Book Review: Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

At first glance, you might think Shadow Divers, a non-fiction account of a World War II shipwreck is outside of my normal interests. You'd be super-duper wrong. I LOVE non-fiction that reads like fiction (see: Comfort Crisis), and this fast-paced historical thriller had me hooked from the start.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
It's the tale of shipwreck divers who discovered a German U-Boat from WW2 off the coast of New Jersey. It wasn't supposed to be there. No one knew how it ended up there. For years, they couldn't even identify it. It was deemed too dangerous a wreck for most dive teams to even pursue. But these divers spent a decade relentlessly uncovering first the boat's identity, then most important, its lost-at-sea crewmen. Lives were lost, friendships forged, and history came to life 250 feet beneath the surface of the ocean. TELL ME THAT'S NOT EXCITING.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
It turns out shipwreck diving is as rock star as it comes, PLUS it's right up there with base jumping in terms of risk, which makes for enthralling reading. I learned a lot about the history of U-boats (not, in fact, boring), the ins and outs of shipwreck diving (frantic page-turning and captivation), and the sense of obligation these men had to these enemy crewmen lost at sea (moving and inspiring).⁣⁣
⁣⁣
He has other books. I will be reading them.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
[Image: Me sitting cross-legged holding a Kindle-photoshopped copy of Shadow Divers. I'd normally just show the Kindle cover, but it was grainy and hard to read. Also, I'm in yoga tights and slippers, because honestly why bother. All of this signals a sharp devolution in the aesthetics of this series of posts.]⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Follow me on Instagram @melissau.