Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II Kindle Edition

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, losing your anchor line) might seem like nothing—and both of those can cause death. The descriptions of the dives, the hair-raising ecapes, and the tiny mistakes that led to deaths are written in an enthralling manner. The idea of participating in this sport is terrifying.For the divers, the biggest deal, the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby, is discovering a new wreck. The divers in this book are elated to find a new wreck that no one else knows about. In a pact of secrecy they go down to check it out only to discover that it is no ordinary wreck, it is a German WWII Uboat. Right off the coast of New Jersey. A Uboat that doesn't exist according to records, a Uboat that can't possibly be there. Divers Chadderton and Kohler become obsessed with figuring out what Uboat this is. As this is before you could Google information, this became a six year quest that involved letters, international phone calls, meetings with military records administrators, flying to Germany, arguing with historians who are happy with the status quo—and ending up actually rewriting history. The adventure took its toll—three men died while diving the wreck. Another drank himself to death. Both Kohler's and Chadderton's marriages ended. After risking their lives to an insane degree they retrieve uncontrovertable proof of which Uboat this is.I love books where new information is presented in an entertaining fashion, and this book is the best there is. I was put through a wringer of emotions, everything from terror to sadness, from excitement to grief. I was completely pulled in to this story—even though it is true it is a story by any definition. I recommend this to EVERYONE, no matter what type of books you normally read!!

3 stars was all I could muster for this book. The meat of the story was good. One thing I can't stand as a reader is a bunch of irrelevant, useless information, and this book was FULL of it. Page after page after page telling irrelevant stories to tell the dangers of deep sea diving. Deep sea diving is dangerous. Got it. There were probably 70 pages of that mixed into the story. The full life story of the divers was told. Who their parents were, who they dated, people they didn't like, every minute detail of their lives. I don't give a rat's behind about any of that! For the love of God, man! Just tell the story of the U-boat!

I must admit that being a retired police officer leads me to police novels, both fiction and non-fiction. I discovered Shadow Divers when surfing Amazon for my next read.I have been a recreational SCUBA diver and I love history. I gave Shadow Divers a try.What a treasure I discovered. I loved this novel. First shipwreck divers discovered a sunken vessel, which happens to be a German U-boat. Then the many dangers of deep sea diving. Next is making the identification of the U-boat, which cost lives. Finally, a history lesson about WWII and U-boats.I was so happy that I discovered this book. My eyes are blurred from not putting this book down.I recommend Shadow Divers and will check out other novels by Robert Kurson.

In 1991, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, two divers from New Jersey, discovered a shipwrecked World War II German U-Boat 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey. It was submerged in 230 feet of water. Crew members were still on board.No U-Boat has been recorded sunk within 100 miles of the wreck. No government, no navy, professor or historian had a clue it was there. No records any where acknowledged its sinking or its identity.In World War II, 30,000 of the 55,000 U-Boat men were killed. It was a very dangerous assignment, particularly at the war drew to a close.Chatterton and Kohler eventually accepted several missions: identify the U-Boat, the circumstances behind its sinking, identify the crew members and inform relatives of their fate. The pair went beyond simply diving for treasure from the wreck. It took 6 years for them to complete their missionItems from the wreck, however, could serve to identify the U-Boat and its crew members. Ship wreck diving, particularly at the depths of where the U-Boat was discovered, is one of the most dangerous sports.At depths greater than 66 feet, divers risk nitrogen narcosis, where judgment and motor skills become seriously impaired. Divers can't simply swim to the surface, they must stop at certain intervals to allow their bodies to readjust to decreasing pressures.Author Robert Kurson does a splendid job of educating the reader about the dangers of shipwreck diving.He keeps the reader engaged as he recreates the dives and details the exhaustive research to answer the mysteries raised by the shipwrecked U-Boat. He also profiles Chatterton and Kohler, explaining what makes them tick.In the end, the reader is deeply emerged in this true-life adventure. Kurson, a talented writer and storyteller, makes us care about the outcome.

This is the most exciting, engaging book I've read in a couple of years. Bravo to Mr. Kurson for his very thorough research, including interviews. And his writing style is spot on - not to simplistic, not to verbose, but enthralling. His forte, in my mind, is his detailed character studies that tell what makes the principle characters tick - why they are so driven to explore, discover and always seek and present the truth. It was very difficult to put this book down as I followed the real-life mystery onion being methodically peeled open.

A very good book that tells a very interesting story in a very engaging way. You feel like you're there during the most intense moments. If you have any interest in diving and/or WW2 naval history this is a must for you.

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

Having read the book previously and then passed it to a friend and not getting it back I wanted to replace it. Very pleased with the service and the delivery. This book is an extremely great read if wreck diving is a subject that interests you.

Great book detailing how some amateur divers find, research and eventually identify a previously unknown wreck. If you dive you can begin to associate with the passion, sense of adventure and drive that motivates the main character. It's really interesting to read about the risks and work these divers did to achieve their goal and easy to see how what they learned helped make diving today much safer.Fantastic book

A good introduction to deep sea diving and its dangers plus there's a u-boat it, however 4 divers died exploring it.