The search for the Atocha /

The story of ""the world's greatest treasure hunter,"" star of earlier books, and why he is singing the blues over government interference in his treasurehunting. Mel Fisher of the Florida Keys has long been searching the seabottom for the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha which sank with a hold full of bullion and coins worth, conservatively, $140 million. Fisher's quest has cost him dearly, especially in the lives of his son Dirk and daughterin-law Angel when their ship capsized overnight due to a faulty toilet pump. Eugene Lyon, a historian and colleague of Fisher's, found the manifest of the Atocha on record in the Archives of the Indies in Seville, along with the identification numbers on each bar of gold and silver bullion and each cannon the ship carried. Great joy was felt by Fisher's crew when they discovered the A tocha's decking and several cannons, along with some bars and artifacts. With the help of new devices for sweeping the ocean floor, these were recovered and the search for the mother lode of bullion went on in great earnest. But as years passed it became clear to Fisher that the ship had broken up while sinking and that the deck had been carried miles beyond the main lode. Meanwhile, he was vilified by other treasure salvagers for having ""salted"" his discovery, and the state of Florida and federal government got into a huge wrangle over taxation and recovery rights. After seven years of legal battle and at the height of his fame, with a major National Geographic article and PBS television documentary appearing about his activities, Fisher went broke, still owing various crews $112,000; and today his work is suspended. Still, he's certain he knows where to look for the big haul. Familiar material that still casts a come-hither glow. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.