Spirit Dive: An African-American's Journey to Uncover a Sunken Slave Ship's Past

By Michael H. Cottman

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0609805525
• ISBN13: 9780609805527
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable and informative read

I have always wanted to visit the Motherland, but never more than after reading Michael Cottman's "Spirit Dive." I thoroughly enjoyed his rich descriptions of the people and places he encountered there on his quest, especially his visit to the Door of No Return on Goree Island and scuba diving the clear water off the west African coast. I enjoyed the passages about scuba diving--the kinship between the black divers, the adventures of the underwater treasure hunters, Cottman's encounters with playful schools of fish and no-so-playful sharks. I also found impressive the detail the book included of the workings of the slave trade from a business perspective--the way the enslavers were so single-minded in their greed that they completely disregarded the value of black life. I will never forget the image of the tiny shackles imprisoning babies--it was disturbing but richly described. I found it difficult to put "Spirit Dive" down and have shared it with my young son, nephews, nieces and several friends. So many of the stories about slavery and the struggle of our forebearers are written in a disconnected way. This book was a warm and personal account of a journalist and father's search for truth about his heritage.

Great Book To Read

I really enjoyed reading Spirit Dive. I found it very interesting, inspiring and informative. It was an excellent way to learn about slavery without feeling depressed. I liked the idea of weaving one man's personal experience with the history of one slave ship. The book made me laugh and cry. But it gave me a new way of thinking regarding the issue of slavery - African Americans survived slavery and continue to be a strong race of people.

Diving into the Past

It's not often that a book successfully makes the link between contemporary man and the past. Spirit Dive by Michael H. Cottman is a notable exception.Cottman's journey back through time to research the history of a slave ship is an eye-opening work, rich with details about the operation of the slave trade, the risks and the lucrative payoffs for the slavers, which helps to explain why it became a major industry.It's also a story of how contemporary men -- black and white -- came together to document an accurate history of an event that was a perfect example of scenes that were played out repeatedly as slave ships traversed the Atlantic. It was a perfect circle in many ways. Slavery drove white and black apart over an uncommon evil, but hundreds of years later, the search for the slave ship brought black and white together for a common good.

A WONDERFUL BOOK I'M RECOMMENDING TO FRIENDS

I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED SPIRIT DIVE! It was a compelling and powerful book that combined rich history with adventure and a personal journey that offered some life lessons along the way. I haven't been this moved by a story that examines the slave trade since ROOTS. Cottman successfully gives us a glimpse into the slave trade through one ship, the Henrietta Marie 300 years ago, and then he provides some contemporary perspective by introducing the black scuba divers (and he is a member) who explored and examined the slave ship. What Cottman does best is to put us in the hull of these ships to experience the agony, to put us underwater on the site of the ship to give us a feel for his experiences beneath sea. The book is also a wonderful metaphor for Cottman's personal journey. Cottman reminds us that we all have journeys to take in life and that with faith and courage, our journeys can be as enriching as Cottman's.

A WONDERFUL BOOK I'M RECOMMENDING TO FRIENDS

I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED SPIRIT DIVE! It was a compelling and powerful book that combined rich history with adventure and a personal journey that offered some life lessons along the way. I haven't been this moved by a story that examines the slave trade since ROOTS. Cottman successfully gives us a glimpse into the slave trade through one ship, the Henrietta Marie, that sailed 300 years ago. Cottman then provides us with some contemporary perspective by introducing the black scuba divers (and he is a member) who explored and examined the slave ship. What Cottman does best is to put us in the hull of these ships to experience the agony, to put us underwater on the site of the ship to give us a feel for his experiences beneath sea. The book is also a wonderful metaphor for Cottman's personal journey. Cottman reminds us that we all have journeys to take in life and that with faith and courage, our journeys can be as enriching as Cottman's.