Great American Treasure Hunting Stories

Two of mankind’s most persistent quests—“get rich quick” and “something for nothing”—provide the power driving these tales of treasure-seekers in action. Renowned storytellers like Louis L’Amour and Jack London join real-life adventurers risking their lives for riches they think are worth the dangers. Buried treasure, creeks glittering with gold nuggets, sunken galleons filled with Spanish doubloons—the mother lodes are as varied as the men pursuing them. Some of the seekers will be rewarded; others face tragedy in remote places, lost among the jungles, mountains, and oceans. In both fiction and non-fiction, these stories make treasure hunting a real-life experience, in gripping prose that makes the reader of these stories part of the hunt itself.

In Great American Treasure Hunting Stories, editor Lamar Underwood has pulled together some of the finest writings about treasure hunts that capture readers imaginations about times and places long ago and far away.

Robert M. Edsel brings the story of his #1 NYT bestseller for adults The Monuments Men to young readers for the first time in this dynamic, narrative nonfiction project packed with photos. Robert M. Edsel, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Monuments Men, brings this story to young readers for the first time in a sweeping, dynamic adventure detailing history's greatest treasure hunt.As the most destructive war in history ravaged Europe, many of the world's most cherished cultural objects were in harm's way. The Greatest Treasure Hunt in History recounts the astonishing true story of 11 men and one woman who risked their lives amidst the bloodshed of World War II to preserve churches, libraries, monuments, and works of art that for centuries defined the heritage of Western civilization. As the war raged, these American and British volunteers -- museum curators, art scholars and educators, architects, archivists, and artists, known as the Monuments Men -- found themselves in a desperate race against time to locate and save the many priceless treasures and works of art stolen by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

"There is something about a treasure," says Joseph Conrad in Nostromo, "that fastens on a man's mind." And, yes, there is something about the subject of treasure hunting that continues to fascinate us. One only needs to browse the Web to discover a whole netherworld of treasure-hunting magazines, metal-detector clubs, and lost-mine information exchanges that apparently engage the funds and spare time of thousands of hopefuls. But digging up tin cans and discarded horseshoes or crashing through the Superstitions in a "recreational vehicle" somehow goes against the romantic grain. Charles Elliott recaptures the essential romance of the search in this collection of classic stories. Many are true - or purport to be. They encompass all the great themes - obsession, tragedy, danger, crime, frustration, terrible physical challenge, success and disappointment. They take place under the sea, in jungles, on desert islands, even in the attics of old houses. The treasure itself is not always gold, silver, and diamonds - it may be lost documents, the solution to a historical puzzle, or an unexpected archaeological discovery. What is common to them all is the excitement of the chase and the possibility - irrational, perhaps, but unavoidable -that treasure really is there for the finding.

The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.

For over four decades, world-renowned diver and treasure hunter Captain Robert MacKinnon has reclaimed sunken caches from the dangerous shallow waters along Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast. Known as the Death Coast for its treacherous reefs and violent currents, the rocky bottom is layered with shipwrecks and untold riches. In short, a treasure hunter’s paradise. The shipwrecks in these rough waters can be piled three deep, and some date back to the 1700s. Braving powerful currents, deadly storms, and jagged reefs, Captain MacKinnon and his diving teams strap on their gear and zip up their wet suits to plunge into frigid waters in their search for gold and silver coins, bullion, and historical artifacts. In Treasure Hunter, Robert MacKinnon recounts the risks and challenges—both nautical and legal—in exploring shipwrecks dating back to the War of 1812 and before the Revolutionary War. As he salvages the secrets of the sea, MacKinnon vividly captures the excitement of discovery and conveys his passion for preservation in the still-developing field of underwater archeology. A compelling chronicle of modern-day adventure, Treasure Hunter is a fascinating voyage into an amazing undersea world.

Gear up for an exciting adventure with the thrill-seeking Kidds as they search for a missing Incan city in South America made entirely of gold! When Bick and Beck Kidd find a hidden trove of pirate treasure, it includes a map with clues to an even bigger score: the lost Incan city of Paititi. But treasure hunting is never easy—and when the map is stolen, the Kidds must rely on Storm's picture-perfect memory to navigate the dangerous Amazon jungle. Watch out for that nest of poisonous snakes! To save the Amazon rainforest and stop a Peruvian tribe from losing their home, the Kidds must unlock the secrets to the missing map and find the fabled city of Paititi . . . before the bad guys find it first. The race is on!

The U.S.A. is in danger... Only the Kidds can find the treasure that will save it! Bick, Beck, Storm and Tommy are stuck in Washington, D.C. without any priceless antiques to hunt--BORING! But everything changes when the Kidds uncover a dastardly conspiracy: a fake Bill of Rights! Now they're crisscrossing the country in a race to prove the document is a forgery. But the key to exposing the conspiracy may have been under their noses the whole time. And if they don't find it soon, the U.S.A. as we know it could be gone forever...