The Pirate Wars [Hardcover]

Peter Earle (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312335792 | ISBN-13: 978-0312335793 | Publication Date: March 24, 2005 | Edition: First Edition

Investigating the fascination pirates hold over the popular imagination, Peter Earle takes the fable of ocean-going Robin Hoods sailing under the "banner of King Death" and contrasts it with the murderous reality of robbery, torture and death and the freedom of a short, violent life on the high seas. The book charts 250 years of piracy, from Cornwall to the Caribbean, from the 16th century to the hanging of the last pirate captain in Boston in 1835. Along the way, we meet characters like Captain Thomas Cocklyn, chosen as commander of his ship "on account of his brutality and ignorance," and Edward Teach, the notorious "Blackbeard," who felt of his crew "that if he did not now and then kill one of them they would forget who he was." Using material from British Admiralty records, this 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.

Editorial Reviews

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."

---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."

---The Oxford Times (UK)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Peter Earle formerly taught at the London School of Economics and is now Emeritus Reader in Economic History at the University of London. He is the author of over a dozen books on English social and maritime history, including two on different aspects of piracy, Corsairs of Malta and Barbary and The Sack of Panama.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (March 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312335792
• ISBN-13: 978-0312335793
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,556,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Avast Ye Hearties! A Bold Tale for Intelligent Readers, June 24, 2004

By 

S. J. Masty "writer/reviewer" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pirate Wars (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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At War with the World, March 9, 2007

By 

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

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, July 18, 2006

By 

G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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.