Customer Reviews

Return to Treasure Island and the Search for Captain Kidd

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
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Clifford does a good job of alternating between the story of Captain Kidd and his own search for Kidd's flagship. But far too much of the book is dedicated to a long, boring rendition of Clifford's dealings with the local authorities, his rival ship hunter and the resulting phone calls and meetings required to secure permits for the excavation of the ship. Over 90 percent of the modern portion of the book reads like: "Then I called the President's daughter. Then she called me back. Then we met with the minister of the Interior. He told us to come back the next day. So I rode a bike around the island. The next day we called the President's daughter again...." The politics is simply filler so that he wouldn't be selling a 50 page book. To summarize -- there are many books that are a better use of your time.

This is like getting two books in one! Part of the book tells the fascinating story of Captain Kidd and the other part, the story of Barry Clifford's expediton to Madagascar to recover Kidd's flagship, the Adventure Galley.

With the pictures and all, this book is better than TV.

This is Barry Clifford's narrative of his trip(s) to Ile Saint-Marie off the coast of Madagascar in search of William Kidd's Adventure Galley. It is pretty standard Clifford style based upon his other books. The author jumps back and forth, alternating present day with historical reference in an engaging fashion. The dual narrative maintains a nice sense of suspense, pulling the reader along.

The historical elements are well represented with discussion of Kidd and Culliford. The author takes time to support the link to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island from the title. However, the reader soon finds the present day trials and tribulations eclipse the historical and lead to an unsatisfying conclusion that I can only describe as anticlimactic.

The book is not a bad read, nor void of merit, but, ultimately, one has to ask whether this particular set of expeditions truly deserved to be written up in book format. Clifford's other book, The Lost Fleet and Expedition Whydah would be better places to start you appreciation of Clifford's work. And, Richard Zacks' Pirate Hunter is a better history of William Kidd's adventures.
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