Our intrepid hero, Dirk Pitt is the main character in books by Clive Cussler, who, with his trusty sidekick since kindergarten Al Giordino, has the annoying habit of flustering the villains by foiling their evil plots to take over the world. An Air Force academy graduate, Dirk is a powerful force with the ladies and a collector of antique cars, dividing his time between his home in Washington D.C. and the NUMA headquarters. A marine biologist by trade, he's done it all, from Raising the Titanic to finding Incan Gold.