The Greatest Treasure-Hunting Stories Ever Told: Twenty-One Unforgettable Tales of Discovery Hardcover – July 1, 2003 by Charles Elliott (Editor)
 
"There is something about a treasure," says Joseph Conrad in Nostromo, "that fastens on a man's mind." And, yes, there is something about the subject of treasure hunting that continues to fascinate us. One need only browse the Web to discover a whole netherworld of treasure-hunting magazines, metal-detector clubs, and lost-mine information exchanges that apparently engage the funds and spare time of thousands of hopefuls. But digging up tin cans and discarded horseshoes or crashing through the Superstitions in a "recreational vehicle" somehow goes against the romantic grain. Charles Elliott recaptures the essential romance of the search in this collection of classic stories. Many are true--or purport to be. They encompass all the great themes--obsession, tragedy, danger, crime, frustration, terrible physical challenge, success and disappointment. They take place under the sea, in jungles, on desert islands, even in the attics of old houses. The treasure itself is not always gold, silver, and diamonds--it may be lost documents, or the solution to a historical puzzle, or an unexpected archaeological discovery. What is common to them all is the excitement of the chase and the possibility--irrational, perhaps, but unavoidable--that a fabulous treasure really is there for the finding.


Sholem Aleichem
Richard D. Altick
George Borrow
H. A. Bryden
Arthur L. Campa
Howard Carter
Hedley A. Chilvers
Bernal Diaz del Castillo
J. Frank Dobie
P. H. Fawcett
H. Rider Haggard
Austen Henry Layard
Pierre de Lotil
André Malraux
Cotton Mather
Samuel Pepys
Edgar Allan Poe
Jean Rivoire
M. Aurel Stein
Robert St. Enuit
John L. Stephens
Robert Louis Stevenson
B. Traven
Jules Verne

From the Back Cover"There is something about a treasure," says Joseph Conrad in Nostromo, "that fastens on a man's mind." And, yes, there is something about the subject of treasure hunting that continues to fascinate us. One only needs to browse the Web to discover a whole netherworld of treasure-hunting magazines, metal-detector clubs, and lost-mine information exchanges that apparently engage the funds and spare time of thousands of hopefuls. But digging up tin cans and discarded horseshoes or crashing through the Superstitions in a "recreational vehicle" somehow goes against the romantic grain. Charles Elliott recaptures the essential romance of the search in this collection of classic stories. Many are true - or purport to be. They encompass all the great themes - obsession, tragedy, danger, crime, frustration, terrible physical challenge, success and disappointment. They take place under the sea, in jungles, on desert islands, even in the attics of old houses. The treasure itself is not always gold, silver, and diamonds - it may be lost documents, the solution to a historical puzzle, or an unexpected archaeological discovery. What is common to them all is the excitement of the chase and the possibility - irrational, perhaps, but unavoidable -that treasure really is there for the finding.
 
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