Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea
By Gary Kinder; Atlantic Monthly Press, 1998; 507 pages
Reviewed by Nita K. Curry
February 21, 2000
Of all my friends, acquaintances and relatives, I cannot believe that I haven’t
persuaded one of them to read this book. It is packed with science, history, and
a fascinating story that stretches over a century and a half. I first heard
about it during an interview with Kinder over a Sunday local public radio
broadcast. Riveted, I requested the book from our library and waited patiently.
I received the book on a Saturday, began reading on Monday and finished on
Thursday of the same week! All 507 pages of it!
The story begins in 1857 when a side-wheel steamer named the SS Central
America began returning to New York with approximately 500 passengers. Many
of the passengers had been in California digging for gold; some had been lucky,
some not so lucky. Nonetheless, the ship was packed with both passengers and
(perhaps) 2 tons of gold. Unfortunately¾ and despite
a heroic struggle against nature¾ the ship sank with
its exact whereabouts unknown. Unknown, until a genius named Tommy Thompson
decided to make the SS Central America his life’s passion.
Kinder expertly takes the two stories and intertwines them into one. He
somehow makes the uninteresting interesting. By describing the many walls that
one comes against when pressing toward a dream, Kinder gets the reader so
involved that it feels as if you are searching for gold that had lain dormant
for 130 years, while also connecting you with the passengers on that ill-fated
voyage.
You can’t help but feel for Adeline Mills Easton. She was with her husband
on their honeymoon trip when the horrific hurricane hit their ship. Here is an
excerpt from her diary: "The bailing was continued vigorously all night, my
own dear husband taking his turn and when exhausted returning to my side; and
when a little rested again resuming his place. . .All that fearful night we
watched and prayed, not knowing but that every hour might be the last. . .We
resolved that when the moment came we would tie ourselves together and the same
wave would engulf us both."
Incredible, fascinating and engaging are words that describe this saga. I was
compelled to find out about these hapless souls who thought they were on a
journey that would bring happiness at the end of their rainbow. Incredibly
enough, I then became just as interested in the finding and recovery aspect of
the story. The mere thought of actually finding the ship, then sending machinery
down into eight thousand feet of water to recover items from it, plus the fact
that the crew involved in this had to find, recover, and place a legal claim
before anyone else got to it adds a breathless expectation to the modern story.
I loved this book (yes loved!) so much that after reading it, I bought it. It’s
a story that weaves human spirit with human will against nature and it all takes
place in that yet untamed world of the deep blue sea.
ninetyandnine.com
© Nita K. Curry, 2000
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Nita K. Curry lives in St. Louis, where she forces this book upon
anyone within arms length.
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