Customer Reviews

Life, Adventures, and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton, The

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DeFoe brings the lives of the classic era of pyrates to life. Men like Low, really evil, Teach, not a nice guy, Misson, a utopian, Bartholomew Roberts, cutthroat, come to life. He must have attended the trials in England of some of the pyrates and reports their stories in a lively fashion. The actions of the pyrates were well known to the merchants in London and the cause of great concern. These men killed a lot of people and the English navy hanged most of them, except for the scores killed in battle(like Black Bart and Blackbeard), and the exceptional man who retired. These pyrates disrupted commerce around the world and left many innocent merchantmen dead or bankrupt.
This is an interesting read for people who want the true story.

If you have read some of Defoe's more popular works, like Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders, you know that, while entertaining, his works are not necessarily page turners. The style of this story is a first person narrative of two major adventures of the main character, Bob Singleton.

The first tale is that of an improbable trek by a crowd of failed mutineers and malcontents across the continent of Africa, east to west. The story is replete with the usual features of deepest, darkest Africa: elephant graveyards, great deserts, huge lakes, rivers running with gold and native tribes with strange customs.

The second tale is a wildly successful pirate cruise of the classic regions including the Caribbean, Madagascar and Spice Islands. The story is again somewhat improbable in that the author, early on, inserts a Quaker doctor into the crew and uses him as the voice of moderation and sanity in the crew, tempering their actions.

Overall the effect is not unappealing or without merit. Defoe does a good job of providing a readable story, the style is dated and makes for a slower read, although still entertaining. I wouldn't look for any great insight into the life of pirates, although Defoe seems to have a reasonable knowledge of the sailing of wooden ships. P-)

This is a great story of adventure, not just at sea, but across the width of the African continent. The geographic details given in the book can still be traced on modern maps.

If you have read some of Defoe's more popular works, like Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders, you know that, while entertaining, his works are not necessarily page turners. The style of this story is a first person narrative of two major adventures of the main character, Bob Singleton.

The first tale is that of an improbable trek by a crowd of failed mutineers and malcontents across the continent of Africa, east to west. The story is replete with the usual features of deepest, darkest Africa: elephant graveyards, great deserts, huge lakes, rivers running with gold and native tribes with strange customs.

The second tale is a wildly successful pirate cruise of the classic regions including the Caribbean, Madagascar and Spice Islands. The story is again somewhat improbable in that the author, early on, inserts a Quaker doctor into the crew and uses him as the voice of moderation and sanity in the crew, tempering their actions.

Overall the effect is not unappealing or without merit. Defoe does a good job of providing a readable story, the style is dated and makes for a slower read, although still entertaining. I wouldn't look for any great insight into the life of pirates, although Defoe seems to have a reasonable knowledge of the sailing of wooden ships. P-)

I usually don't read too much, but I couldn't put this book down and finished it within a couple of days, and I wasn't too sorry I neglected other responsibilities to read it. Skip going to the movies and read this book, this has more to it than those stupids things Hollywood is throwing at us.

If you have read some of Defoe's more popular works, like Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders, you know that, while entertaining, his works are not necessarily page turners. The style of this story is a first person narrative of two major adventures of the main character, Bob Singleton.

The first tale is that of an improbable trek by a crowd of failed mutineers and malcontents across the continent of Africa, east to west. The story is replete with the usual features of deepest, darkest Africa: elephant graveyards, great deserts, huge lakes, rivers running with gold and native tribes with strange customs.

The second tale is a wildly successful pirate cruise of the classic regions including the Caribbean, Madagascar and Spice Islands. The story is again somewhat improbable in that the author, early on, inserts a Quaker doctor into the crew and uses him as the voice of moderation and sanity in the crew, tempering their actions.

Overall the effect is not unappealing or without merit. Defoe does a good job of providing a readable story, the style is dated and makes for a slower read, although still entertaining. I wouldn't look for any great insight into the life of pirates, although Defoe seems to have a reasonable knowledge of the sailing of wooden ships. P-)