I recently finished reading Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson and wanted to recommend it to anyone interested in Scuba, History or Adventure. My dad actually recommended the book to me recently and I picked up my copy digitally to read on my Treo via eReader.
As I started the book I was hooked right away. While it’s a non-fiction work, Shadow Divers reads like a novel and I found myself completely living through the lives of the divers as they explored the dangers and mystery lurking below. There are many amazing things about the book, but the fact that it takes place so close to where I live really puts the relative dangers from WWII into perspective. It’s amazing that a Nazi submarine simply disappeared off the coast of NJ in 1945, but even more amazing that you can feel compassion for these men who died, even though they were Nazi soldiers.
While I am a certified PADI Diver, I have never dreamed of doing anything like what was described in this book. The depths (~230′) and risks associated with the discovery are so intense, I found myself thinking about things even when I was not actively reading.
The story compelled quite a few others to follow including a Nova Documentary, which I have not yet been able to find a copy of, but the interative components are live so you can still experience some of the details. I also explored a site dedicated to U-boats referenced in Kurson’s notes on sources, which has a good page on the sub from the book if you want some more info.