"If you travel to southeastern Alaska by water, your route will likely include Stephens Passage, a part of the Inside Passage between Skagway and Juneau."
Sunken Klondike Gold: How a Lost Fortune Inspired an Ambitious Effort to Raise the S.S. Islander by Leonard H. Delano.
It's actually my husband reading this book, which is why this is a "vicarious" opening sentence. He nabbed it off my stack of Guilt List books the day it arrived. It is just his kind of book -- a real life adventure story about sunken treasure, chock-o-block with photos of the salvage operation and historical pictures of the Klondike Gold Rush and people involved in the ship's sinking.
From what I observe, he loves this book. For one thing, he keeps exclaiming while he reads, "I love this book." Other clues are: "This is a terrific book!" "These pictures are amazing!" And, "What a story!"