Start reading A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Showing of 8 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. This book gave you a great out look on pirate life and how they survived the seven seas.
Cawthorne' History of Pirates, although not academically rigorous, is approached in a somewhat systematic fashion and provides an interesting, readable description of a unique chapter in history. Rather than compose a treatise on particular pirates and their idiosyncrasies, Cawthorne describes the prate era, roughly - , with a wide brush.
- Dear Carlos;
- A History of Pirates : Blood and Thunder on the High Seas..
- Was zur Hölle ist: GRILLEN: Grillen - Mehr muss man nicht wissen (German Edition)!
- Sexuality (Imprint Book 2).
The author explores the global political situation of the times, the constant warfare between Britain, France and Spain, the booming colonial expansion, and the role pirates played in shaping the New World. In addition, Cawthorne depicts a pirate's life aboard ship and the unique social structure which accompanies life on the high seas.
If I could make a suggestion, Cawthorne could have spent more time on his chapters on weapons and ships. The work in these segments was marginal at best and seems out of place wedged between sections on "the richest and wickedest city in the new world," and life aboard ships. Nevertheless, I found History of Pirates an interesting and insightful beginning to a more in depth understanding of the Caribbean pirates, but this work would not be a one volume history of the subject. One person found this helpful. Nigel Cawthorne brings a book to us about pirates which can be read by anyone and you don't have to be an historian to understand the book.
It's laid out in plain terms and covers the era of piracy in the varied aspects of weaponry, ships, locales, and the pirates themselves. The book could have been a bit more thorough on weapons and ships but then the lay-person would lose interest with any more detail, I think. The coverage is in depth enough to hold your interest but not bogged down with meaningless details that only an historian would care about this coming from an historian.
You'll learn some nifty trivia and dispel numerous movie myths about pirates like buried treasure and walking the plank to name two. Overall, good book for someone looking to pick up the basics on piracy history but not overbearing. My only big complaints are 1 I wish there were more on Blackbeard but then that's what biographies are for and 2 organization of the material within the chapters, lost of sidetracking going on. A rambling work at best. The author does indeed drift around at times, leaving a topic unfinished to explore other avenues before returning to the original topic.
We, also, are not talking about much in the way of original material much of it comes from Captain Charles Johnson, Alexandre Exquemelin, and recent authors like David Cordingly. However, there are redeeming qualities to the book. For one it is an entertaining read, the author uses a smooth style that makes for easy reading.
The author covers a range of topics from ships, weapons and havens to the origins of and suppression of piracy during the Golden Age. There are numerous names mentioned, from the well known and notorious to the lesser know footnotes in history. The period covered spans from the early s to the early s, told for the most part from the English and French point of view. In short, a good book for an overview or brief reference although I still recommend David Cordingly or Angus Konstam for broader, more polished coverage or pirates. This book focuses on the Pirates of the Caribbean during the near 50 year time span that made up the "Golden Age of Piracy".
The content of the book is good, goes into detail, yet a tad too much. The Structure of the book is well done, but the chapters are something else. A topic will be introduced, talked about and then he will go on to ramble about this and that and then before the end of the chapter he returns to the original topic and then concludes it. Despite this, it is a well written book, but if your looking for "perfect" this isn't for you. Though the content seems to come from men like Daniel Defoe, he does have at least one aspect of his book that is original unlike past Pirate books I've read, where he goes on to talk about HOW the Piracy issue was solved, such as David Porter, father of the US Civil War Admiral David Porter, pretty much crushed the Pirates operating along the US coastal lines and the Caribbean.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Blood and Thunder on the High Seas focuses on piracy in the Caribbean sea, from the s to the early s. The biggest problem with the book is that it is not particularly well organized. I will be applying this lesson to my further book purchases. This brings me to my last point. Where was his editor? Did he think he not need one, since he himself is one?
It got so bad that I had to keep a pen nearby and make corrections. As anyone can tell from reading a review or two; I don't do grammar well. I barely understand the basics, and still can't really identify adverbs. If there isn't an "ly," I'm at a loss. It's a shame because it is written so accessibly. A high schooler could pick this up if they wanted to, read it, and understand it. But a high schooler can't read this because it would enforce the further deterioration of proper spelling and grammar. That was truly the biggest irony of this entire experience.
He needed an editor so bad it was sad, and he was one. Feb 04, Claire rated it did not like it Shelves: Instead of a riveting, informative narrative, "History of Pirates" is a disorganized and barely readable clump of anecdotes. Some topics are better fleshed out than others, but the overall book suffers from poor writing, an inattention to detail and an unbelievable number of typos. Now I know why it was relegated to the bargain bin where I found it in Greenwich, England a few years ago. Useful as a reference, but a disappointing read.
Item Preview
Aug 08, Lexie Gorjanc rated it really liked it Shelves: Lots of spelling and grammatical errors - but otherwise a good book: Aug 03, Diane Funk rated it liked it. The book was interesting and mentioned a lot of things I previously knew about pirates and their way of life, but also provided some insight into other pirates of which I was not aware.
I read only one other book about pirates since I was a child. I did not realize how often pirates attacked on land and returned multiple times to the same location other than the few ports that were pirate havens. It was fun hearing a little more realistic description of these ports than what has been presented o The book was interesting and mentioned a lot of things I previously knew about pirates and their way of life, but also provided some insight into other pirates of which I was not aware.
It was fun hearing a little more realistic description of these ports than what has been presented on the screen. One drawback to the book was the fact it seemed to jump back and forth in time in any given chapter. The saving grace was that the chapters dealt with specific subjects with regards to pirates which somewhat held the reader on track.
Jun 20, Andrew rated it liked it. Informative enough but so full of information that at times it gets a bit tiresome I saw mention in another review.. That said throughout the author will mention some sources and there is a section of suggested further reading which are likely the sources. Certain sections of the book are decent enough.. Mar 28, Christopher rated it really liked it.
A history of pirates : blood and thunder on the high seas
The author focuses mainly on the French and English privateers of the Caribbean, the ones who operated with letters of marque from their goverment's officials against the Spanish. I find it intriguing that these pirates operated in a very democratic manner, and that "the pirate life" was in many cases preferred to the life at sea normally offered. Being a Floridian and somewhat versed in the Spanish history of the state, I did not know that there was originally a fort Fort An interesting read. Being a Floridian and somewhat versed in the Spanish history of the state, I did not know that there was originally a fort Fort Caroline founded by French pirate Jean Ribault in what is now Jacksonville, or that Ribault and pirates and settlers were captured and executed near Fort Matanzas by Pedro Menendez de Aviles the founder of St.
This editon of the book, while interesting, is fraught with editorial, spelling, and grammar errors, as well as continuity errors. It feels like the book was thrown together by the publisher quickly and badly, with some portions of the original text possibly missing. It appears to have been licensed from the original British publisher. Oct 13, Edward Perez rated it it was amazing. I think this book would catch a lot of attention to its reader because the description is so intense and glorified.
Blackbeard for an example had mythical features to himself , Captain Kidd who was among them. I , an anime reader, payed attention to this book carefully because the anime series One Piece relates in so many ways. This book really helped on how pirates lived and how they adapted to their environment, the weapons they used ,the ships they built were pretty wild.
Overall, i think thi I think this book would catch a lot of attention to its reader because the description is so intense and glorified. Overall, i think this is a really good book for students who like to read about pirates. Dec 12, Holly is currently reading it. This is a good history of pirates book, although a little random in it's facts. Nigel Cawthorne is an expert in the subject, but not always great at stringing his sentences in a completely coherent manner.
A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas - Nigel Cawthorne - Google Книги
Feb 21, Adam Fleming rated it it was ok. Pretty interesting book that gives you the straight dope on various pirates throughout history. It paints a picture that's hardly like Capt. Jack Sparrow, and more like a bunch of guys who were normal guys for the most part; they just broke the law every once in a while.
A few minor mistakes throughout the book, but overall Cawthorne's knowledge of pirate history and lore is quite extensive and the book is a must for any reference shelf if one has an interest in pirates or requires research material.
,445,291,400,400,arial,12,4,0,0,5_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Feb 02, Leigh rated it did not like it. I read the first 30 pages and had to put it down. It reads like a 4th grader's book report, complete with random statements and incorrect word usage. I have a minor obsession with pirates, and I was looking forward to learning more, but this book was sadly lacking. Apr 30, Larry rated it liked it. Argh, matey, here be true stories of the pirates. Jan 21, Steve rated it it was ok. This book reads more like a list than a book.
Not nearly enough detail where there should be, and far too much of it where there shouldn't be. Badly needed an editor. Jul 28, Leah rated it it was ok.
- 12 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Your Pet Live (Nearly) Forever;
- The Bachelor Party!
- Follow the Author.
The information was good. I just didn't enjoy the choppy way the information was presented. And he needed another edit before he published it.