Publisher Description

From longtime Rolling Stone contributing editor and journalist Randall Sullivan, The Curse of Oak Island explores the curious history of Oak Island and the generations of individuals who have tried and failed to unlock its secrets.An investigation into the "curse" of Oak Island, where rumors of buried riches have beguiled treasure hunters over the past two centuries.In 1795, a teenager discovered a mysterious circular depression in the ground on Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada, and ignited rumors of buried treasure. Early excavators uncovered a clay-lined shaft containing layers of soil interspersed with wooden platforms, but when they reached a depth of ninety feet, water poured into the shaft and made further digging impossible.Since then the mystery of Oak Island's "Money Pit" has enthralled generations of treasure hunters, including a Boston insurance salesman whose obsession ruined him; young Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and film star Errol Flynn. Perplexing discoveries have ignited explorers' imaginations: a flat stone inscribed in code; a flood tunnel draining from a man-made beach; a torn scrap of parchment; stone markers forming a huge cross. Swaths of the island were bulldozed looking for answers; excavation attempts have claimed two lives. Theories abound as to what's hidden on Oak Island-pirates' treasure, Marie Antoinette's lost jewels, the Holy Grail, proof that Sir Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare's plays-yet to this day, the Money Pit remains an enigma.The Curse of Oak Island is a fascinating account of the strange, rich history of the island and the intrepid treasure hunters who have driven themselves to financial ruin, psychotic breakdowns, and even death in pursuit of answers. And as Michigan brothers Marty and Rick Lagina become the latest to attempt to solve the mystery, as documented on the History Channel's television show The Curse of Oak Island, Sullivan takes readers along to follow their quest firsthand.

Author Biography

RANDALL SULLIVAN was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone for over twenty years. His writing has also appeared in Esquire, Wired, Outside, Men's Journal, The Washington Post, and the Guardian. Sullivan is the author of The Price of Experience; LAbyrinth, which is the basis for the forthcoming feature film City of Lies; The Miracle Detective, the book that inspired the television show The Miracle Detectives, which Sullivan co-hosted and which premiered on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in January 2011; and Untouchable. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Review

Praise for The Curse of Oak Island:"Sullivan writes with open-minded balance, rendering the Oak Island story into a weirdly fascinating mystery." —Booklist"The Curse of Oak Island is a definitive read for fans of the History Channel television show. Sullivan delves deeper into the history, personalities, and theories presented only briefly on the show. His approach is mostly unbiased, though he does tell the reader his thoughts on some of the theories and the theorists that he thoroughly researches and debunks. The book is incredibly well researched and the presentation . . . is very readable. If you've watched The Curse of Oak Island and were frustrated that snippets and possibilities were left tantalizingly unexplored, this is the book for you." —Heather Cover, Homewood Library (Birmingham, Alabama) "Sullivan isn't writing about Oak Island the TV show; his subject is Oak Island the place, largely as seen and imagined by the show's viewers. So, if you've ever been more entranced by the show's long trips into history and theoretical island encounters across history, Sullivan's book probably needs to be on your Christmas list." —Starcasm
Praise for Randall Sullivan:"Compelling . . . No single source presents so complete or damning a record as LAbyrinth." —Entertainment Weekly on LAbyrinth"As a forceful author, Sullivan does a masterly job of juggling the dense thicket of facts and navigating the crowded chronology of the case." —Salon.com on LAbryinth"Sullivan's reportage is extraordinary, his narrative enthralling." —Rolling Stone on The Price of Experience"Sullivan's riveting tale is amazingly detailed and artfully presented. . . You can hardly turn the page fast enough . . . Contiporary history, brilliantly written." —Playboy on The Price of Experience"[An] engrossing, damning tale . . . Exhaustively researched, the book methodically weaves a disturbing story of corruption, intimidation, and murder." —Boston Globe on LAbyrinth"Worthy of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sullivan captures the essence of the world in which Hunt and the BBC operated." —Chicago Tribune on The Price of Experience"A stunning mix of the personal and the historic, interviews and experiences, with Sullivan incredibly nimble at making the worlds overlap." —Booklist (starred review) on The Miracle Detective"Well-told and expertly researched." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Miracle Detective

Long Description

From longtime Rolling Stone contributing editor and journalist Randall Sullivan, The Curse of Oak Island explores the curious history of Oak Island and the generations of individuals who have tried and failed to unlock its secrets. An investigation into the "curse" of Oak Island, where rumors of buried riches have beguiled treasure hunters over the past two centuries. In 1795, a teenager discovered a mysterious circular depression in the ground on Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada, and ignited rumors of buried treasure. Early excavators uncovered a clay-lined shaft containing layers of soil interspersed with wooden platforms, but when they reached a depth of ninety feet, water poured into the shaft and made further digging impossible. Since then the mystery of Oak Island's "Money Pit" has enthralled generations of treasure hunters, including a Boston insurance salesman whose obsession ruined him; young Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and film star Errol Flynn. Perplexing discoveries have ignited explorers' imaginations: a flat stone inscribed in code; a flood tunnel draining from a man-made beach; a torn scrap of parchment; stone markers forming a huge cross. Swaths of the island were bulldozed looking for answers; excavation attempts have claimed two lives. Theories abound as to what's hidden on Oak Island--pirates' treasure, Marie Antoinette's lost jewels, the Holy Grail, proof that Sir Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare's plays--yet to this day, the Money Pit remains an enigma. The Curse of Oak Island is a fascinating account of the strange, rich history of the island and the intrepid treasure hunters who have driven themselves to financial ruin, psychotic breakdowns, and even death in pursuit of answers. And as Michigan brothers Marty and Rick Lagina become the latest to attempt to solve the mystery, as documented on the History Channel's television show The Curse of Oak Island, Sullivan takes readers along to follow their quest firsthand.

Review Quote

Praise for The Curse of Oak Island "Sullivan writes with open-minded balance, rendering the Oak Island story into a weirdly fascinating mystery." --Booklist "The Curse of Oak Island is a definitive read for fans of the History Channel television show. Sullivan delves deeper into the history, personalities, and theories presented only briefly on the show. His approach is mostly unbiased, though he does tell the reader his thoughts on some of the theories and the theorists that he thoroughly researches and debunks. The book is incredibly well researched and the presentation . . . is very readable. If you've watched The Curse of Oak Island and were frustrated that snippets and possibilities were left tantalizingly unexplored, this is the book for you." --Heather Cover, Homewood Library (Birmingham, Alabama) "Sullivan isn't writing about Oak Island the TV show; his subject is Oak Island the place, largely as seen and imagined by the show's viewers. So, if you've ever been more entranced by the show's long trips into history and theoretical island encounters across history, Sullivan's book probably needs to be on your Christmas list." --Starcasm Praise for Randall Sullivan: "Compelling . . . No single source presents so complete or damning a record as LAbyrinth." --Entertainment Weekly on LAbyrinth "As a forceful author, Sullivan does a masterly job of juggling the dense thicket of facts and navigating the crowded chronology of the case." --Salon.com on LAbyrinth "Sullivan's reportage is extraordinary, his narrative enthralling." --Rolling Stone on The Price of Experience "Sullivan's riveting tale is amazingly detailed and artfully presented. . . You can hardly turn the page fast enough . . . Contiporary history, brilliantly written." --Playboy on The Price of Experience "[An] engrossing, damning tale . . . Exhaustively researched, the book methodically weaves a disturbing story of corruption, intimidation, and murder." --Boston Globe on LAbyrinth "Worthy of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sullivan captures the essence of the world in which Hunt and the BBC operated." --Chicago Tribune on The Price of Experience "A stunning mix of the personal and the historic, interviews and experiences, with Sullivan incredibly nimble at making the worlds overlap." --Booklist (starred review) on The Miracle Detective "Well-told and expertly researched." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Miracle Detective

Description for Sales People

The Curse of Oak Island is high-quality narrative non-fiction from a top-shelf journalist, extrapolated from Randall Sullivan's successful 2004 Rolling Stone article of the same title. The Oak Island mystery is the subject of the History Channel's reality TV series The Curse of Oak Island, which debuted in January 2014 and has become of the most successful original shows on cable overall. The show follows brothers Marty and Rick Lagina as they attempt to uncover the island's secrets. Randall Sullivan joined the show for its fourth season, which aired November 2016-February 2017. The book's subject is a fascinating real-life mystery, touching engineering, early Native American history, and some of the alternative historical theories, which makes for a very compelling read. Sullivan's last book, Untouchable, was excerpted in Vanity Fair and named one of Amazon's 100 Best Books of the Year. Sullivan appeared on Katie, Good Morning America, and Nightline to promote the book, and we also received strong print attention, with coverage in People, the Los Angeles Times, and the New Yorker, among others. Open Road Pictures has adapted Sullivan's LAbyrinth for film, with Brad Furman directing and Johnny Depp starring. The film is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2018, and we'll be re-issuing the book in a movie tie-in edition. While there are other books on the Oak Island phenomenon, most are self-published. The two exceptions are The Oak Island Mystery, Solved by Joy. A. Steele (Cape Breton University Press, 2015; Bookscan: 959) and Secret Treasure of Oak Island by D'Arcy O'Connor (The Lyons Press, 2004; Bookscan 6290). The most direct competition is the D'Arcy O'Connor book, but that terminates in 2004, whereas Sullivan's covers the Lagina brothers who are at the center of the present hunt (and whose absence is noted by recent Amazon reviewers of O'Connor's book). And Sullivan comprehensively debunks the Steele volume, as well as most other Oak Island theories, in the text.

Details