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

I loved this book. Kept me drawn in from the start. Extremely well written!!! The book arived in perfect condition.

Combining clear, evocative prose with a pulse-quickening true crime writer’s storytelling skill, including an exceptional sense of timing, Robert Kurson recounts an everyman-makes-the-discovery-of-a-lifetime story. To call “Shadow Divers” suspenseful is understating its ability to grab the reader and not let go for 348 pages. Recreational scuba divers finding a phantom U-boat (U-879) at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey in 1991 would offer sufficient excitement to entertain most adventure readers. But the aftermath of this astonishing discovery takes many twists and turns, and two somewhat average Joes, albeit in possession of uncommon testicular fortitude, surnamed ‘Chatterton’ and ‘Kohler,’ come to life on Kurson’s pages. Readers experience these divers’ extraordinary grit and determination as they resolve to uncover the origins of U-879 and what sank her in the frigid depths of the North Atlantic. Using amateur sleuthing as a backdrop, Kurson explores deeply human subjects, for instance, a man balancing a hobby-turned-obsession with work and family responsibilities. Personal discovery is another central theme. About his perseverance and tenacity, John Chatterton, wreck diver par excellence, describes it this way: “When things are easy, a person doesn’t really learn about himself.” Chatterton and Kohler exhibit courage on multiple levels as they refuse to give up on their goal to uncover the identity and provenance of U-879. The author holds his readers in suspense page after page as he relates this story of both men’s unshakeable determination to find the truth, even if it means they do not survive it. For this reader, the most appealing aspect of “Shadow Divers” is Kurson’s ability to take his audience into the mind of a skilled diver as he negotiates a wreck, his life potentially hanging in the balance. We learn that wreck diving, an exceedingly dangerous endeavor to be sure, can be both nerve-defying and life-changing. It reveals a man’s character, more importantly perhaps, how prone he may be to giving in to doubt. For instance, there is this passage: “Did I swim through three rooms to reach the captain’s quarters or only two? Did I go left-right-right or right-left-right before ascending to this gun turret? Have I changed deck levels without realizing it?” Should he become misoriented, a diver finds himself racing the clock, more specifically, the gradually diminishing air supply in his scuba tank(s). Realizing that he still needs to follow a strict decompression protocol on the ascent, he has to account for retaining residual air, unless he can rely on tanks staged on the anchor line leading back to the dive boat. The reader is left to imagine the fear a diver experiences as he finds himself struggling to breathe. “Shadow Divers” recounts mishaps resulting from miscalculation, misorientation, and miscommunication, some caused by nitrogen narcosis, some resulting from human error, panic, or both. Kurson’s blow-by-blow account of these tragic events from diving U-879 is shocking, leaving readers breathless as they experience them seemingly in real-time. Kurson writes well, quite ably incorporating metaphor, humor, and vivid imagery in “Shadow Divers.” He adroitly takes the reader back in time to U-879’s commissioning in 1944 and her maiden voyage to the Atlantic and eventually the coast of New York in early 1945. While reading “Shadow Divers” we feel pathos as we learn of the U-boat’s crew, including her skipper, Helmuth Neuerburg, a consummate professional, suspicious of the Nazi party yet loyal to his country of birth, the German Navy, and its submarine fleet. Providing enjoyable reading, the author humanizes the dauntless young men of U-879 as he explains how the U-boat found herself in enemy waters and at the mercy of the U.S. Navy’s Hunter-Killer Task Groups in the latter stages of World War II. Once the tide had turned, after the Allied invasion of Western Europe, the hunter became the hunted, particularly in U.S. territorial waters. We realize that the men of U-879 virtually anticipated their fate but placed their trust in their able commander, Neuerburg, and first officer, Siegfried Brandt. Professional naval officers both, Neuerburg and Brandt display unwavering devotion to their men. Tracing U-879’s progression through the North Atlantic and eventually to where she found her final resting place off the New Jersey coast over 60 years before Kurson published “Shadow Divers” is simply fascinating. What is incredible to this reader is the exhaustive search Chatterton and Kohler undertake to learn the truth about U-879 that ultimately leads Kohler to Germany, where he meets the surviving family members. According to “Shadow Divers,” the German government never provided an accurate account of what happened to U-879 and, hence, their loved ones’ final days on earth. For years, they were left to speculate as to how their husbands, brothers, and sons died. One finds Kurson’s storytelling at once thrilling and poignant. For instance, there is this passage: “[Jurgen Neuerburg] could produce no memories of his father, as he’d been just three years old when U-869 was lost. But he remembered well his mother’s stories, and the fondness and love with which she’d told them. For hours, while his wife listened closely, he shared these stories with Kohler, showing dozens of photographs and diary entries in between.” Like so many other war deaths anonymously consigned to the annals of history, the crew of U-879 remained in the shadows, both literally and figuratively, until Chatterton discovered the wreck over 200 feet beneath the surface of the Atlantic. Together with Richie Kohler, John Chatterton also discovered what happened to U-879 and brought the lives of her gallant crewmen to the surface. Robert Kurson relates their stories with compassion and dignity and, in the process, entertains brilliantly. A page-turner.

Great book detailing how some amateur divers find, research and eventually identify a previously unknown wreck. If you dive you can begin to associate with the passion, sense of adventure and drive that motivates the main character. It's really interesting to read about the risks and work these divers did to achieve their goal and easy to see how what they learned helped make diving today much safer. Fantastic book

Since I'm just the one who's into reading and history in particular,and is not familiar with diving or such stuff(still), I didn't even know if I got to finish this book when I settled on buying this. But, it turned out that this is absolutely one of the best I've ever read in my entire life! just feel like I'm such a lucky reader that I came across this fabulous book which made an indelible impression.

A very good book that tells a very interesting story in a very engaging way. You feel like you're there during the most intense moments. If you have any interest in diving and/or WW2 naval history this is a must for you.