Shadow Divers

The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II

By: Robert Kurson

Narrated by: Campbell Scott

For John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, deep wreck diving was more than a sport. Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships.

But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones all buried under decades of accumulated sediment.

No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts that Chatterton and Kohler brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location.

Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, would be drawn into a friendship that deepened to an almost mystical bond of brotherhood. As the men's marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew.

Author Robert Kurson's account of this quest is at once thrilling and emotionally complex. The story of Shadow Divers often seems too amazing to be true, but it all happened, 230 feet down, in the deep blue sea.

Listen to an interview with Robert Kurson on C-SPAN Booknotes from July 11, 2004.©2004 Robert Kurson (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Alex Award Winner, 2005

"While Kurson doesn't stint on technical detail, lovers of any sort of adventure tale will certainly absorb the author's excellent characterizations, and particularly his balance in describing the combat arm of the Third Reich. Felicitous cooperation between author and subject rings through every page of this rare insightful action narrative." (Publishers Weekly)
"A fascinating look at the sometimes communal, sometimes bitterly competitive psychology of wreck-divers, weekend warriors in wet suits whose dangerous hobby is often an antidote to the frustrations of the workaday world." (Booklist)
"The story told in Robert Kurson's new book features undersea thrills, a gripping mystery, incredible discoveries, true-blue friendship, life-or-death crises and history unfolding....Written with great you-are-there intensity and dynamic verve." (The New York Times)
"From U-boat history to the mortal dangers of diving (disorientation is so common that you wonder only three men drowned on this quest), Kurson explains it all, even as he's spinning a fantastic yarn that happens to be true. All he leaves out are the boring parts." (Newsweek)

Campbell Scott is the best narrator of all time.

Any additional comments?

I will listen to anything narrated by Campbell Scott. He truly has one of the greatest voices of all time. This listen was fantastic. The story is fascinating and the production was done really well. We do not often discover a German u-boat at the bottom of the sea that was previously unaccounted for. The story is exciting, the action is dangerous, and the people left an emotional impression on me. I will definitely be listening again. Really loved this one.

Excellent!

Fascinating story. Well-read and moves along well.

gripping

well worth your time. it's a mystery-adventure story.

Wow!

I hesitated to jump into this book as I expected it to be on the dry side. I was wrong! This is easily the best book on tape I've ever heard. It kept me riveted the whole way through. I found myself making up reasons for small car trips so that I could listen to more of it! Even the portions of the book where there is a lot of research going on are exciting because of all of the discoveries that are made. Once you understand things the way the divers do it makes each trip to the wreck much more exciting!

Shadow Divers

Awesome book! I think this is a great book. I love how the history came alive. The reader did a great job. The one bad thing is the "F" word is used multiple times. I have a 16 year old that would love the book, but can't listen because of this.

shadow divers

great book. It is amazing to think it all really happened. A very interesting look into diving and U-boats.

Shadow Divers Was Great!

I was a little hesitant to listen to this book since I have never been interested in WWII and German U boats. I am a recreational diver and this is why I decided to purchase it. I was happily surprised with this one. I enjoyed all aspects of the book and even learned something about WWII, WITHOUT any pain! It was beautifully written and narated very well. There were a few 4 letter words, but otherwise it was a clean book:something I always appreciate. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in diving, WWII and German history.

Very engaging

Once I started listening - I had a hard time stopping to get out of the car. The experiences these divers went through was great to hear about. If you are a diver or just interested in hearing about a wreck divers experiences and the oportunity to find an unidentified sub, I think you will really enjoy this adventure.

Captivating

This book is awesome. If you are not a scuba diver, you will be love this story. If you are a scuba diver, you will listen in awe. If you have ever done a wreck dive and penetrated a shipwreck, you will have the best time picturing what these guys did in your mind's eye. This is a must listen for anyone interested in WWII history and/or scuba diving. The interview, at the end of the book, with the subjects is great too!

Amazing adventure

What a wonderful book, full of characters and adventure. Nicely read by an interested narrator, can't recommend highly enough.