Brewer, Bob

PERSONAL:

Born in Hatfield, AR; married; wife's name Linda.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Southwestern AR. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER:

Owner of ranch in Southwestern Arkansas; treasure-hunter. Military service: U.S. Navy, retired helicopter crewman, served two tours of duty during Vietnam War.

WRITINGS:

(With Warren Getler) Shadow of the Sentinel: One Man's Quest to Find the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Bob Brewer was born and raised in a region of Arkansas steeped in legend and lore of buried Confederate treasure and a secret society, the Knights of the Golden Circle, sworn to protect the treasure for future generations should it ever be needed for a Confederate cause. After serving as a helicopter crewman in Vietnam, Brewer returned to his childhood home and began to devote his spare time to deciphering the strange carvings on trees and boulders that had been pointed out to him as a child by his uncle and great-uncle. What began as a hobby became an obsession as Brewer studied maps, history, and talked to those who shared his conviction that vast troves of wealth had been stored by the KGC. Brewer's travels in search of clues in this treasure hunt have led him across America and even into Canada. He summarizes his discoveries in Shadow of the Sentinel: One Man's Quest to Find the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy, written with Warren Getler.

Although Getler is the professional writer in the pair, the story is Brewer's. After his techniques lead him to several small caches of buried treasure, he sets out to uncover the "mother lodes" that he believes to exist in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Shadow of the Sentinel explores how he pieces together information from history, hearsay, and his own dogged determination—and how he eventually comes to terms with what he finds. A Publishers Weekly critic called Shadow of the Sentinel "a curiosity that will strain many readers' credibility, but leave a lingering ‘Maybe.’" Library Journal correspondent John Carver Edwards recommended the book "for dedicated treasure hunters [and] adventure collections."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2003, review of Shadow of the Sentinel: One Man's Quest to Find the Hidden Treasure of the Confederacy, p. 584.

Library Journal, May 1, 2003, John Carver Edwards, review of Shadow of the Sentinel, p. 135.

Publishers Weekly, April 21, 2003, review of Shadow of the Sentinel, p. 47.

Washington Times, May 31, 2003, Duncan Spencer, "Writers Gild the Legend of Hidden Rebel Gold."