Farewell to Clive Cussler, bestselling adventure master

Adventure master with over 126 million copies sold worldwide, 8 million in Italy, Clive Cussler, was inspired by his exploits and his experience as an emotion hunter in his bestselling novels including 'Sahara', 'Recover the Titanic ! ' , 'Jump in the dark' and 'Virus'. His 88-year-old death on February 24 was announced today by his second wife, Janet Horvath, on his social profiles with "heartbroken". "I share the sadness of my husband's death on Monday. It was a privilege and a great honor to share life with him." Clive, says his wife, "was the most courteous and kind person I have ever met. I know his adventures will continue." Passionate collector of vintage cars and planes, collected in the Cussler Museum, in Arvada, Colorado, Cussler had founded the non-profit association NUMA- the National Underwater and Marine Agency, specialized in the recovery and conservation of marine wrecks of historical interest , and was a member of the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographical Society of London. Passions that can be found in his books that immediately shot to the top of the best sellers, including the latest, 'The fate of the pharaoh', released for Longanesi, his Italian publisher, on January 30, 2020. His thrillers have reached the heights of the New York Times classification more than 20 times and his books have been published in 40 languages ​​in over 100 countries. On his debut in 1965 with 'Enigma', Cussler immediately stood out with Dirk Pitt, the naval engineer and major of the US Air Force, man of action par excellence, protagonist of some of the most incredible adventures of NUMA , traveling all over the world with his irreplaceable right arm Al Giordino. The hero of this first and famous series, which sold 5 million copies, also inspired the name of Cussler's son, Dirk, with whom the writer signed the latest novels with four hands. And there are numerous books written by Cussler with other authors from Grant Blackwood to Graham Brown and from Thomas Perry to Justin Scott. Then came the series of Numa Files, Oregon Files, The Adventures of Fargo and the Investigations of Isaac Bell where once again the author's life and his imaginary universe interpenetrate. Over 80 his works including two adventures for children. Originally from Aurora, Illinois, where he was born on July 15, 1931 to an American mother and German father, Cussler joined the Air Force during the Korean War where he worked as an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer in the Military Air Transport Service. He was a screenwriter and creative director of several advertising agencies in the 1960s and has won several international awards for television and radio including the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. In 1997, the State University of New York awarded him a degree in literature to recognize the literary value of his novels. In 'The fate of the pharaoh', written with his son Dirk, tells a new adventure by Dirk Pitt grappling with three apparently unrelated events: the assassination of a team of UN scientists in El Salvador, a fatal collision in the Detroit River and a violent attack on an archaeological site along the Nile.