The Sea Hunters II

Book Description

More true adventures with shipwrecks and the real life NUMA - Clive Cussler's National Underwater & Marine Agency.

Customer Reviews:

The Sea Hunters, II.......2007-05-08

This second series book was as goos or better than the first.

The Sea Shall Claim Its Own........2005-03-29

This second volume covers recovery efforts of twenty years, 1981-2001. They've searched for the location of the futuristic blimp, Akron, lost in 1933 and White Bird airplane which crashed in 1927, in rural Maine. The lost locomotive east of Denver in 1876 was the first insurance scam. Pirate ships can be traced back to Jean Laffite in 1821 who spent the last years of his life in America under an assumed name.

He gives a fascinating hyposis of what might have happened to cause the captain and crew of Mary Celest to abandon ship and how each died. Since there were no survivors, this is a good case of "modern history writing" using some imagination and supposition, slightly dramatized. Here we have details of the deaths and burials at sea, even the captain asking the German brothers, last two survivors, to kill him. They, too, succumed to the elements. It's strange that their lifeboat was never found. Twelve years later, the Mary Celeste hit the coral reefs near Haiti and sank. Clive Cussler was in on the filming of a failed recovery 116 years later, as the coral growth had covered the shipwreck with no way to cut through it, making it unrecoverable. It was the grave for a Ghost Ship of notoriety.

Success came with the recovery of the Confederate sub Huntley after being submerged for 136 years. Other Civil War casualties they searched for included the Confederate raiders, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama and ironclads Arkansas and Louisiana (among others) and the Union frigate Cumberland and ironclad Carondelet. Seems he always came South in August. They searched for the Revolutionary War sub Turtle, the twin sisters cannons from San Jacinto war, swamp angel gun used during the Civil War, and a steamer called Stonewall Jackson. New Orleans was the first steamboat to go down the Mississippi River.

In addition to writing his novels, C. C. will narrate a series of SEA HUNTERS documentaries on famous shipwrecks for Eco-Nova of Nova Scotia. Look for them on PBS.

More Solid Nonfiction from Cussler.......2005-01-02

"The Sea Hunters II" follows the same pattern as "The Sea Hunters". Cussler presents a vignette that describes or speculates on the final moments of a ship or other artifact, and then describes the efforts of NUMA to locate the item in question. This combination of forgotten history and adventure is well written, and is easily as entertaining as Cussler's excellent fiction. Cussler approaches his subject matter with just the right touch of reverence for those souls lost in the wrecks he describes, along with a great sense of humor regarding his recovery attempts that did not go as planned. I hope a "Sea Hunters III" will be in the works at some time!

This book is a sunken ship!.......2004-02-08

I absolutely love Clive Cusslers books but I don't love this book. In fact, I don't even like it. Usually, his books grip me from beginning to end. This one didn't. I couldn't even finish it. I tried to read it 3 times but had to put it down each time. It was completely unsatisfying...I was expecting a great Clive read but ended up with THIS???!!!

What happened?.......2003-10-10

I agree with the other reviewers, the first Sea Hunters was much better, even though there were problems with that book. This one is jarring in places - you can clearly see where Clive Cussler left off and Craig Dirgo picked up. Dirgo is not a good writer. I found some inaccuracies, which I know Cussler didn't make, because his research is meticulous. It's too bad, this could have been a better book with the right writer.

The only reason I am keeping this book is because I'm in the last chapter (which I helped write, which means it was written well). It's fun to pull the book out and show people the photo and part I wrote. Then it goes right back on the shelf.

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THE SEA HUNTER II

Manufacturer: Berkley Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQG5TI

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The Sea Hunters II
Clive; Dirgo, Craig Cussler
Manufacturer: Putnam Pub Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NW9OUM

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Sea Hunters II (SIGNED)
Clive Cussler
Manufacturer: Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GTNRCS

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The Sea Hunters Ii - More True Adventures With Famous Shipwrecks
Clive & Dirgo, Craig Cussler
Manufacturer: G. P. Putnam's Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W5ZKYO

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Sea Hunters II, The
Clive Cussler
Manufacturer: Arrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH7NRC

Book Description

This unique reference is a comprehensive encyclopedia dedicated to the institutions, religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies throughout the world. Placing particular emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World contains over 750 articles in four volumes on Muslims in the Arab heartland as well as South and Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. An invaluable resource, the Encyclopedia offers extensive comparative and systematic analyses of Islamic beliefs, institutions, movements, practices, and peoples on an international scale. The alphabetically arranged articles range from brief 500-word essays to major interpretive and synthetic treatment of topics such as the Islamic state, pilgrimage, law, marriage, and foreign relations. Related entries cover areas of general interest such as social and political movements, women, Muslim minorities, human rights, Islam in the West, and interreligious affairs. And prominent figures that had a lasting impact on Islam are explored including Muhammad, Aga Khan, Malcolm X, Muhammad Iqbal, 'Ali Shari 'ati, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Hasan al-Turabi. Truly multidisciplinary, this work reflects the breadth and depth of contemporary scholarship in Islamic studies. Combining the tools of the humanities and social sciences to examine the interrelationship of religion, politics, and culture in Muslim societies, it explains the changing realities of Muslim life. Its unique focus makes The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World an invaluable reference for scholars and students of many disciplines, government and media analysts, and anyone interested in increasing their understanding of Islamic politics and culture.

Customer Reviews:

Invaluable.......2002-01-06

This is a fantastic set of books, both for the layperson and the scholar. It's written by a wide assortment of experts in the field, people who are extremely qualified and unbiased. A wide range of topics is covered. This IS the modern Islamic world, though, so there's very little historical information. But I use it constantly, both to satisfy my own curiosity and for a book I'm writing. Thank you to the editors and contributors of this great work.

Bravo, Mabruk ! Dr. Esposito.......2001-11-09

I just received my set of 4 volumes and already consulted it for an article I'm preparing. I was surprised at the breadth of the articles and the references provided. The information available in each article extends beyond the basic and lends itself easily to in-depth investigation. A truly excellent work and well worth the expense. For the Middle East Studies professional, analyst, academic, consultant this encyclopedia will be very useful.

Excellent encyclopedia about MODERN islamic topics.......2001-06-06

I had heard much praise about this encyclopedia. Still, I was hesitant to spend the money..... so I visited a library that had them on their shelves. I read and read, for hours - with pleasure! I then went home and placed my order.

Each word/catagory/topic is well explained in plain and easily understandable english. The contributing writers are well established in their respective fields. (John Esposito is the editor and not the sole writer of this encyclopedia.)

Book Description

The spellbinding story of the search for the first conclusive evidence of human evolution

Men killed for them, stole for them, and died for them. "Dragon bones," coveted throughout China for their medicinal powers, are in reality animal fossils, ground down and sold through back-street Chinese apothecaries. Yet at one time these "dragon bones" proved more valuable than anyone had imagined, for they led to the unearthing of one of the most famous hominid fossils of all time-Peking Man. The Peking Man fossils were the first convincing evidence that humans arose from apelike hominids.

Penny van Oosterzee has written a riveting historical account of the discovery of Peking Man, from the excavation of one small fossilized molar to the mysterious disappearance of the fossils at the beginning of the Second World War.

Customer Reviews:

A Mild Case of Schizophrenia.......2007-09-30

I picked up Dragon Bones on a whim, hoping to find one of two things: either a readable history of the chaotic early 20th-century pioneers of paleontology as applied to human origins, or else a serious discussion of the importance of Peking Man in the development of ideas about that same subject - origins. Given the book's brevity, I had no expectation that it could or would attempt to contain both. Unfortunately, Van Oosterzee seems to have been unable to choose between the two.

In her afterword, Van Oosterzee says she was aiming for readability (she also calls the book, rather alarmingly, a "novel"). And in that she has succeeded. For the majority of its length, this reads like the sort of junior-high level intro to adventures in science that would fit snugly into any school library. Even here, though, Van Oosterzee makes baffling narrative leaps - starting on what sounds like a rich story of one person's obsessive digging and eventual find, but then leaping away from that moment to a completely separate (by time, geography, or both) setting and quest. She generally does not attempt to make the connections between these stories, which creates a sense of aimlessness. Thrown in here and there are fictional episodes of pre-homo sapiens' day-to-day lives, which make this feel even more like a youth-targeted endeavor.

At the very end of the book, Van Oosterzee shifts tone and attempts to cram into twenty pages a more technical summary of the taxonomic complications involved with speciation or subspeciation of Homo Sapiens ancestors and offshoots. This section felt hurried and, frankly, scientifically weak.

There are books that can accomplish layers of exploration, education, and narrative, and do all three well. David Quammen's "Song of the Dodo" is a masterpiece in this vein - part scientific theory, part narrative history, part travelogue - but Quammen gives himself 500 pages in which to work. "Dragon Bones" is too short to have tried to be more than one thing, and as such it fails on several levels. It might provide an easy-reading start to whet a young reader's interest in its subject, but that is roughly the limit of its merits.

Good social background, poor science.......2001-03-15

As a science writer and paleoanthropologist, I was excited to see a new treatment of the Peking Man fossil discoveries, which are intriguing, important, and wonderfully mysterious. The author does a nice job of recounting the many familiar old stories about Peking Man and its tragic loss during the Japanese invasion of China, though I had hoped for new material or insights. She provides some useful background about political and social movements in China. Where she strikes out completely is in presenting the factual content of what we know about human evolution. Her account of the evolution of the human lineage from an apelike ancestor is not simply eccentric, it is downright fictional. She actually invents and names new groups of human ancestors (without evidence) that I have never heard ANY anthropologist discuss. I am horrified that anyone would think this a good introduction to human evolution.

An excellent general introduction to anthropology!.......2000-11-15

Penny Van Oosterzee's, 'Dragon Bones : The Story of Peking Man' is one of the best books that I have read regarding this subject. 'Dragon Bones' is presented in an unpretentious and non-academic style that will appeal to a wide range of readers. Van Oosterzee also puts forth an interesting scenario for the missing bones of the Peking Man. So if you love adventure, mystery, or anthropology then I would highly recommend reading 'Dragon Bones'. This book would also make an excellent general introduction text for undergraduates taking their first anthropology class in college.

Fascinating Story of Linking Humans to Apes.......2000-08-03

This is the story of how human perspective shifted from the perspective of a literal reading of the Bible to pursuing the implications of Darwin's work in search of human origins. Darwin speculated that there would be a link between humans and apes. How was that link to be investigated?

Before Darwin, fossils were a curiosity rather than a source of scientific study. This wonderful book focuses on the activities that led to locating an important set of fossils (Peking Man) in China.

Unlike most such books, the perspective is quite varied. The author talks about how uneducated Chinese perceived fossils, how apothecaries used them to make medicines, what life as a human precursor might have been like in China, the task of finding the fossil sources, convincing scholars that this was significant, and the battle to save the fossils (unsuccessfully). The story-telling style is wonderful, so this reads more like an adventure novel (almost like Indiana Jones) rather than dry scientific history. The photographs are very helpful in expanding the reader's understanding of the subject.

The backdrop of a rapidly modernizing China going through foreign interference and civil wars is a powerful context for a fascinating pursuit of human knowledge. Overcome your disbelief stall that scholarship moves quickly and surely to accurate conclusions. The pathway is much more like two steps forward, one step backward, three steps sidewise, and then two steps diagonally. You will also enjoy the perspective of the other key prehuman fossils, their discovery, and what was learned from each.

Even if you have no interest in evolution or anthropology, you will find this book a great read.

Innovative and Gripping.......2000-06-21

Dragon Bones is an exciting historical account of the discovery of Peking Man and the mysterious disappearance of the fossil during World War Two. The author, Penny van Oosterzee explores the discovery of the important anthropological fossil from many different perspectives, and sets it against the background of the Chinese civil war. She skilfully explores the importance of the find.

Book Description

Once a forlorn village fifty kilometers south of Beijing, Zhoukoudian (formerly Choukoutien) is today a virtual shrine to archaeology, a bustling community with its own highway extension, a major exhibit hall which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually, and one of the world's
most famous fossil sites. Still active today, this site in seven decades has contributed immeasurably to our knowledge of prehistoric life. It boasts one of the richest fossil deposits found anywhere, ranging from the Early Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, a span of three million years. It has
provided some of the earliest evidence of fire usage ever uncovered. And most important, it is the home of Peking Man, whose discovery ranks as one of the great events in modern archaeology.
Now, in The Story of Peking Man, one of China's foremost archaeologists, Jia Lanpo, offers a profusely illustrated history of Zhoukoudian, tracing its earliest discoveries and greatest moments, recounting the tragic events of World War II (Japanese soldiers murdered three archaeologists and the
Peking Man fossils vanished under mysterious circumstances), and evaluating its overall importance. Lanpo spent over half a century at Zhoukoudian and he provides many fascinating, first-hand accounts of scientists at work, including such figures as Davidson Black, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Yang
Zhongjian, Pei Wenzhong, and of course Lanpo himself. He describes how the abundance of "dragon bones"(fossils sold in herbal medicine shops) in Zhoukoudian first attracted Johan Gunnar Andersson, who began excavations there in 1918; the first major discovery, a human skullcap, found by Pei Wenzhong
while digging by candlelight in a tiny cave; and Jia Lanpo's own discovery of a beautifully preserved skullcap in 1936. He vividly conveys the great excitement of an important find as well as the pressure to make major discoveries as funding runs low. And he reviews many of the theories and
controversies surrounding Peking Man--Were they cannibals? Did they use bones as tools? Did humanity originate in Asia or Africa?
Based on numerous unpublished sources, including field reports, personal letters and photographs, and Lanpo's own remembrances, The Story of Peking Man provides an inside look at a major archaeological site, one that will fascinate anyone interested in the origins of humanity.

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The Story of Peking Man

Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr (Trade)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0195851870

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Story of Peking Man
Jia Lanpo
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLAQ3Q

Book Description

The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) takes a participatory assessment approach to the crucial study of the global environment. It is a snapshot of an ongoing worldwide environmental assessment process, incorporating regional views and perceptions and building consensus on priority issues and actions. Input was solicited from 20 collaborating centres, from United Nations organizations, and through regional policy consultations. GEO describes the environmental status and trends in seven regions, summarizes developments over time in regional policy responses, and concludes with an exploration, based on model analysis, of what we might expect in the future for a selected number of environmental issues if no major policy reforms are initiated. GEO shows that although significant progress has been made in the last decade in confronting environmental challenges, both in developing and industrial regions, the global environment has nevertheless continued to degrade. The Report argues that effective policy setting for sustainable development requires a blend of policy instruments that addresses the social fabric of life, ensures effective institutional arrangements, improves the economy, and protects the environment. Ideal for readers interested in the future of the global environment, this book takes an important and essential look at the perceptions, issues, and concerns surrounding the environment.

Global Environment Outlook 2000 - UNEP.(Review): An article from: The Geographical Journal

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Global Environment Outlook 2000 - UNEP.(Review): An article from: The Geographical Journal
Chris Park
Manufacturer: Royal Geographical Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008I7W1Y
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on June 1, 2001. The length of the article is 719 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Global Environment Outlook 2000 - UNEP.(Review)
Author: Chris Park
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2001
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: 167 Issue: 2 Page: 176

Article Type: Book Review

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