Treasure
Treasure book cover

Treasure

Paperback – October 15, 1989

by
Price
$5.30
Format
Paperback
Pages
544
Publisher
Pocket Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0671704650
Dimensions
4.5 x 1 x 7 inches
Weight
8.8 ounces

Description

Associated Press "There's 'treasure' to be found in Chive Cussler's iatest novel, and it's not the discovery of the golden casket of Alexander the Great.... The true treasure is Dirk Pitt." -- From the Publisher Charts of lost gold...breathtaking art and rare volumes...maps of hidden oil and mineral deposits that could change the world's balance of power. Now DIRK PITT discovers the secret trail of the treasures of Alexandria -- a trail that plunges him into a brutal conspiracy for total domination of the globe. Zealots threaten to unseat the governments of Egypt and Mexico, exposing America to invasion and economic collapse. Suddenly, from East to West, anarchists reach their deadly tentacles into the heart of the United States. And DIRK PITT, the hard-hitting hero of Clive Cussler's smash bestsellers Sahara and Inca Gold, is up against the most feared assassin known to man. An international band of terrorists is making its play for world power on the high seas -- and Pitt is the only man alive who can stop them! Clive Cussler is acclaimed worldwide as the Grandmaster of Adventure. He got his start in advertising, first as an award-winning copy writer, and then as creative director for two of the nation's largest agencies. His initial foray into fiction was in 1973, when he wrote his first Dirk Pitt® novel. Since then he has continued to write Dirk Pitt® adventures while living a life that nearly parallels that of his action hero. Like Pitt, Cussler enjoys discovering and collecting things of historical significance. With NUMA (National Underwater & Marine Agency, a non profit group begun by Cussler) he has had an amazing record of finding over 60 shipwrecks, one of which was the long-lost Confederate submarine Hunley. Cussler also has a renowned and extensive classic car collection, which features over 80 examples of custom coachwork. Along with being Chairman of NUMA, he is also a fellow of the Explorers Club (which honored him with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration), the Royal Geographical Society and the American Society of Oceanographers. Married to Barbara Knight for 40 years, with three children and two grandchildren, he divides his time between the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of Arizona. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • Charts of lost gold...breathtaking art and rarevolumes...maps of hidden oil and mineral deposits thatcould change the world's balance of power.Now DIRK PITT discovers the secret trail of thetreasures of Alexandria -- a trail that plunges him into abrutal conspiracy for total domination of the globe. Zealotsthreaten to unseat the governments of Egypt and Mexico,exposing America to invasion and economic collapse.Suddenly, from East to West, anarchists reach their deadlytentacles into the heart of the United States.And DIRK PITT, the hard-hitting hero of Clive Cussler'ssmash bestsellers Sahara and Inca Gold, is up against themost feared assassin known to man. An international bandof terrorists is making its play for world power on the highseas -- and Pitt is the only man alive who can stop them!

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(2.3K)
★★★★
25%
(938)
★★★
15%
(563)
★★
7%
(263)
★
-7%
(-264)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Fast Paced Action Thriller

Clive Cussler's Treasue starts out like any other og his books. On this historic flashback, a roman named Julies Vernator sails a fleet of ships carrying a unknown cargo across the ocean. He hides the cargo in a cave somewhere on the unknown continent they sailed to. Vernator and his crew come under attack by primitives and never make it back to Spain. One ship makes it away and it's final resting place was unknown. Many centuries later, Dirk Pitt stumbles across the wreck of the ship and an assination attempt on the Egptian Secretary General, Hala Kamil. The mystery unfolds as Pitt tries to find the treasure that was mentioned on tablets in the sunken ship. The treasure just happens to be a portion of the Library of Alexandia. NUMA is recruited to help find the Ehyptian national treasure so that the Egyptian leader, President Hasan, can stay in office a little longer so that a terrorist leader named Akmid Yazid does not take over Egypt. In his insane attempt to take over Egypt, Yazid orders his mercenaries to steal a ship with the Egyptian and Mexican leaders on board. They steal the ship and lose all the follers whil disguising the ship as an iceberg and sailing near Antarctica. Pitt and a team from NUMA track the ship and lead an American SOF team to retake the ship while stopping the terrorists and saving the hostages. Pitt then finds the treasure and peace is restored to Egypt. This is one book that has you by the pages. You wil not want to put this book down.

-Hans Fertig
16 people found this helpful
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Cussler at his best!

I read almost all of his books to date but "Treasure" is still the very best Clive Cussler ever wrote. Might be because of the ever charming characters Pitt and his best buddy, might be because of the thrilling suspense with surprising twists and turns or might be because the subject of the book the library at Alexandria is one of the last secrets that were never really revealed.
This book really is a must read Cussler adventure.
Get rid off "Sahara", turn off the TV and grab this book!
9 people found this helpful
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Compelling action and intriguing setting

When reading this book, remember that it's entertainment, like regular television programming is in contrast to the movies of Kurosawa, so expect mediocre prose, dramatic characters, gratuitous violence and quasi-lurid encounters to keep us groundlings happy. If you can accept that level of quality, you will find in "Treasure" a compelling story because of the way it is knit into geopolitical and economic and historical factors; Cussler very ingeniously integrates modern and ancient motives and comes up with a puzzle for his characters - we, the readers, are just tagging along, although he gives us hints. Through some wisdom of his audience, he does not overindulge in descriptions of technology or the means of hunting for archeological finds, but he does show us the excitement and surprise of an unexpected windfall. Yes, I know the characters are like cardboard cutouts of real people, but look at it this way: this book is a dramatization of events that, if described accurately, would render in excruciating detail a 2,100-page tome full of committee meetings and radio conversations. Strangely, it seems that even in pulp literature, there's room to lyricize experience and make from it a myth, albeit a cheap one, and Cussler does this successfully with this Dirk Pitt novel. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a good read and is uncritical of hyperbole.
5 people found this helpful
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Fight bad guys, find treasure, get the girl

Action, action, action!

Dirk Pitt is a recurring character in Clive Cussler's novels. This combination of international crime fighter/archaeologist find adventures around the globe. You can read more about him on wikipedia and other sites.

As this Dirk Pitt adventure opens, we find our hero in the North Atlantic searching for a lost Soviet sub. This task is interrupted, however, by the crash of a jet carrying the Secretary General of the United Nations (an attractive lady, of course). From the coast of Greenland, Pitt will get entangled in a worldwide conspiracy that will lead him to the US, Antartica and South America. He runs afoul of terrorists from the Mid East and a vicious cult leader trying to gain control of Mexico and reclaim Texas. In the middle of this, his father, the senator, is kidnapped. How does Dirk Pitt get himself into such situations!? Will he get out? Sure, but the fun is in the journey.

No one picks up a Dirk Pitt novel expecting great literature, but to enjoy a wild adventurous ride. This has all of the elements fans love in Custler's Dirk Pitt novels, including the "car".
4 people found this helpful
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If you have a lot of time to waste then this book is for you!

This book was referred to me by a friend, who enjoyed it very much. I gave it a shot.

I was not impressed.

It's like a Dan Brown book without the extensive research, the cliffhanger moments, the interesting plot, or likable characters. The whole opening sequence of events whereby Lily, Dirk, and Hala meet is so "out there" that it made me want to put down the book right there.

This is not a solid cussler book. Boring at times, but worst of all...with a luke-warm build-up, bad final scene between Dirk and the "bad guys", and the absolute WORST LAST SENTENCE IN A BOOK, EVER! (I won't spoil it for you, but if you torture yourself enough to get this far, you'll know what I mean. So cheesy, so bad.)

Do yourself a favor. If you're a fan of Cussler, pass on this book and read something else, lest you destroy your opinion of his work.

One more thing Mr. Cussler, gas is not sold by the liter in the United States. We use good old fashioned GALLONS!
4 people found this helpful
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A Great Pitt Book

One of the best Pitt books ever. You won't be able to put it down. This is one of those books you say you'll put down....after the next page. Cussler has written a great novel once again. Dirk Pitt is very James Bond like.
4 people found this helpful
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I love it!

I absolutely positively love it! It has just enough politics to match in with action, and the plot is great: I tried to guess what would happen next but didn't really succeed at anywhere else but when the Ibn guy entered the cave at the end, where I just guessed that it was him who entered and not one of the soldiers. Anyway, I recommend this to anybody who likes good plots... it's like an Agatha Christie with a lot of action put in.
4 people found this helpful
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A Cracking Good Yarn!

A "treasure" of a read! Treasure is an interesting story with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end! Cussler always brings in an unusual and interesting history hook to start off the story and this one is no exception...the tale begins in the late Roman Empire at the famous Library of Alexandria,(one of the eight wonders of the ancient world)! Oops sorry I can not tell you more, but suffice it to say Cussler is both a good researcher and story teller and you will love it as much as I did...buy it!
3 people found this helpful
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Disappointing

I was not impressed with this book at all.

There are many sections of the novel that are just so boring, I almost felt conpelled to just bail on it. I only finished the novel because I'm a completist. Many of Cussler's interests just do not interest me at all, which leads to large sections of the novel devoted to things I really don't care at all about (i.e. antique cars).

Also, I just find all the Dirk Pitt hero worship to be nauseating. There were many parts of the novel where I found myself just rolling my eyes at how the other characters were slobbering over the greatness that is Dirk Pitt.

I guess these novels are just not for me. I'm from a generation that idolizes Al Bundy and Homer Simpson, not these ridiculous James bond type characters.
3 people found this helpful
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My favorite so far

I'm reading this series in order and this is by FAR the best yet.

The earlier books weren't as well written and the dialogue was

horrendous at times but, I stuck it out and I'm glad I did.

Dirk Pitt is just plain, old school, cool. He's equal parts, James Bond, Indiana Jones, with a little MacGuyver thrown in too.

Cussler is now reaching his pace in the series it seems and things are much improved. The action (which has always been good), writing, jokes (with the occasion groaner), and characters are just great and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series which I now rank right along side 007 for sheer reading enjoyment.

You can read the earlier stuff but, I recommend starting with

Night Probe, then, Deep Six, Cyclops, and Treasure. Then, on you

go.....
3 people found this helpful

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