"I look upon myself more as an entertainer than merely a writer," Clive Cussler told Connie Lauerman of the Chicago Tribune. "It's my job to entertain the reader in such a manner that he or she feels that they received their money's worth when they reach the end of the book." Cussler began his career in advertising, where he collected numerous awards for his copywrting. In 1969, he embarked on a series of underwater adventure novels. Their huge success, predicated on his willingness to take risks at every level, has allowed him to write full-time ever since. Cussler and his alter-ego hero, Dirk Pitt, have a devoted following--the author has sold over seventy million copies in thirty-five languages and 105 countries.

An only child, Cussler was born in Illinois and raised in Alhambra, California. His father was a German-born accountant, his mother a homemaker. "I detested school," Cussler told Walt...