When prize-winning journalist and avid scuba diver Michael Cottman participated in an underwater expedition to survey the sunken wreck of a slave ship off the coast of Florida; he was overwhelmed by powerful feelings of kinship and oneness with his African ancestors. As he held in his hands the very shackles that had bound hundreds of men; women; and children in their tortured passage from their African homeland to America; Michael Cottman became determined to tell their stories and the story behind the ship that had carried them away from all they knew and loved. Spirit Dive takes readers back three centuries and to three continents in order to trace the complex and moving story of the slaves and the slavers. We travel to England on the trail of the shipbuilders and the captain and his crew; to Goree Island; located off the westernmost extension of the African continent near Dakar; where the ship almost certainly docked and from which its enslaved passengers would have gotten their last view of their homeland; and to the Caribbean; where the Henrietta Marie sank without a trace--until its recent rediscovery gave us a tangible key to one of history's most terrible episodes. Spirit Dive is a powerful and compelling testament of one man's attempt to make sense of the history of his ancestors; chronicling his journey while confronting questions with no answers and striving for reconciliation with his homeland's past and his own country's future.
#6193321 in Books Edward Wakin 2002-05-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .52 x 6.00l; .70 #File Name: 0595227309208 pagesEnter the Irish American
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A MUST READ NOT JUST FOR IRISH-AMERICANSBy tom callahanEd Wakin has written here an eminently readable and important book; But it is not just for Irish-Americans. It is for anybody interested in the story of how American was created. With over 40 million Americans today tracing their roots back to Ireland; the Irish-American experience in America far transcends green beet and blarney one day a year. This book puts in historical and human perspective how the immigrant Irish forged a double identity; shaping and being shaped by America. They became Irish-American; and; along with all other immigrants groups; shaped the American Dream. Wakin is a great writer. He makes history interesting and understanding. I highly recommend this book for all Irish-Americans interested in learning about their heritage; and all Americans interested in learning about our shared past.
