Authors generally receive a fair amount of fan mail. I am no exception. With forty-one books to my credit, I probably receive more fan mail than most authors receive. In addition, I meet a certain percentage of my readers on dive boats, at lecture engagements, and at underwater conferences.

Nearly all my feedback is positive. My readers like what I have to say, and they like the way I say it. Sometimes a reader was struck by a particular passage, and felt compelled to write how he or she was affected. Sometimes a reader had a particular interest in a topic, and wrote to comment about the reason for his or her interest. Sometimes a reader wrote simply to state: Keep up the good work. Such praise informs me that I am reaching my readers where it counts.

Every once in a while, however, I receive negative feedback. For example, one Bible belter was offended by a comment which categorized the Bible as a book of quaint parables that were not necessarily applicable in modern society. Times have changed in two thousand years, but not everyone has kept up with those changes. Nonetheless, I respected his opinion to differ. Religion can be a wonderful comfort to people who need beliefs, so I see nothing wrong with it. (Religious intolerance, however, I will not tolerate.)

More recently, after reading The Lusitania Controversies, Charles Steinman took exception to my slant on ethics in the legal profession. Steinman had a personal interest at stake: he was a lawyer, and had been one for more than thirty years. He ended his letter thus:

“It is with no little sense of trepidation that I violate Mark Twain’s advice to ‘never pick a fight with a man who buys his ink by the barrel.’ Since you own your own publishing company, you may write as you please. But with that right comes the right of others to protest what you write, and I respectfully do so.”

Steinman’s objection was my castigation of attorneys who acted in blatantly unethical fashions. As my faithful readers know, I have fought for divers’ right on more than one occasion. Those who have read the books in which I described the cases that I initiated, know that I take a dim view of the erosion of freedom in America, and of unscrupulous attorneys who will not let legalities get in the way of winning a case. I call ‘em as I see ‘em.

My comments were based on personal experience. Yet, I cannot fault Steinman for maintaining an opposing view. He wrote, “It appears that you have been in court on a relatively small (albeit significant) number of occasions and have had been [sic] in contact with perhaps a few dozen lawyers. By contrast, I have handled thousands of cases over the course of my career and have litigated against almost as many attorneys from all over the country. Have I found some of them to be unethical and motivated by the basest of instincts? Unquestionably. Have I witnessed dishonest, and even criminal behavior by attorneys. Regrettably so. However, such behavior is by far and away the exception rather than the rule. . . . It is unfortunate that you have come in contact with lawyers whose ethics you found wanting.”

Steinman’s point is well taken. Even though I buy my ink by the barrel, I felt that it would be fair to give him the opportunity to use some of it to plead his case.

As for coming in contact with lawyers whose ethics I found wanting, his comment provides the perfect segue to remind my faithful readers of a book that I published last year: Stolen Heritage: the Grand Theft of the Hamilton and Scourge. This book recounts my efforts to wrest control of two American warships from the greedy clutches of the Canadian government. As in the case of the Monitor (which I recounted in Ironclad Legacy), all I wanted to do was to look at the wrecks. I filed my suit against the Canadian government because I am a staunch advocate of individual human rights, and the Canadian government was violating those rights.

Charlie, if you think the lawyers I met in my previous cases were unethical and unscrupulous, wait until you read about this case! Even my own attorneys did not have my best interests at heart.

Order your copy now - before my inflammatory comments cause spontaneous combustion to reduce the books to ashes, or before the Canadian government files an injunction to prevent the sale of my remaining stock.

Thanks to my subscribers for their interest in GGP. My readers are important to me. Without them, there would be no reason for me to write. So come back often. Tell your friends. And stay tuned for future newsletters. Remember: the exploration of shipwrecks is one of the greatest adventures in the underwater world.

Sincerely,