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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
by Robert Kurson


10.0

based on 14 reviews
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based on 6 votes
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A true tale of adventure in which two weekend scuba divers, in the fall of 1991, risk everything to solve a great historical mystery and make history themselves. Not even these courageous divers were prepared for what lay two hundred and thirty feet below the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bonesall buried under decades of accumulated sediment. [Random House]

Random House, 400 pages
06/29/2004
$26.95

ISBN: 0375508589

Nonfiction
History

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Booklist Brendan Driscoll

All of these elements--military history, mystery, action tale, ethnography--combine to make this book very hard to put down. [15 May 2004, p.1595]

Chicago Sun-Times Sam Jemielity

As a writer, Kurson possesses a rare gift of inhabiting his characters, letting the readers see, feel, hear, touch and smell what they do. As you read Kurson's account of divers corkscrewing their bodies through tiny spaces in the U-boat, you can almost hear the metronomic beat as they inhale and exhale through their regulators.

Publishers Weekly

If the publishers are dreaming of another "Perfect Storm," they may get their wish.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

In terms of finding the right material, writers of adventure nonfiction just don't get any luckier than this. Shadow Divers would work on those ingredients alone. But it also happens to be written with great you-are-there intensity and dynamic verve.

The New Yorker

Once underwater, Kurson's adrenalized prose sweeps you along in a tale of average-guy adventure.

USA Today Deirdre Donahue

Perhaps the most startling elements of Shadow Divers are anecdotes about the dangers of diving. In one story, Kurson writes of a father and son, both experienced divers, who die after the son becomes disoriented and shoots to the surface without decompressing. His father follows him.

Wall Street Journal Robert J. Hughes

Mr. Kurson's prose is tactile, direct, commanding -- free of the purple tendencies some writers assume when they venture into the vasty deep or attempt to give extra weight to their characters.

Washington Post Robert J. McCartney

A masterful work of reporting and writing, about an intriguing historical mystery solved by divers who go where only a select few would think to follow.

The Onion A.V. Club Donna Bowman

[Kurson]'s got hold of great raw materials: death-defying feats, historical mysteries, even the laying to rest of unquiet corpses. Unfortunately, he can't help gilding the lily. Every interest is an obsession, every danger a test of manhood, every friend a soulmate, every goal a hero's quest.

The New York Times Book Review Mark Bowden

It's a good story, marred only by moments of jejune men's-magazine sagacity: ''A shipwreck gave a man limitless opportunity to know himself if only he cared to find out.''

Kirkus Reviews

Buffs of either category of adventure will find this a pleasure.

Library Journal Edwin B. Burgess

Absorbing... Highly recommended for World War II, naval, and sport diving collections. [15 Apr 2004, p.100]

Chicago Tribune Brenda Fowler

I was a little disappointed that Kurson, a former features writer for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago magazine, did not pry as hard into the men's justification for entering this war grave in the first place.

Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese

What's missing here is a strong, rounded portrait of the principal divers, whose stories seem curiously flat, cautious, and bland.

The average user rating for this book is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tony C gave it a10:
I could not put this book down! Spectacular read, especially if you have ever gone diving.

Rach H gave it a10:
As neither much of a diver nor history buff, I found this book terribly interesting. Uncharacteristically I found myself gasping outloud throughout the entire story. I am sure this is a book I will repeatedly think back on for the rest of my life.

Jamie L gave it a10:
great read everyone should give it a try. very detailed you feel like your in the water with them trying to solve the mystery

Anna R gave it a10:
I got so caught up in this book, that I had to stop reading at times and pace around, to calm down and remind myself that I was reading a book and not about to drown at 200 feet down. This is one of the best I've read in years.

Greg A gave it a10:
A must read for any Scuba Diver or Naval History Buff.

Paul J gave it a10:
Great book. Very detailed and suspenseful. Will probably go through a second time very soon. One of the best books I've read in the past 10 years, in fact!

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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 by Robert Kurson

Shadow Divers
The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything To Solve One Of The Last Mysteries Of World War II
by Robert Kurson