The Sunken Gold, Joseph A. Williams
The Sunken Gold, Joseph A. Williams
2 Rating(s)
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
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The Sunken Gold
A Story of World War I Espionage and the Greatest Treasure Salvage in History

Author: Joseph A. Williams

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 10 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/01/2017


Synopsis

On January 25, 1917, HMS Laurentic struck two German mines off the coast of Ireland and sank. The ship was carrying 44 tons of gold bullion to the still-neutral United States via Canada in order to finance the war effort for Britain and its allies. Britain desperately needed that sunken treasure, but any salvage had to be secret since the British government dared not alert the Germans to the presence of the gold.

Lieutenant Commander Guybon Damant was the most qualified officer to head the risky mission. Wild gales battered the wreck into the shape of an accordion, turning the operation into a multiyear struggle of man versus nature. As the war raged on, Damant was called off the salvage to lead a team of covert divers to investigate and search through the contents of recently sunk U-boats for ciphers, minefield schematics, and other secrets. The information they obtained, once in the hands of British intelligence, proved critical toward Allied efforts to defeat the U-boats and win the war.

But Damant had become obsessed with completing his long-deferred mission. His team struggled for five more years as it became apparent that the work could only be accomplished by muscle, grit, and persistence. Using newly discovered sources, author Joseph A. Williams provides the first full-length account of the quest for the Laurentic's gold. More than an incredible story about undersea diving adventure, The Sunken Gold is a story of human persistence, bravery, and patriotism.

About Joseph A. Williams

Joseph A. Williams is a librarian, archivist, and historian holding master's degrees in American History and Library and Information Science from Queens College. He worked for several years as the head of the collections and assistant director of SUNY Maritime College's Stephen B. Luce Library which specializes in nautical research. Currently, he is the Deputy Director of the Greenwich, Connecticut Library. Joseph has published in the fields of maritime history and librarianship including articles in scholarly journals, popular sea history magazines, trade publications, and chapters in anthologies. His work has also been presented at national and regional conferences and symposia. He has taught courses at the graduate and undergraduate level in American History and Librarianship.


Reviews

Goodreads review by N.N. on March 06, 2018

This book was recommended to me and with the constant raving, I had to read it. I wanted to know more about the recovery of gold and be a part of the crew. Instead, I got this book which was very dry. It didn't hold my interest at all and it was like pulling teeth for me to finish it. My Rating: 2 st......more

Goodreads review by Ira on October 03, 2017

This story combined the subject matter of salvaging shipwrecks with some WWI naval history, making it a very exciting and interesting read. I would recommend this book to those looking to read about historical adventure... and if you're a fan of naval history, it's a bonus.......more

Goodreads review by Edwin on July 14, 2017

THE SUNKEN GOLD by Joseph A Williams is really two things, a fascinating and detailed recounting of the recovery of 44 tons of gold bullion lost when the British boat HMS Laurentic sunk during World War I but it is also the story of deep sea diving; how it was at the time and the engineering and pr......more

Goodreads review by Terri on July 12, 2017

During World War I, England was desperate to buy supplies from the United States, and money ran low. The Laurentic left Liverpool on January 23, 1914, with £5,000,000 in gold ingots. Rounding the northern coast of Ireland, the ship struck a pair of mines laid by a German submarine. The ship sank wit......more

Goodreads review by Sharon on November 06, 2017

This Folks was one of the Books that I won on the giveaway book from Good reads. I never was much a history buff but this author JOSEPH A. WILLIAMS drew me so far into this book that it was hard to put it down. His writings drew me so far into the First World War that it became alive in my mind. His......more