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: Michael Prichard

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Listen to an interview with Robert Kurson on C-SPAN Booknotes from July 11, 2004.

©2004 Robert Kurson (P)2004 Books on Tape

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)

Starts Very Strong, Then Fades a Bit

The Good – This book had the strongest start that I’ve experienced on Audible to date. The writing and narration were spectacular and Robert Kurson’s style makes the story read like fiction. The analogies and anecdotes were all perfectly chosen and timed to make for a total work that is amazing to listen to. As a former diver I have tremendous appreciation for the stories being told, but you need not have diving experience to understand them or the book. As to the narration I wasn’t sure Prichard had the right voice for this book, but I have determined that no other narrator could have done better with this particular material. It’s as though it was written for him to recite. The story is captivating and the sights and sounds are brought to life through the writing and the narration. I couldn’t get enough of the book up to about halfway through! Then the book started to slow down.

The Not So Good - The book starts to dry out (no pun intended) at about three-fourths of the way through and becomes, to a minor extent, mundane. I believe too much filler was put into the book that could have been left out. While I didn’t mind so much that Kurson went into almost mind numbing detail about the main characters’ backgrounds I was left with a bit of an “enough already” feeling when he was going on about the lives of some of the crewman of the submarine. Yes, I know he was trying to give a human side to the sailors and that’s fine, but I think it went on longer then it needed to and with too much detail. The point being, if I wanted to know that much about the crew I would look for biographies or a book about the boat itself. That said I did like the way he brought to the forefront the fact that vessels such as this are war graves and respect should be shown when diving on them. Also there are some minor technical errors, which really come down to editing; for example, and without giving away anything, when Prichard first describes the U-Boat he read the Roman numerals as letters saying “Type” “I”, “x”, “c” instead of “Type 9c”. This should ‘ve been caught in editing! Fortunately this error was corrected further on in the book and was not repeated. Finally, (getting super technical) while not a major issue Kurson fails to point out the full and proper classification of this particular boat and that it was actually a Type 9c/40. I confirmed this with his own cited online resource that he notes in the epilogue. I don't recall that the proper classification of the boat was ever fully addressed which, ironically, seems more important to the book then some of the other stuff being relayed.

The Conclusion – Taking into account all combined elements of the book I firmly believe this is one of those rare books that make being on Audible worth enduring some of the absolute tripe that I’ve had to plod through at times. While it may not be spectacular, it is a very good book and one that I will listen to again.

The obsessive world of advanced wreck diving ...

[Ship]wreck diving is not for the faint of heart and this book expertly captures that frighting, fascinating world and those who are drawn to (obsessed by?) it.

John Chatterton and his diving enemy-turned-partner, Richie Kohler, dive a sunken WWII German U-boat (dubbed the "U-Who" until they finally ID it) off the New Jersey coast. Through 3 dive crew deaths (!), two failed marriages, and numerous harrowing, narrow escapes they relentlessly go back to the mystery sub for several YEARS looking for evidence from which to identify the vessel. Soon they are caught up in the real world of historians, artifacts, documents and oral accounts to ultimately to prove the WWII records wrong and correctly identify the sub.

Kohler, in particular, feels compelled to uncover the story of the German sailors who (all) died when the ship sank and his personalization of their WWII lives is moving. (As long as you don't think too much about the fact they were killing Americans.)

As Chatterton and Kohler get closer and closer (over several years) to identifying the sub, the suspense builds. It climaxes on the last dive during which Chatterton (250 feet underwater) nearly dies twice. Gripping stuff.

My only complaint: the author dwells a bit too long on the "mystical" or philosophical angle to this hunt. However, he did have a good quote from Chatterton: "Excellence is born of preparation, dedication, focus, and tenacity," a prescription Chatterton followed religiously in his pursuit of wreck diving excellence.

... but you'll never get me to voluntarily experience narcosis at 200 ft.

Simply fantastic

This book was simply fantastic! It was well organized, researched, thought out, and extremely engaging. I could no stop listening! The narrator was just the right person to read the book.

Couldn’t Stop Listening

A five-star experience listening to this book ---excellent, excellent, excellent --- worth the time, worth the credits. I could not wait to continue with the story --- highly recommended.

History isn't as reliable as I thought!

This is a simply fabulous book whether you're into diving or not. A remarkable story, remarkable divers, well researched and well told - I often found myself holding my breath. Watching the video documentary added another dimension but I'm so glad I had read the book first. Thankyou Bill, John and Ritchie (et al) for your effort - and Robert for telling their story.

couldn't put it down!!!

I belong to a nonfiction book. We have read some great books, like boys in the boat and Shadow of Doubt. this book is right up there with them. Really enjoyed it

Listen to this book!

If you dive, listen to this book. If you have any interest in submarines and shipwrecks, listen to this book. Excellent narration and an excellent book. Just the right amount of history to keep the story going without feeling like your in class.

Do yourself a favor...

...and kick the speed up to 1.15-1.20 after the intro so Paid-by-the-hour Prichard doesn't turn 2.5 hours of your life into dead air.

True Adventure Under the High Seas

A fascinating view into the world of what has to be the most extreme of extreme sports, deep wreck diving. Kurson conveys a treasure chest of historical and technical information, all wrapped in a gripping high-tension narrative. What is most fantastic is the fact that it?s true-every word.

The story invites comparison to works such as ?The Perfect Storm? and ?Touching the Void?; but it transcends those works and others of the genre by allowing the story to stand on its own. Knudson conveys what drives these men through the sheer power of description and story. He doesn?t interject himself or attempt to process the information for us. His meticulous research and winning prose style render that unnecessary.
Listeners will be treated to an education in wreck diving as well as a slice of history. The fear and excitement is palpable in every dive. This is a one of a kind story.

Fascinating!

I am not usually a non-fiction reader, but picked this up last month based on reviews. I cannot say enough great things about it. It was well written, well narrated, and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole listen. I highly recommend this book. I found myself hurrying home in the evenings to listen to the next chapter! I hated for it to come to an end. Listen to this book!