Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea

This is actually the third time I’ve read this book, but the last two were over a decade ago, so I never recorded them. I read this again because I sent a copy to a friend who likes treasure hunting, and I decided to read it along with him.

This is the true story of one man’s search for the wreckage of the S.S. Central America. The ship was a steamer that was making its way up the coast from Panama to New York in 1857. It had a load of passengers from the west coast who had traversed Panama with all the gold they found during the Gold Rush. The ship went down in a storm, along with over 400 of the almost 600 souls onboard.

The book starts with a long narrative of the storm and the ship’s sinking, which is absolutely riveting. You progress from a small leak, to enough water to swamp the boilers, to offloading the women and children, the actual sinking, and the recovery of a few other survivors over the next few days.

Then the book jumps forward over a 100 years to introduce Tommy Thompson. He was a borderline genius, who I believe was somewhere on the autism spectrum. He was constantly thinking differently about all sorts of topic, testing theories, conducting pet research, etc. One day he became interested in finding lost treasure, and this culminated with his plan to have investors finance a expedition to find the Central America.

He proceeds methodically, in opposition to most treasure hunters. He has a plan and a search grid, and he assembles clues from all available resources, assigning a probability to every sector. He forms a company and raises money from investors and sets out to sea to find the wreck.

What follows is just a great procedural of how to solve problems, form hypotheses, evaluate evidence, and come to conclusions. It reminded me of The Martian in that respect – Thompson just solves probably after problem, slowly and carefully, always with his eye on the end goal.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s just a lovely book that makes me think humans can overcome any odds and solve any problem they put their minds too. I found it – and still find it – incredibly inspiring.

Book Data

Author

Gary Kinder

Year

1998

Pages

507

Acquired

Not recorded

Open Library

OL1962652W

• I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on September 24, 2026.
• A hardcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.