Sea of Darkness

Brian Hicks is a metro columnist for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, and the author or coauthor of six previous books. He has written about Southern history and politics for more than 25 years, including turns as a statehouse newspaper correspondent in three states. Hicks' journalism has appeared in national and international publications since 1986. His work has been featured on National Public Radio, Discovery Channel, CBS Sunday Morning, and in National Geographic and Smithsonian magazine. He was won more than 30 journalism awards, including the Society of Professional Journalists' Green Eyeshade Award for humorous commentary and the South Carolina Press Association's award for Journalist of the Year. Hicks has followed the story of the H.L. Hunley since 1998 and has had more access to the submarine and the people who discovered and recovered it than any other journalist. His previous books include Raising the Hunley, Toward the Setting Sun, Ghost Ship, and City of Ruin: Charleston at War 1860--1865. A native of Tennessee, he currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

"The comprehensive story of the Confederate submarine HL Hunley from the first rivet until today. This is a must-have book for anyone who loves submarines, appreciates American history, or wants to learn more about the HL Hunley. I could not put this book down, and neither will you once you start to read it!" --Wreck Diving Magazine "Brian Hicks's unique perspective provides the true story of the Confederate submarine remembered as the Hunleyfrom the beginning to the present. Through exacting research he reveals a fascinating phenomenon that provides an intellectual adventure. His every detail is visibly accountable as he preserves the time period with intimate research of the people and the undersea vessel that forever changed the history of naval warfare." --Clive Cussler, best-selling adventure novelist and founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency "Never was an author better positioned or better prepared to write such an engaging and entertaining history. Hicks is an accomplished writer by trade, a Southern history buff by avocation and a close friend of many of the key movers and shakers who found, raised and are now restoring the submarine ... There will always be unanswered questions, but all of the answers we do have are artfully woven together in Brian Hicks' [Sea of Darkness]." --Frank L. Cloutier, The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) "Through skillful interweaving of the past and the present, Sea of Darkness illuminates the murky waters of the American Civil War. Hicks delivers an accurate, detailed account of military history that reads like an adventure novel, with a vibrant cast of characters and a storyline that will transport readers into the depths of naval warfare." --Colonel W. Hays Parks, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired "The Hunley project is about discovery. It's about learning what history can teach us. This project shows us what science, innovation, technology, and the human spirit can make possible. It is about courage." --Warren Lasch, Friends of the Hunley "... In Sea of Darkness, we go on a journey through time between the early 1860s, when men first dreamed up the idea of an iron submersible, to the modern preservation efforts to save the now 152-year-old ship, whose whereabouts lay shrouded in mystery for 131 years ... In sections the book reads like a historical adventure novel, with all the suggestive and pensive undercurrents of the doomed ship and crew. But Hicks' true story also pieces together facts about the ship, theories on why she sank and details regarding the ongoing effort to reveal all the secrets the Hunley held for so many years." --Paul Grimshaw, Grand Strand Magazine