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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 Audiobook
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(4.00) - 7,745 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In 1991, acting on a tip from a local fisherman, two scuba divers discovered a sunken German U-boat–complete with its crew of 60 men–not too far off the New Jersey coast. The divers, realizing the momentousness of their discovery, began probing the mystery. Over the next six years, they became expert and well-traveled researchers, taught themselves German, hunted for clues in Germany, and constructed theories corrective of the history books, all in an effort to identify this sunken U-boat and its crew. During that time, three of their colleagues died exploring the wreck, including a father and son team. In 1997, when it all seemed in vain, the two divers came up with a final plan, so dangerous that the book ends with this last dive.
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"Fascinating account of the team who discovered a sunken Nazi U-boat. It proceeds slowly, as it digresses into narratives about the life stories of the main divers: I liked that, but if you were impatient to know what happens next, you might find it irritating. Final bit where it finds relatives of the German sailors in the U-boat is v well done - this is not a story about goodies and baddies, but about men caught up in a pointless war, and the US divers respect for the skeletons they found is impressive."
— Deevybee (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“An engrossing saga of the suspenseful, intriguing, and dangerous underwater investigation of a Mystery U-boat.”
— Clive Cussler -
“Robert Kurson’s Shadow Divers, about the divers exploring a sunken shipwreck off the New Jersey coast, is a gripping account of real-life adventurers and a real-life mystery…The book offers a unique window on the deep, almost reckless nature of the human quest to know.”
— Scott Turow, New York Times bestselling author of Reversible Errors -
“Written with great you-are-there intensity and dynamic verve.”
— New York Times -
“A tremendously suspenseful story of discovery that comes as close as any book could to providing the reader with approximate sensations of deep sea diving and of life on a submarine at war, and that leaves us with a hell of an impression of the grit, guts, and compassion of a U-boat crew and the two American divers who risked everything to solve the mystery of their last mission.”
— John McCain, author of Faith of My Fathers and Why Courage Matters -
“Robert Kurson’s status as an undiscovered pleasure…is about to change, I suspect, in a hurry. Shadow Divers is so culturally astute and terrifyingly suspenseful that it should reach the sort of audience John Berendt, Susan Orlean, Jon Krakauer, and Laura Hillenbrand have recently earned. Kurson’s new focus is the larger historical world—a world of U-Boats, forensics, and lung-crushing pressure—and his prose is, as always, plain gorgeous.”
— James McManus, author of Positively Fifth Street -
“A winning tale exceedingly well told, Shadow Divers takes us on a dangerous and seemingly quixotic descent into the murk—and then, in a fog of nitrogen narcosis, brings us back to the surface with a richer, fuller fathoming of a history we only thought we knew.”
— Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II’s Greatest Rescue Mission
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of a 2005 YALSA Alex Award
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Nominated for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award
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A USA Today bestseller
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Winner of Alex Award, 2005
Shadow Divers Listener Reviews
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Possums, 10/29/2024
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Steven Brown, 7/18/2023
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Frank the Tank, 7/20/2021
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" Fascinating account of the discovery of a sunken U-boat about 70 miles off the New Jersey coast. Detailed descriptions of what deepsea wreck diving is like (those guys are CRAZEEE!) From the bends to narcosis to running out of air the danger is amazing. These guys were driven to discover the identity of the U-Boat that had no record of being where it was. Very interesting book. "
— Miste, 2/10/2014 -
" I loved this book, too! I dive, so I found the whole science of diving to be fascinating. The characters were crisp and the story was awesome. "
— Steve, 1/31/2014 -
" Well-written, exciting -- I never looked ahead & loved every minute. This one's for you, Gary. "
— Lori, 1/29/2014 -
" History in this one about the German U-boats and the surprise and once in a life time find of a group of dedicated divers. Based on a true story. "
— Danny, 1/16/2014 -
" Very exciting especially if you enjoy "soft" fiction writing. I fist read his "Crashing Through" and was not disappointed by this second read. "
— Lou, 1/15/2014 -
" The true story of two men who discovered a German U-Boat and made it their life's work to identify its source. It was well interested and opened a whole new world of wreck diving with an interesting array of characters. The fact that it is true is awe inspiring. I like the way it treated the German side story with respect. "
— Roberta, 1/15/2014 -
" Fantastic! Totally got me hooked on submarines, WWII and SCUBA. Interesting characters and facinating adventures. All history books should be this entertaining. "
— Kendar88, 1/13/2014 -
" I usually read fiction, don't know why I picked this one up, but it was absolutely fantastic. A German submarine just off the East Coast that no one knew was there. A real roller coaster ride. Really really great read. "
— Debra, 12/23/2013 -
" Really interesting and educational (if you're at all interested in diving). The story is very exciting and well-written even though it's fictional. "
— Vanessa, 12/14/2013 -
" It was very informative about the hazards of deep sea diving. "
— Gary, 12/10/2013 -
" I feel bad. I wanted to give this book more stars. I even had Bob read it on vacation. The consensus was it was interesting, in fact, very interesting but not engaging. "
— Luan, 11/15/2013 -
" Did not expect to like this book - it was great! "
— Diane, 10/26/2013 -
" What a great book. Sad and frustrating but one you cannot put down. "
— Jeffrey, 10/6/2013 -
" I enjoyed this a lot- if you like Jon Krakauer you'd probably enjoy this. Filled with danger, adventure, bromance, history- a good story well told. The audio adaptation I listened to was very good. "
— Taueret, 9/15/2013 -
" I don't dive and I wont say it made me want to try. However, it was cool. "
— Noelle, 4/24/2013 -
" Very interesting and a good and fast read "
— Meg, 3/27/2013 -
" lots of interesting facts about diving, wreck diving, and the UBoats of ww2 "
— Sue, 7/24/2012 -
" I throughly enjoyed listening to the true adventures of two wreck divers who found a Uboat outside of New Jersey. The narrative moves the story in a fictional kind of excitement. It was an exciting learning experience. I definitely recommend it. "
— Shifra, 3/12/2012 -
" questionable choice in some vocabulary aside (i mean, the guys are practically sailors), this book is super entertaining. non-fiction that reads like fiction, but is non-fiction. if you care at all about diving, the world wars, mysters/thrillers, or just for a good time, check out this book. "
— Magila, 2/15/2012 -
" Only a couple of chapters in but this is a captivating story so far. "
— Bob, 12/5/2011 -
" Shocked that I liked a book about diving for sunken shipwrecks, but this was absolutely fascinating. "
— Jeanne, 4/20/2011 -
" I felt like I got to know the divers. the description of the wreck divers was wonderful. I have recommended this to lots of my friends. "
— Bill, 4/19/2011 -
" Couldn't put this book down. Such an unbelievable story. "
— Susanne, 4/18/2011 -
" Such an interesting tale of the dangers and amazing finds in deep sea diving. "
— Krista, 4/1/2011 -
" Outstanding account of the search for the identity of a sunken U-boat where one was not supposed to be. "
— Jess, 3/28/2011 -
" Fantastic! Totally got me hooked on submarines, WWII and SCUBA. Interesting characters and facinating adventures. All history books should be this entertaining. "
— Kendar88, 3/26/2011 -
" This book was awesome! I learned a lot about scuba diving and about WWII U-boats. I don't typically read a lot of non-fiction, but I couldn't put this one down! "
— Kim, 3/25/2011 -
" Great story, a real page turner. But the stars of the book are self-obsessed, and it gets a bit old "
— Rob, 3/16/2011 -
" One of my all time favorites. "
— Katherine, 3/8/2011 -
" Really interesting book. A real-life modern adventure story filled with danger and mystery. "
— Katie, 3/7/2011 -
" One of the most interesting stories I've read. Totally loved it. "
— Jolee, 3/2/2011 -
" This was a pretty interesting story and a good book for listening. Adventurers and WWII buffs would likely enjoy it the most. "
— Al, 2/26/2011
About Robert Kurson
Robert Kurson earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin, then a law degree from Harvard Law School. After working as a features reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago magazine, he moved to Esquire as a contributing editor. His award-winning stories have also appeared in Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine, and other publications. He is also the author of Shadow Divers and lives in Chicago.
About Michael Prichard
Michael Prichard is a Los Angeles-based actor who has played several thousand characters during his career, over one hundred of them in theater and film. He is primarily heard as an audiobook narrator, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and six AudioFile Earphones Awards. He was named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine. He holds an MFA in theater from the University of Southern California.