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Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II

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4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (310 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This superlative journalistic narrative tells of John Chatterton and Rich Kohler, two deep-sea wreck divers who in 1991 dove to a mysterious wreck lying at the perilous depth of 230 feet, off the coast of New Jersey. Both had a philosophy of excelling and pushing themselves to the limit; both needed all their philosophy and fitness to proceed once they had identified the wreck as a WWII U-boat. As Kurson, a writer for Esquire, narrates in this debut, the two divers next undertook a seven-year search for the U-boat's identity inside the wreck, in a multitude of archives and in a host of human memories. Along the way, Chatterton's diving cost him a marriage, and Kohler's love for his German heritage helped turn him into a serious U-boat scholar. The two lost three of their diving companions on the wreck and their mentor, Bill Nagle, to alcoholism. (Chowdhury's The Last Dive, from HarperPerennial in 2002, covers two of the divers' deaths.) The successful completion of their quest fills in a gap in WWII history-the fate of the Type IX U-boat U-869. Chatterton and Kohler's success satisfied them and a diminishing handful of U-boat survivors. While Kurson doesn't stint on technical detail, lovers of any sort of adventure tale will certainly absorb the author's excellent characterizations, and particularly his balance in describing the combat arm of the Third Reich. Felicitous cooperation between author and subject rings through every page of this rare insightful action narrative. If the publishers are dreaming of another Perfect Storm, they may get their wish.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The New Yorker

Deep-wreck divers are used to operating with almost no headroom and in zero visibility, navigating by touch alone; it is a compliment to be told "When you die, no one will ever find your body." Despite the dangers, wreck divers are typically weekend warriors, men who leave families and jobs behind to test themselves at two hundred feet down. Kurson's exciting account centers on two divers, John Chatterton and Robert Kohler, who in 1991 found an unidentified U-boat embedded in the ocean floor off the coast of New Jersey. The task of identifying it leads them to Germany, Washington, D.C., and the darkest corners of the submarine itself. Some of the most haunting moments occur on land, as when the divers research the lives of the doomed German sailors whose bones they swim among. Once underwater, Kurson's adrenalized prose sweeps you along in a tale of average-guy adventure.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 31, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345482476
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345482471
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (310 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #3 in  Books > History > United States > State & Local > New Jersey
    #7 in  Books > History > Military > Naval
    #7 in  Books > History > Military > World War II > Naval

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Robert Kurson
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Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
BILL NAGLE'S LIFE CHANGED the day a fisherman sat beside him in a ramshackle bar and told him about a mystery he had found lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New Jersey, New York, Coast Guard, Andrea Doria, Atlantic Wreck Divers, Bill Nagle, East Coast, German U-boat, Richie Kohler, Civil Air Patrol, Horrible Inn, John Chatterton, United States, Danny Crowell, Jim Beam, Long Island, Commander Neuerburg, Garden City, Martin Horenburg, Siegfried Brandt, Naval Historical Center, Nazi Party, San Diego, Steve Feldman, U-boat Control
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Customer Reviews

310 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (310 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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86 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting even when you know the outcome!, July 11, 2004
By Howard L. Dixon (Hopewell, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II (Hardcover)
This is one of those rare books that you know within the first dozen pages it's going to be a great read and you're going to be disappointed when it ends. Robert Kurson's tremendous research combined with a great historical narrative style results in learning not only about the lives of the living players such as Chatterton and Kohler, but the dead sailors on the submarine as well. While this is Kurson's book, you can see the extensive contribution provided by Chatterton, Kohler and others who shared the experience. This book fits beautifully with "The Last Dive", which I reviewed here a few years ago. I did learn things here, which surprised me relative to "The Last Dive". I thought they had been doing mixed-gas diving much longer on U-869 then just before the Rouse's arrival. Chapter 2 is about the dangers of wreck diving and sets the stage of what to expect throughout the remainder of the book. Kurson makes sure the reader understands this wasn't just a bunch of treasure hunters looking for some "stuff". These guys respected this dive site as sacred resting place for these German sailors and their actions (including their own research) supported that belief. And in the end, I was right...it was a disappointment to see it end.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Breakout work by a gifted Storyteller, March 4, 2005
By Michael D. Trimble (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II (Hardcover)
This retelling of true events is as good and as close as you can get to the excitement of made up fiction. Admittedly the author, Robert Kurson, had good material with which to work, but a writer of lesser talent could have easily botched this little gem of an opportunity. As it is, Kurson's ability to grab the reader and maintain his/her full attention throughout a story that spans more than six years, is a testament to his writing prowess.

Kurson puts us in the center of the action as we learn about the discovery of a mysterious submarine shipwreck--not one of ours--just 60 miles east of Pt. Pleasant, NJ. In nautical terms this is literally in our backyard. Resting on the bottom of the ocean at 233 feet, it is a depth that is tantalizingly close, yet dangerously deep and accessible to all but a few of the most experienced deep diving specialists.

Central to the story are the truly larger than life main characters: hard drinking rough hewn John Nagle, Captain of the dive-boat and world renowned wreck diving legend; two peas in opposing pods, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, wreck diving enthusiasts who idolize Nagle and only hope to share in some of the excitement that he has experienced in the past; and a rather odd assortment of other players who come and go at different times. Along the way we witness relationships destroyed, marriages ruined, jobs forfeited, sanity questioned, and even lives tragically lost, all in the single minded pursuit to solve a seemingly unsolvable puzzle.

Kurson pulls it all together nicely, and without revealing the end, I will just say that this book is a richly rewarding experience for the reader. Good books like this leave me wanting to know so much more about the characters, sort of "where are they now?" Fortunately, the adventures experienced by these fascinating men don't end with the telling of this story; John Chatterton, and to a lesser extent Richie Kohler, can be seen quite regularly on the History Channel as the hosts of the Deep Sea Detectives docudrama television series.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Real life adventure!, June 29, 2004
This review is from: Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II (Hardcover)
My reading tastes have always been fiction: action, adventure, thrillers, and since going away to college two years ago I have not had time for any fun reading, But started this book last week and then could not put it down. It is TRUE action adventure!

This is the story of two deep sea wreck divers who dive into a long lost wreck in over 200 feet of water, which they identify as a German U-boat. The book follows the lives of these two men as they attempt to discover the identity of the U-boat and discover things about themselfs. There lives are greatly changed by the discovery, Jobs changed, marriages lost, diving companions killed on the wreck, and lost to the bottle.

The story is more than just about the men's dives on the wreck and there attempt to discover its identity, and the adventure involved in such an endeavor, but also about the characters (which are rich in this story) involved, the history behind the boat and Hitlers 3rd Riech. there is so much to learn on every page. In the end though it is the under water action that kept me enthralled. If you read this book you will gain an appreciation of the wonders and dangers of deep water diving.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars More compelling than fiction
This book was recommended by a friend who is a recreational diver. This is so much more than a book about deep diving. Read more
Published 8 days ago by WylieWabbit

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Storytelling
I bought this book while on vacation and couldn't put it down. The story grips you from the get go. Read more
Published 16 days ago by A. Lund

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting look at a world I never knew existed
Our society is filled with special-interest groups, most of them largely unknown to the rest of the world. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Sasha Alyson

4.0 out of 5 stars Great mix of history, science and action
Shadow divers combines a great mix of history, the science and technical aspects of diving, action and mystery. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Todd Weiss

1.0 out of 5 stars Book was falling apart
When I received this book it was in very bad condition. Pages were falling out, spine was broken and many pages had whole paragraphs underlined. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jay Coleman

4.0 out of 5 stars Murky waters
Shadow Divers is based on the true story of a group of adventurous deep-sea divers who quite astonishingly discovered a wrecked German U boat off the coast of New Jersey in the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Deborah Barchi

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the 10 best books I have read....
Put simply, this is one of the 10 best books I have ever read, an amazing and completely compelling true story...
Published 1 month ago by rds

5.0 out of 5 stars Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Robert Kurson is a journalist who's written for Rolling Stones, New York Times, Chicago Sun Times. He tells a great story about extreme scuba divers who risk it all to uncover the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by cpt matt

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent, Suspenseful Read!
I saw all the positive reviews on this book so decided to take a chance on it even though I'm not really into diving, WWII history, or German Submarines. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Heim

5.0 out of 5 stars shadow divers
A gripping story well written for those without knowledge of diving physiology and techniques. I would especially recommend it for the trained diver.
Published 3 months ago by John L. Taylor

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