Walking the Plank: A True Adventure Among Pirates

If you told me someone could mix up a story with parts of wall street, treasure hunting, publishing, interpersonal relationships, celebrities, and more, I would wonder what you were smoking! yet, following a true story of how a bunch of Wall Street'rs and treasure hunters fleeced a whole bunch of other people while all the while convincing themselves they were being honest -- well this could have been the bluepring for later stories like Enron. Light, fast, and funny, this is a great read!

If anyone wants to pursue this story, you must interview the 80 plus investors who lost their life savings based on misrepresentations and lies made to encourage participation in this venture. This is must book for anyone considering investing in treasure hunting. The real sad story is the fact that the villian in this story still continues to raise funds in ways similar as dipicted by Stephen Kiesling. I can assure you history has and will repeat itself. Mr. Kiesling should be commended for finding the strenght, courage, and social concern to write this book. There are far and few brave writers that would dare to confront evil and deception as Mr. Kiesling has. I think this story by Kiesling, unfortunately, is still not over.

This book really deserves to be read by anyone who wants to understand:(1)how to run a stock scam, (2)understand how history is abused, (3)what it takes to investigate a web of lies so thick that it caught JFK Jr., Jackie O, Cronkite, Disney, and a good chunk of EF Hutton (I certanly won't be listening to them anytime soon!) So often, books on "underwater archaeology" are really about "treasure hunts", and there is a difference. Kiesling starts out thinking he will be writing of modern adventure and ancient riches. What he finds is a nearly pathological liar and a trail of ex-friends and foolish investors. The mystery is so truly strange it can only be real. For your follow up, read the article "The World's Worst Investment: The Economics of Treasure Hunting with Real-Life Comparisons" by Peter Throckmorton in the book "Maritime Archaeology."