Two of mankind's most persistent quests-get rich quick and something for nothing-provide the power driving these tales of treasure-seekers in action. Renowned storytellers like Louis L'Amour and Jack London join real-life adventurers risking their lives for riches they think are worth the dangers.

Buried treasure, creeks glittering with gold nuggets, sunken galleons filled with Spanish doubloons-the mother lodes are as varied as the men pursuing them. Some of the seekers will be rewarded; others face tragedy in remote places, lost among the jungles, mountains, and oceans. In both fiction and non-fiction, these stories make treasure hunting a real-life experience, in gripping prose that makes the reader of these stories part of the hunt itself.