Sign Up | Log In

Write a Review
Post a Quick Tip
Create a List
Ask a Question
Create a Poll
Create a Community

Movies •Books •Music •Food •Tv Shows •Technology •Politics •Video Games •Parenting •Fashion •Green Living •more >

Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » The Pirate Hunter: The True Story Of Captain Kidd

The Pirate Hunter: The True Story Of Captain Kidd

1 rating: 5.0

Richard Zacks' book detailing the piracy (or backstabbing) of Captain William Kidd.

Captain Kidd has gone down in history as America's most ruthless buccaneer. Over the centuries, novelists, treasure hunters, and even historians have stoked his legend. But it turns out that most everyone, even respected scholars, have the story all … see full wiki

Tags: Books, Nonfiction, Biographies, Pirates, Trials, Captain Kidd

Author: Richard Zacks

Publisher: Hyperion

Date Published: 2002

1 review about The Pirate Hunter: The True Story Of Captain...

Showing 1-1 of 1

Sort by:

Great Facts That Read Like Fiction

Mar 20, 2009

by kfontenot

Rating:

The Pirate Hunter: The True Story Of Captain Kidd is a wonderful book. Richard Zacks has taken a tale that could be told as most others in history books, making it stuffy, heavily intellectual and, let's face it, somewhat boring. Instead, Zacks deals out the historical facts on the happenings aboard the "Adventure Galley" that lead up to Captain William Kidd making a short drop and a sudden stop.

Full of backstabbings, bribes, turncoats, bravery, cowardice, and a little luck, the story of Captain Kidd is presented to the reader in a fun to read, informative, and solid format. Zacks backs up his theory of Kidd being a privateer who gets swindled with a large amount of sources that range from court documents to diaries. It's written as if it were a novel with well defined good guys and bad guys. There are some brilliant, colorful, and sometimes disturbing images conjured of the life of a pirate. From careening a ship to bearding a captive, Zacks covers and explains it all.

One thing is for sure, I'm glad I wasn't around to witness some of these things. I don't know if I'd be able to stomach it.

Highly recommended to anyone with just a slight interest in pirates because it will definitely leave you wanting to seek more information and to those who love history but aren't too wild about some of the stuffier volumes out there. This is an exciting and intelligent read, sure to be recommended for years to come.

What did you think of this review?

Helpful

Thought-Provoking

Fun to Read

Well-Organized