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 and Treasure of Kahan (the
last two with his son, Dirk Cussler); 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 and
Skeleton Coast (written with Jack Du Brul).
Clive Cussler lives in Arizona.
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