Shadow Divers

byRobert Kurson

The True Adventure of Two Remarkable Men Who Solved An Incredible Second World War Mystery

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Brought to you by Penguin.

The remarkable true story of two amateur divers who discover a World War Two German U-Boat sunk 60 miles off the eastern coast of America

In 1991, 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey, at the incredible depth of 230 feet underwater, two amateur divers, John Chatterton and Richie Kohler, find what divers dream about: an undisturbed wreck that they soon identify as a German U-boat.

But there is no official record of this warship, and no historian or government can solve the puzzle. So this unlikely duo and their team of daredevil divers embark on a perilous quest: to identify the shadowy vessel who they've nicknamed 'U-Who'. But plunging into the murky depths raises its own questions, and not everybody will make it back to the surface.

After years of increasingly risky diving, painstaking archival research, and gaining the trust of retired U-boat crew, the team finally identify it as U-869 and work out what on earth it’s doing there. But Chatterton and Kohler, whose rivalry has turned to friendship won't stop there. In an ending worth of a Steven Spielberg film, they decide to trace the families of the men who died on U-869, the men whose bones they agreed they wouldn't disturb.

It’s a story of – among other things – persistence, ingenuity and a shared obsession…

'This book is a work of art' RYAN HOLIDAY
'A pulse-quickening real-life thriller' New York Times
'A memorable story, beautifully told' The Times

© Robert Kurson 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

The narrative is so well paced and constructed that it develops a hypnotic, almost suffocating tension … But it is far more than mere adventure; this is also a haunting, painful story of obsession and its attendant costs. For once, the comparisons with The Perfect Storm are not out of place; this is a memorable story, beautifully told.

Neil Hanson, Sunday Times

About Robert Kurson

Robert Kurson is the bestselling author of Shadow Divers, which was on the New York Times bestseller list for 24 weeks and translated into 22 languages. He began his career as an attorney, having graduated from Harvard Law School, and his stories have appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, and Esquire, where he won a National Magazine Award in 2006 and was a contributing editor. Robert has also written three further New York Times bestsellers.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9781405992770
  • Price: £14.00
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