Clive Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and
published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt®, in
1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The
Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York,
considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler
a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College
was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.
Cussler is an internationally recognized authority
on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA)
a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his
novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history.
He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered more than
60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine
to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the
Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the
Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad,
Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship,
Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a
parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years
to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.
In September, 1998, NUMA - which turns over all
artifacts to state and Federal authorities, or donates them to museums and
universities - launched its own web site for those wishing more information
about maritime history or wishing to make donations to the organization. (www.numa.net)
In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler
is also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic
Society in London. He has been honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for
outstanding underwater exploration.
Cussler's books have been published in more than 40
languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include
Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the
Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops,
Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave,
Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan
Odyssey, Black Wind, Treasure of Kahn and Arctic Drift (the
last three with his son, Dirk Cussler) as well as The Chase; the
nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive
Cussler and Dirk Pitt® Revealed; the NUMA® Files novels Serpent,
Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death, Lost City, Polar
Shift, and The Navigator (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the
Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with
Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship and
Corsair (written with Jack Du Brul).
Clive Cussler lives in Arizona.
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