Chasing the Thrill: Obsession, Death, and Glory in America's Most Extraordinary Treasure Hunt

Today’s post is on Chasing the Thrill: Obsession, Death, and Glory in America's Most Extraordinary Treasure Hunt by Daniel Barbarisi. It is 348 pages long including notes. The cover is a picture of the mountains north of Santa Fe. There is mild foul language, no sex, and no violence in this book. The intended reader is someone who likes memoirs and adventure stories. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A full-throttle, first-person account of the treasure hunt created by eccentric millionaire art dealer—and, some would say, robber baron—Forrest Fenn that became the stuff of contemporary legend.

When Forrest Fenn was given a fatal cancer diagnosis, he came up with a bold plan: He would hide a chest full of jewels and gold in the wilderness, and publish a poem that would serve as a map leading to the treasure's secret location. But he didn't die, and after hiding the treasure in 2010, Fenn instead presided over a decade-long gold rush that saw many thousands of treasure hunters scrambling across the Rocky Mountains in pursuit of his fortune.

Daniel Barbarisi first learned of Fenn's hunt in 2017, when a friend became consumed with decoding the poem and convinced Barbarisi, a reporter, to document his search. What began as an attempt to capture the inner workings of Fenn's hunt quickly turned into a personal quest that led Barbarisi down a reckless and potentially dangerous path, one that found him embroiled in searcher conspiracies and matching wits with Fenn himself. Over the course of four chaotic years, several searchers would die, endless controversies would erupt, and one hunter would ultimately find the chest.

But the mystery didn't end there.

Review- A fascinating and well written story about an incredible treasure hunt. Barbarisi had a friend tell him about this treasure that a man in Santa Fe set up. When Forrest Fenn was given a cancer diagnosis, he decided that he was going to do something a little crazy. Over the next five years, Fenn picked things from his personal collection and made a modern day treasure chest. Then he went into the mountains north of his home in Santa Fe and hid it. Fenn created a riddle that if you applied yourself to, then you could figure out where Fenn had hidden the treasure and it would be yours. This is a very interesting story not just about Fenn but about the people who become obsessed with the hunt itself. I knew nothing about this hunt or Fenn so I was a blank slate going into this story and I was fascinated from the first page until the end. I would highly recommend this book, it is well written, the story is fascinating, and the adventure is very exciting. 

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.