Treasure Ship: The Legend and Legacy of the S.S. Brother Jonathan

by Dennis M. Powers

The half-city-block long sidewheeler, S.S. Brother Jonathan, struck an uncharted reef in 1865 off Northern California. Sinking underneath the seas in 45 minutes, the ship took down with her multi-million-dollars of newly minted gold coins and bullion. Only 19 hardy souls survived out of 244 people on board, including a near “who’s who” of the famous personalities of the times. Although tantalizingly close to land and despite countless attempts to locate the ship and its gold, the ship’s location remained a secret for over 125 years--that is, until a band of underfunded adventurers used different assumptions and found it and its treasures. Not only did Deep Sea Research bring up over 1000 near-invaluable gold coins, it also found trouble, including a historic maritime decision by the U.S. Supreme Court over who owned the treasure--and what was still there.

Genres: History

429 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the thing that strikes you about this book is the writing does not have any flow. While not as bad a reading an encyclopedia, it does have that feel. It's hard to pin down but the sentences or paragraphs are not as coherent as they could be. There is something missing from the writing style. It was nothing that made me want to stop but did make me have to re-read many times. It was a strange reading experience. The story for the most part was pretty good. The first half dealing with the ship and it's wreck was good but standard ship wreck history stories. You've read it all before in other shipwreck stories but I don't hold that against it, just nothing remarkable. The latter half is not as gripping and I lost interest but not enough to stop. I Again, it was a weird book. t was well researched with many details. Maybe too many. I've never had a mediocre book that I didn't want to stop reading except this one. But I am glad that it is over. Weird book, weird review.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book went into a lot of detail not just about the wreck, but the boondoggle caused in discovering it.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contained fascinating facts about my ancestors General George Wright and Margaret Wallace Forster Wright. Thank you for the research and details!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of interesting information about life and commerce on the west coast around the time of the Civil War.

[Kevin Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Lots of legalese but the author made it understandable. He painted a picture of what the wreck must have been like that seemed pretty realistic. Well researched. Want to know more about the present status of the recovered coins.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated by this book. I had read "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea" years ago, and loved that one. This one really held me. The first part, about the shipwreck was interesting, since I had never heard about the Brother Jonathan, but was not as intriguing as the story about attempting to salvage the treasure. The author was very detailed about all aspects of the salvage. Since I'm an amateur coin collector, I loved his account of the numismatic world, and determining value to coins. I also am hugely disappointed at the state of California, and its stance on salvaging sunken ships in its territory. Atrocious!
Highly recommended, especially for those interested in treasure hunting and numismatics.

[thevalkyriereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting and interesting read of a historic tragedy. For anyone who grew up or lived along the coast of Crescent City knows this story. The S.S. Brother Jonathan was our H.M.S. Titanic. The shipwreck created the need for Point St. George lighthouse, a beacon of hope for future ships. To this day, there is still debate over the ownership of the S.S. Brother Jonathan.

[Jean Zebedee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history

Good read for history buffs. Loved the mention NK Rodman and all the machinations of recovery and dispersal of the booty. Zizi

[Leo Mccarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, fascinating story of the ships history, sinking and recovery of artifacts and coins. Also interesting to rwad an account of how intrusive and over-reaching the government of California is.