KEY WEST BED & BREAKFAST, Key West Lodging and Accommodation Guide: Florida Traveling Guides: Fatal Treasure: Greed and Death, Emeralds and Gold, and the Obsessive Search for the Legendary Ghost Galleon i Atocha/i

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Similar Items:

•	Treasure! - The Search for the Atocha (History Channel) (A&E DVD Archives)
•	Treasure of Atocha: A Four Hundred Million Dollar Archaeological Adventure
•	Treasures of the Spanish Main: Shipwrecked Galleons in the New World
•	In the Wake of Galleons
•	Famous Shipwrecks of the Florida Keys

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
"In real life-especially off the Florida coast-things can have fatal consequences. Fatal Treasure is a truly compelling read."
-Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Sacrifice and All She Wanted

In 1622, hundreds of people lost their lives to the curse of the Spanish galleon Atocha-and they would not be the last. Fatal Treasure combines the rousing adventure of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea with the compelling characters and local color of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It tells the powerful true story of the relentless quest to find the Atocha and reclaim her priceless treasures from the sea. You'll follow Mel Fisher, his family, and their intrepid team of treasure hunters as they dive beneath the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits and scour the ocean floor in search of gold, silver, and emeralds. And you'll discover that nearly four centuries after the shipwreck, the curse of the Atocha is still a deadly force.

"On this day, the sea once again relinquished its hold on the riches and glory of seventeenth-century Spain. And by the grace of God, I would share the moment of glory . . . . I was reaching for my eighth emerald, another big one, when the invisible hands squeezed my trachea. In desperation, I clutched at my throat to pry away the enemy's fingers. But no one had hold of me."
-From the Prologue

Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been... April 6, 2008
There are many lost treasure stories, but on a personal level this is the one that took the longest and cost the most from those involved. These facts make the story a compelling one , Jedwin Smith was a first hand participant and thus had a greater investment than just writing this book. He is obviously awed by the long strange trip by Mel Fisher and family to reclaim the Atocha. Mel Fisher,simply put, is the quentessential everyman who became obsessed with a dream, had just enough success early on to insure his obsession overtook any semblence of normalcy, yet ended up fully realizing his dream albeit at a supremely high price.

I liked Jedwin Smith's book quite well. It did hit the main interest points. It did not explore Mel Fisher or his methods as deeply as Gary Kinder's book about treasure hunter Tommy Thompson. That said I'm glad I read it, recommend it, but would like to read further about Mel Fisher.

3 out of 5 stars

Frustrating read March 18, 2008
Fancinating subject matter that should have been handled better. I would give it 5 stars just for the subject matter, 1 star for the writing style. The non-linear story telling was difficult to follow - jumping back and forth from the mid 70s, to the 80s, and even jumps to to the 90s. Lack of maps kept one from understanding the actual scope of the search. Some interesting story lines were introduced, but then disappear. For example, I would have loved to have read more on Kane - the prickly other brother - rather than the perfect son -the dead ringer for Mel, who now runs the company. but what was the most distracting aspect of the book was the author's persistent efforts to insert himself into the story. He seems to be convinced that the readers are interested in him. He even resorts to making a story out of his interview with the mother - years after the death of her son Dirk.

Also, it is amazing that the author spent a good deal of time with the search crew his first time out, and apparently never entered the water. My 14 year old boy scuba dives - nothing to it, and some of the search depths are snorkling depths. He seems to only see it as living in Atlanta working 9-5, or living the gypsy life at sea. Doesn't he take vacations? Long weekends? If he was so passionate about 'following his dream' he would have been down there more often - it is just a long day's drive, or a $100 plane ride. I hope someone comes out with the full story on this great treasure hunt.

4 out of 5 stars

See also OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER by Jedwin Smith - Great Gift Books for Dad! June 10, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

It is a miracle to me, and highly admirable, that Jedwin Smith was able to finish and sell this book to John Wiley & Sons on a two-book contract, at the same time investigating and writing his incredible Vietnam War memoir, OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER. This is an amazing author, and I highly recommend either or both of his books as great gifts for Dad.

FATAL TREASURE is less a personal and intimate memoir than the author's incomparable OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER. FATAL TREASURE is more an objective biography of Key West treasure-hunter Mel Fisher and his quest for gold, although readers will enjoy the same first-person, fast-paced, adventure writing, since Jedwin Smith was a part of the crew and a close confidant of the Fisher family for 15 years in researching this book. FATAL TREASURE is a part of the Jedwin Smith story, too.

The focus of FATAL TREASURE, however, is on Mel Fisher and his family and the obsessive quest for legendary gold and emeralds lost at sea when the Spanish galleon, Nuestra Senora de Atocha, and her sister ship, the Santa Margarita, sank off Key West in a hurricane in 1622.

Mel Fisher appeared on the scene in Key West three centuries later, in 1969, and became a well-known legend in his own right until his death in 1998, and even beyond that -- who has visited Key West and not visited, or at least heard about, the infamous Mel Fisher Maritime Museum?

FATAL TREASURE is the saga of the treasure-hunter and his family, through triumph (finding treasure) and tragedy (losing his son and daughter-in-law in an explosion at sea that killed five divers). It is a fantastic adventure story.

-- Sherri Caldwell, Humor Columnist & Reviewer at www.RebelHousewife.com
Co-author, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!

5 out of 5 stars

The definitive book on the 'Atocha' treasure hunt.... March 4, 2005
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

A lot has been written on the search for the legendary treasure galleon 'Atocha.' Unfortunately, not much of it makes for very entertaining reading. Too many writers have taken a great story of persistence, tragedy and faith and turned it into a clinical and boring historical tome. This book however by Jedwin Smith is a great look at Mel Fisher and his 16-year quest to find the mother lode. The author helped dive on the wreck numerous times starting in May 1985 and then several years later. It is this intimate familiarity with the cast involved that brings the story closer to home for the reader.
Mel Fisher is profiled here in all his larger-than-life glory; huckster to his investors, devoted father to his family, and dreamer extraordinaire. Beyond just the glory of July 20, 1985 when his divers uncovered the bulk of his $400 million dollar prize, we learn of all the tragedies that led up to that moment. From the loss of his eldest son, daughter-in-law and another diver in a boating accident ten years to the day before. To the loss of others involved in the 16-year search along the way. It also becomes obvious to the reader that Mel uncovered A LOT of "dry holes" off of Key West over the years in his long and arduous search. Frustration and utter despair would've crushed most treasure hunters. And where those failed, a collapse in the financing would've taken over, but Mel Fisher is portrayed as a forever optimist with his famous saying: "Today's the day."
It is easy to see from 'Fatal Treasure' how his infectious dream and optimism motivated others to help him in his ultimately successful quest. Great annecdotes are also provided here by the author including one about how Jimmy Buffett came aboard Mel's boat the day of the big find to perform 'A Pirate Looks At Forty.' He (Fisher) was named 'President in Perpetuity of Key West' because he so embodied the laid back, drop out of the rat race lifestyle. A little known fact presented is that the author's brother along with Fisher's son Kim and others have continued the quest for the even richer stern section of the ship right up into the present day. Although the pictures in this book are in black and white, the reader gets a good feel for the massive amount of gold, silver and emeralds found. It is over-the-top with regard to bringing this fascinating true adventure to life!

5 out of 5 stars

A vicarious adventure September 2, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Reading Jedwin Smith's book, Fatal Treasure, is like going on an exciting and dangerous underwater mission, but with someone else taking all the chances. It is a vicarious experience I'll never forget. This is a wonderful book, a treasure about finding treasure.