EXPEDITION WHYDAH Paperback – April 28, 2000

This is one of the most interesting nonfiction books I have ever read. I was hooked from the beginning of the book. I found the information on Pirates so interesting. I’ve seen so many movies and books about pirates it was nice to see how they really lived. I was also fascinated with the techniques that were used to bring the treasure to the surface. The snobbery of the intellectual elite never ceases to amaze me. The archaeological academics were critical of what he was trying to do from the get go. I visited the Whydah Museum on a recent trip to Cape Cod. I was so happy to be able to see all the things that they have brought up.

Well written account

Very fun, easy read. Good story about the recovery as well as back story & true history of pirates. I also highly recommend an even better treasure hunting book, "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea" about the USS South America.

Dr Clifford was once a resident of the town I live in and went to the same school my daughter went to and all my grandkids.I think he did not get enough publicity when he found this ship and deserves all that comes for his hard work.I love history and would like to hold some of the artifacts in my hand.This book is well written and accurate.A trip to Provincetown and the museum would be a good finish to the book.

Reading

In the past few years, thanks largely to Johnny Depp,there has been an explosion of interest in pirates and swashbuckling sea stories. This book came out considerably before all that (1999)but manages to stir up the same degree of interest for those who are drawn to this topic. I recall being fascinated from the first; any sort of buried-treasure tale is enough to get me to pull out my metal detector and go out and dig holes in the lawn, but the mere name of the ship - "Whydah" - for some reason embodies the spirit of piracy. I wanted to go out and join the team, in any capacity, just to be there when they found stuff.In the interests of that, I put aside all other current reading material and absorbed this book. I found it highly readable and very informative about a wide range of topics - the life of a pirate in 1717, the topography of Cape Cod then and now, the construction and appointments of sailing vessels ancient and modern, and the deplorably predictable barricade-building by bureaucracy in any number of ways. Unfortunately, it is built in for pencil-pushers and decision-makers - most of whom are academics only, with no practical knowledge of what they're ruling on - to impede progress, and apparently they impeded Mr Clifford on a regular basis.Barry Clifford, a salvager by trade, was infected by the story of the Whydah at an early age, by his uncle, who lived pretty much within sight of where the ship had gone down over 200 years before. The tale ate away at Clifford through years of wanderings that took him as far as Colorado but which eventually brought him home to the Cape Cod area (actual home base; Martha's Vineyard). A good part of the book is about his struggles to find funding and backers for his decision to go after the Whydah, and it was this part of the narrative I found particularly tiresome; originally he believed $250,000 would be enough for the project, which even I thought to be airheaded - even allowing for better economic times (1982) and never having contemplated anything of that sort myself. (The research boat alone would eat that up.) It had to be more than trying, admittedly, for Mr Clifford to go before board after board arguing his case and having to constantly deal with the road blocks bureaucracy routinely sets up, but his tone began to be a little unbearable as well. Barry Clifford believes wholeheartedly in Barry Clifford. This is a good thing, when it comes to pursuing a dream to reality, but along the way it's bound to gain a host of detractors. He spends a little too much time insisting on the virtues of private archeology - some of which I do subscribe to - and a little too much time name-dropping (JFK Jr, Walter Cronkite, Prince Andrew,William Styron, etc). It is true that most of those people lived on Martha's Vineyard at the time (few others can afford to now)and were neighbours of Clifford's, but it sounded way too sensationalist to me.Taking the book on its merits, however, Mr Clifford has done an admirable job of outlining the careers of several of the most notorious pirates of the Whydah era. The drawings of the various artifacts brought up from the dig are meticulous and painstaking, right down to the insignia on the everyday dinnerware like spoons, forks, and plates. Everything appears to have been accorded the same degree of respect, right down to carpet tacks; and in his new facility at Provincetown, which houses his finds, he is apparently following all proper procedures of conservation. For that he is to be commended.This was a fast read (finished it in two days, and I am a leisurely reader) and, aside from my minor quibbles with the writing and a bit of the content (presents his case well, but needs a better co-writer to trim away the fat)I got out of it exactly what I purchased it for - information on the Whydah, which has worked my imagination for years also; entertaining sidebars; and a glimpse into history from someone intimately involved in the process. Worth a read.

Good read

A very historical read. Exceptionally well written.Robert

Absolutely fascinating

This book is an absolute must read for any diver, seafarer or adventure seeker. This book is so packed with pictures, history and day to day stories that you are ready to play mother goose and tell your kids true pirate stories and treasure hunts for days in a row!

Loved this book,the real pirate storey.