- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (Jun 27 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312335806
- ISBN-13: 978-0312335809
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 14.1 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #245,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Wonderfully detailed."
---San Antonio Express-News
"A well-researched effort on an extensive subject, this is highly recommended."
---Library Journal
"Fascinating...His scholarship is solid, and his telling of this complex story is lucid and well paced."
"Fascinating...His scholarship is solid, and his telling of this complex story is lucid and well paced."
---The Sunday Telegraph (UK)
"A thoroughly entertaining read that dispels a number of myths and spins many a good yarn."
---Daily Mail (UK)
"Earle is both swashbuckling and serious in this marvelous survey of piracy over 230 years."
"Earle is both swashbuckling and serious in this marvelous survey of piracy over 230 years."
---The Oxford Times (UK)
Product Description
The Pirate Wars takes the romantic fable of oceangoing Robin Hoods sailing under the "banner of King Death" and contrasts it with the murderous reality of robbery, torture, and murder on the high seas. Noted maritime historian Peter Earle charts centuries of piracy, from Cornwall to the Caribbean, from the sixteenth century to the hanging of the last pirate captain in Boston in 1835. Along the way, we meet characters like Edward Teach, the notorious "Blackbeard," the treasure-hungry Captain Kidd, the dreaded corsairs of Barbary, and the defiant buccaneers of the West Indies.
The Pirate Wars is an account of the golden age of pirates and of the men of the legitimate navies of the world charged with the task of finally bringing these cutthroats to justice.
The Pirate Wars is an account of the golden age of pirates and of the men of the legitimate navies of the world charged with the task of finally bringing these cutthroats to justice.
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First Sentence
'All that is told of the sea has a fabulous sound to an inhabitant of the land and all its products have a certain fabulous quality, as if they belonged to another planet.' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
'All that is told of the sea has a fabulous sound to an inhabitant of the land and all its products have a certain fabulous quality, as if they belonged to another planet.' Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Avast Ye Hearties! A Bold Tale for Intelligent Readers,
By
This review is from: The Pirate Wars: Pirates vs the Legitimate Navies of the World (Hardcover)
What a delight! A respected academic who can write with zip and zest. Peter Earle likes pirates to a fond degree, and he makes that clear in his entertaining introduction gently poking fun at modern writers who prefer political correctness to accuracy (Bad news, fairly few pirates were disabled lesbians of colour). From there it steps lively, shipmates, and keeps going. Nobody writes novels any more entertaining than Dr Earle's command of history. Most pirates began as merchant seamen or privateers, given letters of marque by governments, permitting them to ravage the shipping of the government's enemies or competitors. So they got trained at taxpayer expense then began to bite the hand that fed it. But then they had a lot of fun when they got ashore. Rather, if they got ashore, because governments spent a lot trying to get their rascals back on a leash or send them to the bottom of D Jones' Locker. Parenthetically, it reminds one of today's problems of terrorism, since the terrorists (like the pirates) were trained by governments to attack enemies, and only later they 'went bad.' Think of how many terrorists received US or Pakistani or Saudi training, weapons and money to help Afghans battle the Soviets. The terrorists, however, seem less endearing and less easily distracted by wine and wenching and gold doubloons. Pirates, however, captured the world's imagination from the start. Pirate Wars is good enough to warrant buying two copies, one to read and then lend, and one never to lend at all -- I keep mine safely locked in a sea-chest with my pieces of eight. Arrrrrr. Load the blunderbuss, Mister Hands! Hoist the mainsail! Tie that dog to the yardarm!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 52 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Avast Ye Hearties! A Bold Tale for Intelligent Readers,
By S. J. Masty "writer/reviewer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Pirate Wars: Pirates vs the Legitimate Navies of the World (Hardcover)
What a delight! A respected academic who can write with zip and zest. Peter Earle likes pirates to a fond degree, and he makes that clear in his entertaining introduction gently poking fun at modern writers who prefer political correctness to accuracy (Bad news, fairly few pirates were disabled lesbians of colour). From there it steps lively, shipmates, and keeps going. Nobody writes novels any more entertaining than Dr Earle's command of history. Most pirates began as merchant seamen or privateers, given letters of marque by governments, permitting them to ravage the shipping of the government's enemies or competitors. So they got trained at taxpayer expense then began to bite the hand that fed it. But then they had a lot of fun when they got ashore. Rather, if they got ashore, because governments spent a lot trying to get their rascals back on a leash or send them to the bottom of D Jones' Locker. Parenthetically, it reminds one of today's problems of terrorism, since the terrorists (like the pirates) were trained by governments to attack enemies, and only later they 'went bad.' Think of how many terrorists received US or Pakistani or Saudi training, weapons and money to help Afghans battle the Soviets. The terrorists, however, seem less endearing and less easily distracted by wine and wenching and gold doubloons. Pirates, however, captured the world's imagination from the start. Pirate Wars is good enough to warrant buying two copies, one to read and then lend, and one never to lend at all -- I keep mine safely locked in a sea-chest with my pieces of eight. Arrrrrr. Load the blunderbuss, Mister Hands! Hoist the mainsail! Tie that dog to the yardarm! 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
At War with the World,
By David Stapleton - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Pirate Wars (Paperback)
I have read and reviewed a number of books on pirates and piracy and find this one to be among the jewels of the bunch. It is readable, informative and even, at times, entertaining.The author's premise for the book is that much of western civilization had been waging a war with pirates for hundreds of years, culminating in the eventual decline and virtual elimination of these renegades from western seas in the early to mid 19th century. Peter Earle takes us through the history of pirates in those seas, from the origins to the eventual demise. Along the way he spreads a web of tales and stories, supported by research that should entertain many a reader that would otherwise find history a dry meal. The author's recounting of the history is reasonably linear beginning in the 16th century and progressing steadily forward in time frame. By necessity, it seems, much of the author's work centers on English and related history, although he does step off the standard fair of Golden Age pirates often enough that even a knowledgeable reader will find something new in the way of pirate fact. There is little or no illustration; my one complaint, surely a few maps were warranted in the least. The bibliography, however, is a thing of delight, to be mused over in the constant search for new sources. My bottom line is that while I have a few books that are nearer my heart, there are not many that I have found as encompassing or informative as this one. I recommend Pirates in the Caribbean :1493-1720 by Cruz Apestegui as an excellent source for the Spanish side of the Golden Age of Piracy, and Angus Konstam's History of Pirates for a glossy overview of piracy. P-) 7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Authoritative and Exciting,
By G. Poirier - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Pirate Wars (Paperback)
Although piracy has been in existence for millennia and in many parts of the world, the author mainly concentrates on piracy in the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean over a period of about 230 years, culminating in the 1830s. Rather than presenting various mini-biographies of famous pirates, or dwelling on the finer details of pirate life, the author has chosen to present a more sweeping picture of piracy, i.e., the big picture. Different types of pirates are discussed, as are the reasons for the ups and downs in pirate activity over the years and the many efforts to eradicate them. The book is clearly written and, although quite authoritative and heavily referenced, it is also quite exciting. The only unfortunate downside to this book is its complete lack of maps and figures. A few of each would have been very useful to complement the text, e.g., illustrations of the different types of ships and the geographical areas in which various pirates operated. Despite this minor drawback, this is an excellent book that should appeal to both history buffs and pirate lovers alike.
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