From the Publisher
Praise for The Curse of Oak Island:
“Sullivan writes with open-minded balance, rendering the Oak Island story into a weirdly fascinating mystery.” —Booklist
“The Curse of Oak Island is a definitive read for fans of the History Channel television show. Sullivan delves deeper into the history, personalities, and theories presented only briefly on the show. His approach is mostly unbiased, though he does tell the reader his thoughts on some of the theories and the theorists that he thoroughly researches and debunks. The book is incredibly well researched and the presentation . . . is very readable. If you’ve watched The Curse of Oak Island and were frustrated that snippets and possibilities were left tantalizingly unexplored, this is the book for you.” —Heather Cover, Homewood Library (Birmingham, Alabama)
“Sullivan isn’t writing about Oak Island the TV show; his subject is Oak Island the place, largely as seen and imagined by the show’s viewers. So, if you’ve ever been more entranced by the show’s long trips into history and theoretical island encounters across history, Sullivan’s book probably needs to be on your Christmas list.” —Starcasm
Praise for Randall Sullivan:
“Compelling . . . No single source presents so complete or damning a record as LAbyrinth.” —Entertainment Weekly on LAbyrinth
“As a forceful author, Sullivan does a masterly job of juggling the dense thicket of facts and navigating the crowded chronology of the case.” —Salon.com on LAbryinth
“Sullivan’s reportage is extraordinary, his narrative enthralling.” —Rolling Stone on The Price of Experience
“Sullivan’s riveting tale is amazingly detailed and artfully presented. . . You can hardly turn the page fast enough . . . Contiporary history, brilliantly written.” —Playboy on The Price of Experience
“[An] engrossing, damning tale . . . Exhaustively researched, the book methodically weaves a disturbing story of corruption, intimidation, and murder.” —Boston Globe on LAbyrinth
“Worthy of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sullivan captures the essence of the world in which Hunt and the BBC operated.” —Chicago Tribune on The Price of Experience
“A stunning mix of the personal and the historic, interviews and experiences, with Sullivan incredibly nimble at making the worlds overlap.” —Booklist (starred review) on The Miracle Detective
“Well-told and expertly researched.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Miracle Detective
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Treasure was found on Oak Island, Nova Scotia, deep below the ground in 1795—so begins Braden Wright’s slow and steady narration. As is so common in nonfiction, Wright uses a minimal shifts in tone and pacing to differentiate letters and news accounts from dialogue and narrative. Wright becomes audibly emotional and engaged with the treasure hunt and the lives of treasure-burying pirates, including Captain Kidd, Morgan, and even Peter Easton. Listeners will hear about a continuous string of treasure hunters and their numerous expeditions, as well as excavation techniques. Flooding tunnels, collapsing shafts, empty promises, and squandered fortunes are described in minute detail as Wright captures the thrill of searching for an elusive treasure. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-09-17
A companion volume to the DIY treasure-hunting History Channel series.
Is there anyone who doesn't like a good yarn of hidden treasure and long-lost gold? No, and that's why Robert Louis Stephenson remains so popular today. Unfortunately, this book is no Treasure Island but instead a sometimes-tedious, overly detailed account of the many treasure-hunting expeditions to a woody Canadian island and the theories about the treasure hidden underground. Former Rolling Stone contributing editor and true-crime specialist Sullivan (Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson, 2012, etc.) explores a tale focusing on the efforts of brothers Marty and Rick Lagina to wrest the secrets of a scrubby, tiny spot of land off the Nova Scotia coast. And what might they find? Red herrings, maybe, including "a giant insulating sponge spread out for a length of 145 feet along the shoreline between the high and low tide marks." Also, deep pits, tunnels, and hidden chambers, to say nothing of "five large granite stones that were spread in different directions in the vicinity of…Joudrey's Cove." What else? Well, Oak Island could hide Spanish doubloons from ships blown off course by Caribbean hurricanes or maybe some of Captain Kidd's ill-gotten loot. Then there are more Dan Brown-esque possibilities, all of which the Lagina brothers merrily entertain on their show and Sullivan dutifully rehearses: the Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant, for example, spirited away from their lairs in Cathar France to Scotland "and then, of course, to Oak Island." Maybe there is something planted by the Knights Templar or a secret left behind by Francis Bacon, the English scientist and all-around oddball, "a theory tethered—at some points, at least—to historical evidence," as Sullivan credulously but unconvincingly writes.
A middling account for those with an unquenchable jones for yarns of lost codices, Nicholas Cage movies, Edgar Cayce prophecies, and the like.
