Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean [Paperback]

Dan Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 2006

Blackbeard's extraordinary life of excess during the Golden Age of Piracy ignited a reputation that struck terror into men's hearts from Virginia to Barbados. Leading a flotilla of ships through the clear waters of the Indies, he left in his wake the image of a "ranting, roaring, swaggering, swearing" sea captain that is still remembered today. Blackbeard's life on the high seas, chasing wealth, freedom, and power, ended in a bloody battle that ultimately marked a turning point in history. This book accompanies a multimillion-dollar BBC-National Geographic drama that explores the reality of the man behind the beard. Far from the caricature of films and novels, Blackbeard was a complex character who was as charming as he was ruthless. The atrocities he indulged in, and how they eventually proved to be his undoing, are here explored through a fresh appraisal of surviving contemporary documents. Today, we might associate pirates with peg-legs, parrots and dreamy tropical islands, but the disturbing truth is the stuff of nightmares.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560258853
• ISBN-13: 978-1560258858
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #646,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sand on the Decks, November 14, 2007

By 

David Stapleton (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean (Paperback)

Writing a whole book exclusively about Blackbeard would require a good deal more material than currently exists. The author does an excellent job of collecting together a good deal of the material available and organizing it in a chronological fashion. However, that is probably at most half of the book, the rest is rounded out with general pirate history from the period, as well as pictures and movie stills from the Blackbeard documentary. Ships sanded their decks before going into battle for the added traction it yielded; this book offers that added traction in the history of a notorious pirate.

The only fault I can find in the author's delivery, almost to the point of distraction, is the constant use of Thatch as Blackbeard's real name. Most author's that I have read over the past 10+ years favor the use of Teach as the preferred name. That aside, I found the story line well paced and easy to read. The added bits of pirate history, including the obligatory references to Anne Bonny and Mary Read, were well placed in the chronology to give the reader more of a reference to the time period.

The author has omitted an index, but does include a Sources and Further Reading page. The bottom line is that this is as good a biography of the pirate as I have found, and an enjoyable read to boot.
P-)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great All Inclusive 17th Century Pirate Book!, July 9, 2010

By 

Stephen Larkin "[e-mail]" (Salem, MA 01915) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean (Paperback)

This all inclusive edition about Blackbeard gives a very good chronological approach to the original Pirates of the Caribbean not just Blackbeard! Excellent reference for all who want to know about this time in the history of the Americas and Caribbean Islands.

3.0 out of 5 stars Textbook, January 15, 2012

By 

Michael Berger - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean (Paperback)

As a book on pirates, I would give it 4 stars, as a book on Blackbeard, I give it 3. This book is more about pirates in general than it is about Blackbeard. Not to mention it is set up like a kids book or a textbook. There is just as many pictures as text and a lot of the pictures are stills from the TV movie of the same name. Had I realized this book was connected to a TV movie I would have never purchased it. I have read quite a few pirate books and ALL of the others had the same information and more. It is a general run down of pirate life with a little extra info on Blackbeard. I don't know how much info they have on Blackbeard's history, but if you don't have enough to do a book on only him, call it "Blackbeard and a History of Pirates in the Caribbean". That is basically what this book is. I'm kind of surprised this book had a 5 star rating. I have read other books that didn't focus on Blackbeard and had more info on him than this book. To many pictures and a misleading title. Thought I was getting a 5 star book on Blackbeard, instead I got a textbook with a general pirate lifestyle run down. For the serious reader or someone looking for a good book on Blackbeard, look somewhere else. Not bad, but I was disappointed.