Clive Cussler

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Clive Cussler
Born July 15, 1931 (1931-07-15) (age 76)
Aurora, Illinois,
U.S. Flag of the United States
Occupation Novelist
Nationality United States
Writing period 1973 - present
Genres Adventure
Influenced

Clive Eric Cussler (born July 15, 1931 in Aurora, Illinois)[1][2] is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Clive Cussler was born in Aurora, Illinois and grew up in Alhambra, California. He was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout when he was 14.[3] He attended Pasadena City College[4] for two years and then enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. During his service in the Air Force he was promoted to Sergeant and worked as an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer for the Military Air Transport Service (MATS).[5]

Clive Cussler married Barbara Knight in 1955 and they remained married for nearly 50 years until her death in 2003.[6] Together they had three children, Teri, Dirk and Dana who have given him four grandchildren.

After his discharge from the military Cussler went to work in the advertising industry, first as a copywriter and later as a creative director for two of the nation's most successful advertising agencies.[7] As part of his duties Cussler produced radio and television commercials, many of which won international awards including an award at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Following the publication in 1996 of Cussler's first nonfiction work, The Sea Hunters, he was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree in 1997 by the Board of Governors of the State University of New York Maritime College who accepted the work in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis.[8] This was the first time in the college's 123 year history that such a degree had been awarded.[9]

Cussler is a fellow of the Explorers Club of New York, the Royal Geographic Society in London, and the American Society of Oceanographers.[10]

[edit] Literary career

Clive Cussler began writing in 1965 when his wife took a job working nights for the local police department where they lived in California. After making dinner for the kids and putting them to bed he had no one to talk to and nothing to do so he decided to start writing.[11] His most famous creation is marine engineer, government agent and adventurer Dirk Pitt. The Dirk Pitt novels frequently take on an alternative history perspective, such as "what if Atlantis was real?", or "what if Abraham Lincoln wasn't assassinated, but was kidnapped?"

The first two Pitt novels, The Mediterranean Caper and Iceberg, were relatively conventional maritime thrillers. The third, Raise the Titanic!, made Cussler's reputation and established the pattern that subsequent Pitt novels would follow: A blend of high adventure and high technology, generally involving megalomaniacal villains, lost ships, beautiful women, and sunken treasure.

Cussler's novels, like those of Michael Crichton, are examples of techno-thrillers that do not use military plots and settings. Where Crichton strives for scrupulous realism, however, Cussler prefers fantastic spectacles and outlandish plot devices. The Pitt novels, in particular, have the anything-goes quality of the James Bond or Indiana Jones movies, while also sometimes borrowing from Alistair MacLean's novels. Pitt himself is a two-dimensional, larger-than-life hero reminiscent of Doc Savage and other characters from pulp magazines.

Clive Cussler has had more than 17 consecutive titles reach the New York Times fiction best-seller list.

[edit] Life imitating art

As an underwater explorer, Cussler has discovered more than 60 shipwreck sites and has written non-fiction books about his findings. He is also the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), a non-profit organization with the same name as the fictional government agency that employs Dirk Pitt. Cussler owns a large collection of classic cars, several of which (driven by Pitt) appear in his novels.

Cussler's web site claims that NUMA discovered, among other shipwrecks, the Confederate submarine Hunley. This claim is disputed by underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence who says he found it in 1970[12] and there is an impressive collection of evidence supporting Spence on www.ShipWrecks.com. However, both claims appear to have elements of truth. Spence described finding the partially exposed wreck of the Hunley in 1970, but claimed it had been reburied by shifting sands before he returned to photograph it. Spence claims he relocated it with a magnetometer at various times in the 1970s but it was always buried. The first expedition to dig into the site and bring back videographic evidence was the 1994/1995 SCIAA/NUMA H.L. Hunley expedition, directed by underwater archaeologist Dr. Mark M. Newell that was largely financed by Cussler. Based on statements by Dr. Newell, his expedition relied, at least to some extent, on Spence's earlier work. The dive team that took the video was led by diver Ralph Wilbanks who is on NUMA's Board of Directors.

Cussler's work in marine exploration has often raised eyebrows and tempers alike. Not the born diplomat, he often steps on the collective toes of the academic community, local and national governments and at one point, as can be read about in his first non-fictional work, "Sea Hunters", the British Secret Service, Mossad and the CIA. Many have disputed the work of Cussler and NUMA, and while some of his finds do have their controversy over "who really got there first", Cussler has been the first to provide conclusive evidence of the location of several ship wrecks.

In what started as a joke in the novel Dragon, and that Cussler expected his editor to remove, he now often writes himself into his books, at first as simple cameos, but later as something of a deus ex machina, providing the novel's protagonists with an essential bit of assistance.

[edit] Cinematization

  • The first attempt to film one of Cussler's novels—Raise The Titanic! (1980)—was a critical and commercial failure. Its failure was widely attributed to a weak script, wooden acting, poor special effects and the casting of Richard Jordan as Pitt.[citation needed]
  • Paramount Pictures released Sahara on April 8, 2005, starring Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt, Steve Zahn as Al Giordino, William H. Macy as Admiral Sandecker, and Penélope Cruz as Eva Rojas. Again the film was a box-office failure, which Cussler blamed on the film not staying true to his storyline. Even before the film was completed, Cussler and Crusader Entertainment (the film's producers) filed lawsuits against each other in a dispute over the film departing too severely from the novel.[13]

In May 2007, the trial jury delivered a mixed verdict, ordering Cussler to pay Crusader $5 million (they were seeking $115 million) for making derogatory comments about the film and encouraging his readers to boycott it. The jury suggested Crusader pay Cussler $8.5 million for second-picture rights to another book, but left that decision to Judge John Shook since the option was never exercised. Cussler's attorney indicated that he would end up with $3.5 million after paying Crusader the $5 million previously ordered if the Judge rules in his favor. If not, Cussler could be further sued by Crusader for lawyer fees. Some news accounts have suggested that both sides may have ended up spending more on legal costs than they were awarded, but each side would be liable for the other's fees depending on the Judge's ruling. On January 8, 2008, Judge John Shook denied Cussler's claim for the $8.5 million, making the author solely liable to Crusader for $5 million for breach of contract.[14]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Dirk Pitt adventure novels

(in chronological order)

There is also a Dirk Pitt reference book:

  • Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed (1998)

[edit] Novels featuring Pitt's children, Dirk and Summer

(co-authored with Dirk Cussler)

[edit] NUMA Files adventure novels

(co-authored with Paul Kemprecos)

This series of books focuses on Kurt Austin, head of NUMA's Special Projects division and his adventures. Some characters from the Pitt novels appear such as Sandecker, Rudi Gunn, Hiram Yaeger and St. Julien Perlmutter. Pitt makes brief appearances in the books "Serpent", "White Death" and "Polar Shift."

[edit] The Oregon Files

(co-authored with Craig Dirgo on first two, Jack DuBrul on the rest)

The Oregon Files focuses on "The Oregon," introduced in "Flood Tide." While appearing to be a decrepit freighter, it's actually a high-tech advanced ship used by the Corporation, under the leadership of Juan Cabrillo. The ship is run like a business, with its crew shareholders, taking jobs for the CIA and other agencies to help stop terrorism and other crimes. The crew is adept at disguises, combat, computer hacking and more to aid their missions. Both Kurt Austin and Dirk Pitt make a cameo in the fourth book, 'Skeleton Coast.' Juan telephones Pitt on the telephone, and Austin and Zavala appear at the end.

[edit] Isaac Bell tale

[edit] Upcoming books

  • Arctic Drift (November 25, 2008) Dirk Pitt novel

[edit] Non-Fiction

[edit] Children's Books

  • The Adventures of Vin Fiz (2006)

[edit] Recurring Characters

[edit] NUMA

[edit] Friends, etc.

[edit] Easter Eggs

  • Clive Cussler himself
  • Craig Dirgo
  • Leigh Hunt

[edit] Van Dorn Detective Agency

  • Isaac Bell
  • Glenn Irvine
  • Authur Curtis
  • Joseph Van Dorn

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Although Pacific Vortex was released in 1983, it is actually the first Dirk Pitt novel. The events of Pacific Vortex happen before those of The Mediterranean Caper.
  • In the novel Lost City, it is said that in the book The Island of Doctor Moreau, Moreau turned humans into beasts when actually he turned animals into near humans.
  • Cussler is the father of Dirk Cussler, who co-wrote Black Wind (2004) and the December 2006 release Treasure of Khan (2006)
  • The Doxa Dive watch company has an official Clive Cussler edition of their famous orange faced dive watch.
  • In the novel Shock Wave, the author, Clive Cussler , Makes a cameo apperance in which he reveals to Dirk Pitt the secrets of a diamond operation and signs a letter to Dirk Pitt, C.Cussler.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Bookrags.com Clive Cussler Biography. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  2. ^ Clive Cussler. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  3. ^ Cussler, Clive; Dirgo, Craig (1988). Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0671026224. 
  4. ^ NUMA Clive Cussler Biography (Web Article). Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
  5. ^ Ibid.
  6. ^ TV.Com Clive Cussler Biography (Web Article). Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
  7. ^ NUMA.Net Clive Cussler Biography (Web Article). Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
  8. ^ Ibid.
  9. ^ Ibid.
  10. ^ Simon Says.com Clive Cussler Biography (Web Article). Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
  11. ^ Bookreporter.com Clive Cussler Biography (Web Article). Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
  12. ^ Cover Story: Time Capsule From The Sea - U.S. News & World Report, July 2-9, 2007
  13. ^ court tv item
  14. ^ imdb news item

[edit] External links