Book Review: Treasure Hunter

 Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations is a memoir by W. C. Jameson. It doesn’t cover his entire life, as that would take many books (in the front of the book, there’s a full page of Other Books by W.C. Jameson). This one covers highlights of some of the treasure hunts he’s been on in Texas and Mexico.

You might think treasure hunters hear about a buried treasure and they pack their bag and head out to find it. In the end, they stumble upon a fabulous fortune, sort of like in the movie National Treasure. That’s not the reality in Jameson’s life and adventures. He and his three fellow treasure hunters often spend months researching, trying to pinpoint where a certain treasure might be located. When they set out, they are loaded with equipment they’ll need and are aware of how dangerous each expedition can be.

He’s written many other books, but since this one was set in Texas and Mexico, just about every expedition involved rattlesnakes, huge ones in big hives. Enough of them to quell any ideas I might have ever had about going on a treasure hunt. One hunt included quick sand that almost cost him his life; another involved deadly dust. In a lot of the tales, the four friends go home empty handed. More often than not, they find the treasure, but they can’t always take it home (Remember the previous comment about hives of huge rattlesnakes? Throw in people shooting at the team and other obstacles, including near death experiences.)

Jameson has had some amazing, scary, adventures. In his final chapter, he says that the only time one can fully understand what a privilege it is to just be alive is “when one has faced death and survived.” He writes: “I feel sorry for those who have never undertaken a quest, and whose only exposure to adventure is movies.”

Although I disagree with him on that, I have to say that he’s lived a full and exciting life. Because of that, I give Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations a rating of Hel-of-a-Life-Story.

Click to buy a copy of Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations

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FTC Disclaimer: When publicist Stephanie Barko asked if I’d like to read Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations by W. C. Jameson, I thought, hmm, I don’t read a lot of memoir. Then, she told me the author was a consultant for the movie, National Treasure. Well, my husband is a fan of the movie and watches it about once a year, so I told her to send the book to me. The tales are high adventure and almost every quest is a near death experience. My husband knows about near death experiences – he has one every time I cook dinner.
And here’s a bonus: Tomorrow, W. C. Jameson will be here on Straight From Hel answering some questions of mine. Not only that, we’ll be doing a giveaway!