covediver
Contributor
Subtitled "The Life and Legacy of a Treasure Hunting Family" this book by Pat Clyne tells the story of Mel Fisher multi-decade quest to find the Atocha off the Florida coast, the eventual success of that endeavor, and the legacy that it created. Written by Pat Clyne, one of Fisher's divers at the time of discovery of the motherload in 1985, the book tells a simplified and somewhat sympathetic story about a character that looms large in Key West lore, quite an accomplishment given that island's ability to produce characters.
I have read almost everything written on the Atocha, from the children's book by Gail Gibbons to the books published in the immediate aftermath of the find (Eugene Lyons, Duncan Matthewson) and to more recent books, such as Fatal Treasure. Fisher's efforts are put into context of other treasure hunters of the time in Robert F Burgess' book "Sunken Treasure, Six Who Found Fortunes". Robert Daley's book, Treasure, reissued and updated in the immediate afterglow of the 1985 discovery is probably the most throrough journalistic account of the life and times of a man that some called a charlatan and some called an adventurer. The definitive biography of Fisher has yet to be written, and each of these books contributes a tile to the mosaic that is as of now, incomplete, and necessarily so as the wreck site continues to yield artifacts and treasure, although ever more grudgingly so.
The layout of Clyne's book is visually avery ttractive. It is probably the most well illustrated book of any on the Atocha with a great combination of graphics, black and white, and color photos. It provides the overview of the story, giving the essential details of the Fisher clan and the search, punctuated by personal insights from someone who was there, but does not provide the details of the search that serious afficianados of treasure hunting hope to get. Like most of the publications, it does emphasize that the search was a family undertaking, albeit one for which a high price was extracted.
Bottom line: This is a great introduction for people unfamiliar with the story. For those familiar with the story, the graphics make up for the lack of detail.
I have read almost everything written on the Atocha, from the children's book by Gail Gibbons to the books published in the immediate aftermath of the find (Eugene Lyons, Duncan Matthewson) and to more recent books, such as Fatal Treasure. Fisher's efforts are put into context of other treasure hunters of the time in Robert F Burgess' book "Sunken Treasure, Six Who Found Fortunes". Robert Daley's book, Treasure, reissued and updated in the immediate afterglow of the 1985 discovery is probably the most throrough journalistic account of the life and times of a man that some called a charlatan and some called an adventurer. The definitive biography of Fisher has yet to be written, and each of these books contributes a tile to the mosaic that is as of now, incomplete, and necessarily so as the wreck site continues to yield artifacts and treasure, although ever more grudgingly so.
The layout of Clyne's book is visually avery ttractive. It is probably the most well illustrated book of any on the Atocha with a great combination of graphics, black and white, and color photos. It provides the overview of the story, giving the essential details of the Fisher clan and the search, punctuated by personal insights from someone who was there, but does not provide the details of the search that serious afficianados of treasure hunting hope to get. Like most of the publications, it does emphasize that the search was a family undertaking, albeit one for which a high price was extracted.
Bottom line: This is a great introduction for people unfamiliar with the story. For those familiar with the story, the graphics make up for the lack of detail.
