Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler (1931-2020) was an American adventure novelist who built one of modern thriller fiction's biggest franchises around Dirk Pitt, a marine engineer and troubleshooter for the fictional National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) -- an agency Cussler also founded in real life to fund actual shipwreck-hunting expeditions. Beginning with The Mediterranean Caper and running for decades, the Dirk Pitt novels mix real maritime history, exotic locations, and larger-than-life set pieces; Raise the Titanic! became a breakout bestseller and a 1980 film.

Cussler spent his early career in advertising before writing full time, and as his output grew he increasingly worked with co-authors to expand the world he had built: Paul Kemprecos on the early NUMA Files spin-off featuring Kurt Austin, and later Graham Brown and his own son Dirk Cussler, who has continued the Dirk Pitt series since his father's death. Cussler was also known for cameo appearances in his own novels, always as a minor character who helps the hero out of a jam.

A new reader should start with the original Mediterranean Caper for Dirk Pitt at his rawest, or Raise the Titanic! for the book that made Cussler a household name. The franchise has also reached the screen via the 2005 film Sahara, starring Matthew McConaughey.