Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship

An Amazon Best Book of June 2015: Reading about treasure hunters may be more interesting than reading about pirates themselves—there’s always that feeling in the back of the mind that any one of us could get up off the couch right now and begin our search for pirate booty if we wanted to. Of course we probably won’t, and if you read Robert Kurson’s Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship, it will be clear why. It’s hard work, and treasure hunters are special people. Kurson’s book tells the story of John Chatterton and John Mattera, two longtime treasure hunters who get a tip from another veteran about a pirate ship that went down off the Dominican Republic in the 1600s. There’s much to endure in their search—dangerous dives, scouring charts and maps, debt, and encounters with a few modern pirate types—but it’s only after they themselves start thinking like a pirate that they make the progress they’re looking for. A fun, quick, informative read that will have you dreaming of what you could do if only you set your mind to it. – Chris Schluep