The Secret
The Secret refers to both a book published by Byron Preiss in 1982, and the treasure hunt contained within its pages. Please see The Secret (book), and The Secret (treasure hunt).
The hunt involves a search for twelve treasure boxes, the clues to which were provided in a book written by Preiss in 1982, also called The Secret. These boxes were buried at secret locations in cities across the United States and Canadathat symbolically represent events and peoples that played significant roles in North American history. Anyone who uncovered one of the treasure boxes was entitled to exchange it with Preiss for a precious gem.
Preiss died in a car accident in 2005. His estate assumed the responsibility of honoring the terms of the treasure hunt. As of 2025, only three of the twelve boxes have been found. Preiss kept no record of the treasure boxes' exact locations before his death, leaving it a possibility that the remaining boxes may never be recovered.
Book
Clues for where the treasures were buried are provided in a puzzle book named The Secretproduced by Byron Preiss and first published by Bantam in 1982. The book was authored by Sean Kelly and Ted Mann and illustrated by John Jude Palencar, John Pierard, and Overton Loyd; JoEllen Trilling, Ben Asen, and Alex Jay also contributed to the book. A Japanese version was published in 1983, and the English version was re-issued in 2014. The book contains 12 images and 12 verses; an image must be linked to a verse, with the information they contain used to locate a buried "treasure casque".
| Year | ISBN | Language | Format | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | ISBN 0-553-01408-0 | English | Paperback | Bantam |
| Hardcover | ||||
| 1983 | 0276-831122-7339 | Japanese | Paperback | Futami-shobo |
| 2014 | ISBN 978-1-59687-444-2 | English | Hardcover | ibooks.com |
| ISBN 978-1-59687-401-5 | Paperback |
Casques
As of 2026, three of the casques, or treasure boxes, have been recovered. The first was found in Chicago, Illinois; the second in Cleveland, Ohio; and the most recent treasure box was found in Boston, Massachusetts.
The remaining nine treasure boxes have not yet been recovered. The Boston treasure box's recovery was filmed for Discovery Channel's television show Expedition Unknown and aired on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, a recovery which only occurred due to the puzzle being featured in two previous episodes of the series.
Over time, some of the cached casques may have been destroyed or built over, as was happening with the Boston casque, which was buried in Langone Park, in Boston’s North End which was undergoing renovation, resulting in the casque being dug up by an excavator. Clues would no longer match in cases where the surrounding area has changed since the book was originally published. Similarly, casques believed to be in New Orleans (which faced mass destruction due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005) and New York City (which has undergone major renovations since the 1980s) have likely become extremely difficult to locate.
See also
Commonly Accepted Pairings