Robert Ballard had one dream as a child growing up and that was to become Captain Nemo, exploring the depths of the ocean and discovering all the treasures hidden below. It’s an ambitious dream, especially from all the setbacks young Bob faced. Yet, in this vivid account of his left, Dr. Ballard shares with the reader who, even in the face of adversity, overcame it all and found the most famous shipwreck in the world, the Titanic.

I have been fascinated with the Titanic since a small child so whenever there is a new book about the disaster or the people involved with her story I normally have to pick it up. To my surprise, while surfing the Internet one night, I discovered Ballard had published his memoir a couple of years ago and it completely missed my radar (pun intended). I immediately ordered it and began reading it. Ironically and tragically, the day I started reading this was the day it was announced that the Titan Five had all perished while attempting to visit the Titanic wreck. As a result, I was more interested than ever about Ballard’s story and his mission to discover these famous shipwrecks.

Ballard is an interesting character with quite the story. A Kansas boy that grew up in California, Ballard struggled throughout school due to dyslexia, something no one really knew anything about when he was growing up. Despite his disability, he had big dreams for his future which included becoming an oceanographer and finding famous shipwrecks.

Essentially a modern day Captain Nemo.

Despite numerous bumps and hardships, Ballard achieves his dream and begins to work on a submersible that would allow him to explore the depths of the ocean. Through repeated testing to ensure it’s safety (what a concept) and some backing from the Navy, who had a very heavy interest in this type of technology, Ballard is able set out on the journey that made him internationally famous; finding the Titanic. But the story doesn’t end there and the reader learns more about his other discoveries and achievements since.

One thing I really enjoyed about this autobiography is that Ballard is a good story teller and you really do garner the impression that he cares about the wrecks he is exploring as well as the people lost in these disasters. In particular, you can feel his disdain and frustration in individuals who explored the Titanic after him, taking her treasures and not caring what damage they caused to the wreck as they did so. For that, I really respect him.

Some parts of the book do lag a little bit and some of the scientific information was hard to digest (in particular for a non-science person) but the reader does get the gist. Another critique of the book I will make is when Ballard is discussing his first and second wife, something that other reviewers have picked up on. The main critique of this is that he is very dismissive of the sacrifices his first wife, Margie, makes and doesn’t seem to register the fact that she allowed him to go on this trips where he would be gone for weeks at a time. I can see where some would feel this way but I would point out that he does state in the book that he recognizes Margie’s sacrifices and thanks her for that. However, I will say that how he goes about divorcing his wife is pretty awful. I also didn’t appreciate how he seemingly compared his first wife to his second wife, who he had more in common with and wasn’t the “housewife” that Margie was. Both women clearly had their strengths and I don’t think Ballard should have been comparing the two, even if not directly stated.

Overall, this is an excellent resource for individuals wanting to know more the man who discovered Titanic, and the various other adventures he went on. One can certainly say that Dr. Ballard achieved his dream.

4 out of 5 stars