Zeb: This was a serious page turner for me. I recently heard about the book on a radio show I listen to. I thoroughly read every chapter but two of them. After the first couple pages of chapter two, I thought it safe to skim the rest. I think it was the second to last chapter, talking about the prelude to the launch in Germany, where I assumed that the accounts were less than accurate and possibly surmised. I skimmed that one as well. There were slow spots when revealing background because it went Hemmingway-ish. But the dive sequences and research in the book were absolutely gripping. Should have made this into a movie like the Perfect Storm.
United States on Jul 27, 2023
L. Howard: I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written, and read more like a page-turning novel, which is how I prefer my non-fiction. This was a fascinating look not only into WWII history, but into the mind and motivations of deep wreck divers, the dangers they face, and why they choose to do it, over and over again.
It was a little disturbing to read about so much U-boat activity so close to US shores. I wasn’t aware of that before. However, this is not a book about warfare. It’s about diving, and the passions of men. I highly recommend this book.
United States on Jun 03, 2023
Amazon Customer: Well researched account of deep sea diving and divers, entertaining and educational.
Canada on May 08, 2023
RobertRobert:
United Kingdom on Feb 02, 2023
T/Pedn: Very readable account of two men's determination to discover the identity of a sunken ww11 u boat sunk off the coast of America and in particular the almost suicidal risks they took to find the evidence
United Kingdom on Oct 16, 2020
Robert Franck: To get right to the point: What I found irritating, even unnerving about this book is its use of the generic "he" and "man" for divers, often even for people in general. Take quotes like: "... to give the nameless a name - that is when a man writes history" or "... life could be unlimited for a man who aimed high and never gave up." Really? Now using generic "man" for deep wreck divers could be okay if Kurson told us that in this is a sport exclusively practiced by man. But no, the book does mention some women in this sport. In my opinion, the entire book is immersed in a strongly expressed macho culture. This, of course, is harder to pin down by giving quotes.
Besides, I would have been more interested in learníng more about the technical details of deep diving than in the pathos about the book's heroes. I'm giving three stars because I still find the book intersting, even fascinatinng; but others have said enough about these aspects.
Germany on May 31, 2020
Blondish and Bookish: This is not only the most thrilling non-fiction book I've EVER read, it is one of the most exciting, thrilling books of any genre! So many times the description for a true story says, “reads like an adventure story”, and then you read it and it's boring. This—THIS is flat out adventure! The “shadow divers” of the title are deep wreck divers, a sport that consists of only a few hundred diehards. And “diehards” is perhaps a great description, because this sport is incredibly deadly. By the 1980's, scuba equipment still hadn't evolved much beyond when Jacques Cousteau helped invent it. The limit for recreactional diving is roughly 130 feet, and there are multiple small things that can go wrong and kill you. The deep wreckers go down to 200 feet or even deeper. Below 66 feet, a diver's judgment and focus and soberness decline due to Nitrogen Narcosis. Divers have died even though they have plenty of air, are not trapped, etc, because they have Narcosis and can't figure out where to go or what to do. At 130 feet most divers are impaired. By 170 feet hallucinations are normal. At 200 feet any tiny miniscule event can lead to panic, any major significant event (low air,...
United States on Jan 19, 2017
KaMi: During my travels in SE Asia a scuba diving instructor recommended this book to me.
After starting this book I was captured. I literally couldn't put it off my hands.
The author is able to catch the imagination of the reader. During the intrductional part of this book, I could see/feel myself diving at the edge of nitrogen narcosis, discovering unknown shipwrecks.
I couldn't wait to know which wreck it would be, and how it got to it's final destination.
And the best of this book is: It's non-fiction! One of the most exciting stories scuba divers can live.
It's definitely one of my favourite books, and since I really enjoy reading, this is a recommendation to buy this book!
English isn't my mothertongue, but I was able to keep up with the storyline, it wasn't difficult to read.
Germany on Sep 05, 2014
Conrad H. Blickenstorfer: What do you do when you're an accomplished wreck diver and unexpectedly come across what turns out to be not a pile of rubble but an unidentified U-boat from World War II? And not only unidentified, but also laying in 230 feet of cold water, 65 miles off the New Jersey Coast. The answer, if you're a red-blooded wreck diver or captain of a wreck diving ship, is you move heaven and earth and do not rest until you have proof positive of the boat's identity and place in history.
Such is what happened when scuba divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler came across a wreck on Labor Day of 1991, at a location where, according to official records, there simply could not be a sunken U-boat. Chatterton quickly finds a tantalizing hint, a couple of dishes bearing the German Nazi Swastika and the year 1942. This startling find sets in motion a six year story of events that bring adventure, setbacks, human drama including death, and a seemingly never-ending sequence of frustrations as the two principals -- Chatterton and Kohler -- come ever closer to finding the identification they so desire, just to be thwarted by the deteriorating hulk again and again. The quest forges powerful...
United States on Nov 15, 2006
| "Shadow Divers: The Incredible True Story of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Uncover One of the Last Mysteries of WWII" | Anne Glenconner: An Autobiography of a Lady in Waiting and Her Extraordinary Life Serving the British Royal Family | Anne Glenconner's Reflections on Her Extraordinary Life as a Lady in Waiting to the British Royal Family | |
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| B2B Rating |
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97
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97
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| Sale off | $13 OFF | $6 OFF | $14 OFF |
| Total Reviews | 49 reviews | 990 reviews | 990 reviews |
| ISBN-10 | 0375508589 | 0306846373 | 0306846365 |
| World War II History (Books) | World War II History | ||
| Hardcover | 375 pages | 336 pages | |
| Dimensions | 6.93 x 1.32 x 9.56 inches | 5.5 x 0.86 x 8.25 inches | 6.35 x 1.4 x 9.35 inches |
| German History (Books) | German History | ||
| Customer Reviews | 4.7/5 stars of 4,539 ratings | 4.4/5 stars of 26,108 ratings | 4.4/5 stars of 26,108 ratings |
| Publisher | Random House; First Edition | Hachette Books | Hachette Books; Illustrated edition |
| Item Weight | 1.55 pounds | 10.4 ounces | 1.2 pounds |
| Best Sellers Rank | #178 in German History #213 in Naval Military History#1,098 in World War II History | #25 in Royalty Biographies#73 in Women in History#298 in Women's Biographies | #100 in Royalty Biographies#173 in Women in History#769 in Women's Biographies |
| Naval Military History | Naval Military History | ||
| Language | English | English | English |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0375508585 | 978-0306846373 | 978-0306846366 |
United States on Sep 09, 2023