While like most men, Sam prided himself on being equipped with a supernatural internal compass that kept him from ever being lost, he'd also learned to concede those rare times when that compass seemed to be temporary disrepair.

Cussler is the founder and chairman of the real-life National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) which has discovered more than sixty shipwreck sites and numerous other notable sunken underwater wreckages. Clive Eric Cussler (born July 15 1931 in Aurora Illinois) is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. He is the sole author or lead author of more than 50 books.