America's Lost Treasure [Hardcover]

Tommy Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

America's Lost Treasure is the pictorial account from Tommy Thompson and his team of underwater searchers -- including more than 250 gorgeous photographs, drawings, and illustrations -- of the sinking and recovery of the Central America, the remarkable story that was chronicled in The New York Times best-seller Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. With America's Lost Treasure Tommy Thompson brings the reader face-to-face with his unique vision, one that developed the most groundbreaking marine technology in existence and sparked new maritime law, opening the last terrestrial frontier to mankind. Offering stunning photographs taken eight thousand feet below the surface -- a feat that was never before technically possible -- America's Lost Treasure chronicles life on the ocean floor, the site where the Central America rests, and the extraordinary historical treasures they brought back.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1st edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871137321
• ISBN-13: 978-0871137326
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #613,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Ships > Pictorial

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American's Lost Treasure, February 20, 2000

By 

Shirley Wilson (Hendersonville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Lost Treasure (Hardcover)

America's Lost Treasure by Thommy Thompson may be the only "coffee table" book that readers literally cannot put down and will ultimately read from cover to cover. Anyone who has read Gary Kinder's book Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea knows the tale of Tommy Thompson's discovery of the SS Central America that sunk in 1857, laden with gold from the California Gold Rush. The two books compliment each other with very little overlap. Ship of Gold tells the fascinating story of the shipwreck itself and how a young engineer, Tommy Thompson, made his dream come true in locating and salvaging the wreck under incredibly difficult conditions and with scientific precision. Thompson's book demonstrates the story in beautiful, glowing color photographs with an equally interesting narrative. The precision, scientific knowledge and attention to detail that led him to the treasure in the first place is evident in this carefully prepared book that shows the reader what was found and emphasizes the importance of the historic artifacts located.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best GOLD-SALVAGE book of all time., December 12, 1998

By 

John Wright ([e-mail]) (Saint Joseph, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's Lost Treasure (Hardcover)

Tommy Thompson's "America's Lost Treasure" is a fantastic history lesson, two exciting and intertwined adventure stories, and a picture text on how to do new and wonderful things. It is a coffee-table companion to Gary Kinder's "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea", and neither book is really complete without the other. The awesome pictures in "America's Lost Treasure" are exactly what the numismatic world has been clamoring for since the discovery and beginning of the salvage of the SS Central America first hit the news in 1988. The lavish use of 19th century pictures, drawings, and accounts of the sailing and sinking of the SS Central America add to the careful archaeological records of the search and salvage of her wreck. But far the most impressive thing in this book are the stunning pictures of the tons of gold coins and bars both scattered on the deep ocean floor and arranged for display after recovery.

For an entertaining and educational read and two great adventure stories -- one in 1857 and one in the 1980's -- I highly recommend both "America's Lost Treasure" by Tommy Thompson and "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea" by Gary Kinder.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and interesting TREASURE for your very own!, March 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: America's Lost Treasure (Hardcover)

You really must buy this book. And you must really buy it WITH "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea". At first I resented that "Ship of GOld" had no pictures in it; it was all text. And I still feel that way. But now I realize that the pictures of the disaster, and the history, and how the ship was found and the gold recovered, really DID deserve its own book. This book, along with its companion, "Ship of Gold", is my choice for BOOK of the YEAR!