"& Dirgo, Craig - Dirk Pitt - Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed (b)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cussler Clive)

One shows him standing in a Star fleet command uniform in the controlroom of the Enterprise amid the Star Trek crew. The other has him withfeet braced on the mast of a sinking boat while he clubs the shark fromJaws with an empty rifle. Both were accomplished with digital imagery.

All goes with the personality. Cussler loves to tell funny storiesabout himself as the butt of comedy in strange situations only he couldencounter.

Unlike many successful people, he has been happily married to the samewoman for forty-three years. He and his lovely wife, Barbara, matchtogether like a pair of old, comfortable shoes. When confronted withthe complimentary titles bestowed upon him by book reviewers and hisarmy of fans, Cussler looks through the blue-green eyes that twinkle,smiles, and says, "That's nothing. When Barbara is mad, she calls meOld Crap." x FOREWORD A cheap man? Hardly. He and Barbara supportseveral charities and school endowments. And, of course, there is hiscommitment to preserve America's maritime heritage through his nonprofitfoundation, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA).

He also gives of himself. In talks with agents and editors aboutauthors over lunch in New York, few are mentioned with the respect ofClive Cussler. Authors whose first books he has endorsed with quotesare in great number. Tom Clancy and Stephen Coontz are among those whoreceived endorsements from Cussler for their first published works.

Clive Cussler writes to his readers. He has written books that areenjoyed by children as young as nine years of age and seniors in theirnineties, and by men and women in every walk of life. He is read bypresidents, prime ministers, members of the armed forces, housewives,teachers, business executives, construction workers, firefighters,police and even convicted criminals. He is considered the most popularadventure writer of our time because his books and characters come aliveand he gives readers their money's worth.

The only mystery I can find behind such an intriguing man is that no onehas stepped forward to write a biography of him.

Tom Clancy said it best when he wrote, "A new Clive Cussler novel is likea visit from an old friend."

Arnold Stem

Introduction With more than 90 million copies of his books in print,Clive Cussler has earned his moniker "The Grand Master of Adventure."

He has also been called America's Jules Verne. His works are translatedinto forty different languages, and the exploits of his primarycharacter, Dirk Pitt, are read throughout the world.

In 1996, Cussler branched out into nonfiction, co-writing with CraigDirgo The Sea Hunters, a volume about the exploits of his nonprofitfoundation National Underwater and Marine Agency. To the amazement ofcritics and the publishing community alike, the book reached number fiveon the New York Times hardcover best-sellers list. The introduction ofthe paperback edition of The Sea Hunters gave Cussler his first numberone best-seller. He followed up in 1997 with the return of Dirk Pitt inthe hardcover novel Flood Tide, which opened on the New York Timeshardcover fiction list at number three, moving to number one thefollowing week, a first for a Dirk Pitt novel.

What, then, does the future hold for the author who has often said, "Ienvisioned writing a small paperback series; when I started I thoughtthat if I could make ten thousand dollars a year I would be a happyman."

In this, the companion book to Cussler's works, we will examine thephenomenal success he has achieved and look at the evolution of the DirkPitt novels.

Delving into Clive Cussler's life, we will see how life imitates art andthe close ties that are present between Pitt and Cussler. No work aboutClive Cussler would be complete without a section devoted to his famouscar collection or a concordance listing the characters in Pitt'sadventures.

Join me now as we dig deep into the world of Clive Cussler.

Craig Dirgo

xiv

The Reunion

The evening air was brisk, an overture for the approaching cold ofwinter, when a yellow and green cab stopped at a security gate on thesouth end of Washington's National Airport. The guard studied the passthat was extended by a hand from the rear window, then handed it backand spoke in an official tone.

"Stay on the road. You're in a restricted area."

The driver swung onto the narrow service road that ran parallel with theeast-west taxi strip on the southern border of the airport. "You surethis is the right way?" he asked, seeing nothing but an empty field.

"I'm certain," answered the gray-haired man in the backseat. "I've beenhere before."

"May I ask what you're looking for?"

The man in the backseat ignored the question. "Pull up at that polewith the red light on the top. I'll get out there."

"But there's no sign of life."