Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler (1931 to 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer, born in Aurora, Illinois, and best known for his Dirk Pitt thrillers, beginning with The Mediterranean Caper in 1973.

After military service he worked as a copywriter and then creative director at two US advertising agencies, winning international awards for his commercials, including one at the Cannes Lions festival. His first Dirk Pitt novel, The Mediterranean Caper (1973), was nominated for the 1974 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. Raise the Titanic! (Viking, 1976), the third Pitt book, was filmed in 1980, an adaptation Cussler disliked. Over his career he wrote or co-wrote more than 80 books, with over 20 appearances on The New York Times fiction bestseller list. Later series written with co-authors include the NUMA Files with Kurt Austin, the Oregon Files with Juan Cabrillo, the Isaac Bell adventures set in early twentieth-century America and the Fargo adventures. He founded and chaired the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), a volunteer non-profit that searches for, surveys and conserves historic shipwrecks. He died at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, on 24 February 2020.

For collectors

The Mediterranean Caper (1973), the first Pitt novel, was shortlisted for the Edgar in the Best Paperback Original category, and is where a Pitt collection starts. Raise the Titanic! was first published by Viking in New York in 1976, with the UK first edition following from Michael Joseph in 1977.