didn't like this book very much, and feel like I have to write a review to warn people that it's not what it seems. From the title and jacket, I thought it would be about finding the real Spanish ship that sunk off the coast of Assateague Island, delivering the ponies whose descendants were the stars of the book Misty of Chincoteague and the yearly pony swims.

Well, the book is instead all about shipwrecks, and the author goes into a lot of detail to say that he thinks he knows where a major Spanish galleon shipwrecked, and it is now under land on the island. No one is interested in digging it up, however, and he doesn't have the money to do it himself. Fine. OK. WHAT ABOUT THE PONIES??

There are no ponies. No ponies on that meticulously researched and documented ship. Hardly any mention of ponies in the book, in fact. The ONLY connection the author has between the ship he found and ponies is that a *similar* ship with *similar* cargo and passengers is known to have existed, and on that wreck was found ONE HORSESHOE.

Seriously. That's it? I am sure if you are a fan of shipwrecks and history this book is fascinating, but I wanted ponies! So be warned. And a side note: I am a science teacher and know that these days, there is one really easy way to determine the heritage of those ponies once and for all. DNA from the Assateague ponies, DNA from Spanish horses, DNA from Native American horses. PCR, run a gel, compare. Done. THAT book I would read. ( )