The Pirate Hunter [MP3 CD - UNABRIDGED]

Rating:
Summary: Gripping and enjoyable read but if details were calories....
Review: ...this book would make you VERY fat! The Pirate Hunter chronicles the history of Captain William Kidd, a "privateer" from New York who received a questionable commission from England to police the high seas for pirates.

Zacks documents in glorious detail Kidd's 2-year voyage resulting in the capture of 2 ships that were--in theory--French and thus subject to capture as spoils of war. Authorities later claimed Kidd was a REAL pirate rather than a pirate-hunter. Zacks builds a convincing case that Kidd was justified by 17-century standards in taking the ships and thus was undeserving of his sad fate.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, Zack's instinct for the entertaining detail could have been balanced against the length of the book, which is about 400 pages. 350 would have been enough for me, especially when Zacks digresses to tell the story of rival pirate Robert Culliford temporarily dropping the Kidd narrative.

Also, to my warped 21st-century mind, the distinction between a privateer (essentially a pirate with a government license to take goods from merchants luckless enough to be flying under an enemy flag) and a private is a pretty small one. To accept Kidd as innocent of piracy you would have to believe him incredibly naive.

Nevertheless, I think your interest in William Kidd will outlast this book- it's a fascinating part of history and Zacks has a good time with it.

Rating:
Summary: Put wind in my sail...
Review: ...to learn more about pirates and the pirate lie-style...I mean lifestyle. Zack's book is rich and real. You almost feel the salt water dripping from each page. It is a true keyhole into the fascinating 17th century world of the rugged life on the ocean. I never thought much about buccaneers or pirates before cracking open this yarn, but it was not only a page-turner, but an eye-opener. What I especially liked was how Zacks turned the story on its (real life) head. Instead of Kidd being a bad guy -- as history books tell us -- Kidd was actually a good guy chasing the bad guys. Can't wait to see the movie. (Hello Hollywood or A&E, TNT or The History Channel...are yuh listening?)

Rating:
Summary: Put wind in my sail...
Review: ...to learn more about pirates and the pirate lifestyle. Zacks' book is rich and real. You almost feel the salt water dripping from each page. It was a real keyhole into the 17th century world of the rugged life on the ocean. I never thought much about buccaneers or pirates before cracking open this yarn, but it was a real eye opener. What I especially liked was how Zacks turned the story on its (real life) head. Instead of a bad guy -- as history depicts him -- Kidd was a good guy chasing the bad guys. Can't wait to see the movie. (Hello Hollywood or A&E or The History Channel or TNT...are yuh listening?)

Rating:
Summary: Simply Fantastic!
Review: A dashingly narrated life of Captain William Kidd, freeing him of his unwarranted reputation as a notorious pirate. Kidd was no pirate, historian Zacks (History Laid Bare, not reviewed, etc.) argues in this solidly documented historical thriller, but a New York sea captain with a house, wife, and child on Wall Street, and with a special commission from King William III and other notables to hunt pirates and divvy up the booty with his backers. This was an exceptional charge, since it allowed Kidd to circumvent the Admiralty court. But it was also a secret commission, and his actions won him few friends in the Royal Navy, which frowned on privateers of any stripe, or with the East India Company, which suffered as a result of his work. Recreating in great detail Kidd's months searching for bounty, yet doing so with a verve that keeps the story light on its feet, Zacks also sets straight the life of the pirates-violent and short, certainly, but far more democratic than that experienced by those on land. It was Kidd's ill luck to take a glorious treasure from a Moslem vessel, throwing the East India Company's best-laid plans in India into a precarious position. The captain was left out on a limb, and his backers quickly disavowed any knowledge of his commission, for treason was the charge here. Zacks reveals the double-cross through a paper trail of logbooks, diaries, letters, and transcripts of the trial that sent Kidd to the gallows while his erstwhile pirate nemesis, Robert Culliford, walked free from Newgate Prison. In addition, Zacks paints a real-life picture of the pirates' port of choice in the 1690s-New York City-its customs, the fluid politics that pertained to maritime affairs, and even what it was like to attend a hanging. Exciting, well told, and befitting the wild life of a pirate-even if Kidd wasn't one.

Rating:
Summary: Treasure Island beach Reading!
Review: A swash buckling adventure story if there ever was one. This books reads almost a compelling as "Treasure Island." It's full of 1700 intregue of the Court of England. The baudy but short life of a pirate and the search for the truth about Captain Kidd.

The real eye opener for me was how embedded into theivery was the city of New York. We think of it as a dangerous place now but it appears to have always been this way! The level of detail in this book just adds to our belief in what we are told. It almost borders on historical fiction but then there is a citation to an actual diary or log book entry!

Highly recommeded for reading at the beach.

Rating:
Summary: A little long
Review: Although good editing would have made this less cumbersome, overall a well told story.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Treasure: Richard Zack's true story of Captain Kidd
Review: Anyone who's followed the lore and legend of the great pirates and buccaneers of the 17th and 18th centuries will follow with even greater delight the revelations and recounting of fact in Richard Zack's THE PIRATE HUNTER: The True Story of Captain Kidd. It's an incomparable tale of treachery and greed, not only on the high seas, but in the back rooms of colonial governors, rich merchants and British Lords who played fast and furious with the rights of nations and other men's lives.

Zach tells the story of William Kidd, a somewhat retired and perhaps bored New York merchant ship's captain who hoped to reprise his early days as a privateer by tracking down pirates and taking posession of their rich bounties..all under a somewhat dubious and not so secret commission from the King of England. Kidd in large part was duped by his wealthy and powerful backers, though to some measure also by his own intransigence, ambition and naivete...which, combined with an uncanny string of BAD LUCK makes for a drama of tragic proportions, reminding this reviewer somewhat of Hamlet or Macbeth. Equally uncanny is Richard Zack's ability to sift through 300 years of hyperbole and sensationalism to bring forth in completely readable fashion the facts in this matter - facts no less arresting and fantastic than the tall tales for so long associated with the infamous Captain Kidd.

THE PIRATE HUNTER is rich with detail and authentic references to and quotations from documents, court records and first-hand testimony of the time, not to mention some remarkable research on Zack's part. He makes it especially clear when he's citing from various sources: clearly naming ships, pirates (even by their aliases) and players; and by backtracking to make sure the reader isn't lost in the sometimes circuitous events of Kidd's life. Overall, The Pirate Hunter is an important and unprecedented step forward in bringing the unadultrated story of this hapless ship's captain and this notorious era to the attention of your average modern-day landlubber. This is the kind of stuff that would make for a terrific movie, except that no one would believe it.

Rating:
Summary: Pirates, Certainly!
Review: Author Richard Zack's extensive research and vivid storytelling
unite to make "The Pirater Hunter" a must read for any history buff or pirate enthusiast. Each page is rife with intimate details of the famed, yet misunderstood life of Capt. William Kidd. Triumph, trial and dirty deeds done inexpensive abound in this thrilling book. Actual documents, quotes and letters provide authenticity, depth and purpose. This book was a super good time. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A triumph of historical research and evocative writing
Review: Author Richard Zacks in this book alone has proven to be a grand master of research. Much of the success of "Pirate Hunter' rests on unimaginable hours of pouring over documents, diaries, letters, old books and anything else he could get his hands on pertaining to Captain Kidd, Robert Culliford, pirates in general and the late 17th century in particular.
Consequently Zachs can tell this amazing story with next to no speculation and virtually no gaps. It's evident that any sources available to help tell the story were found. Ahh yes, the story...
All this research would have been for naught but for Zachs superior storytelling skills. And what a story he has to tell!
Pirates (I was surprised how many of the Hollywood stereotypes DID apply to them) their ruthless, murderous greedy adventures, those who hunted them for country and/or profiteers make for fascinating tales.
It's all here, months to years at a time at sea with disease a constant threat, bloody battles, torture, colorful characters and variously innocent, wily and lascivious natives.
There are also well-drawn settings, from Colonial New York to islands of Madagascar with numerous unforgettable stops in between.
At the centerpiece is Captain Kidd. Zachs' sympathetic portrayal depicts Kidd as more a pirate hunter than the pirate he was convicted of being and is remembered as.
Here is Kidd the charismatic leader, the shrewd businessman, the brutal captain, the faithful husband, the martyr to his own vanity.
Also meet Robert Culliford who beyond a doubt was a vicious pirate, the man whose paths crossed Kidd's at key point in both men's live and who met an altogether different fate.
The "Pirate Hunter" is simply one of the very best books of its kind ever written.

Rating:
Summary: A triumph of historical research and evocative writing
Review: Author Richard Zacks in this book alone has proven to be a grand master of research. Much of the success of "Pirate Hunter' rests on unimaginable hours of pouring over documents, diaries, letters, old books and anything else he could get his hands on pertaining to Captain Kidd, Robert Culliford, pirates in general and the late 17th century in particular.
Consequently Zachs can tell this amazing story with next to no speculation and virtually no gaps. It's evident that any sources available to help tell the story were found. Ahh yes, the story...
All this research would have been for naught but for Zachs superior storytelling skills. And what a story he has to tell!
Pirates (I was surprised how many of the Hollywood stereotypes DID apply to them) their ruthless, murderous greedy adventures, those who hunted them for country and/or profiteers make for fascinating tales.
It's all here, months to years at a time at sea with disease a constant threat, bloody battles, torture, colorful characters and variously innocent, wily and lascivious natives.
There are also well-drawn settings, from Colonial New York to islands of Madagascar with numerous unforgettable stops in between.
At the centerpiece is Captain Kidd. Zachs' sympathetic portrayal depicts Kidd as more a pirate hunter than the pirate he was convicted of being and is remembered as.
Here is Kidd the charismatic leader, the shrewd businessman, the brutal captain, the faithful husband, the martyr to his own vanity.
Also meet Robert Culliford who beyond a doubt was a vicious pirate, the man whose paths crossed Kidd's at key point in both men's live and who met an altogether different fate.
The "Pirate Hunter" is simply one of the very best books of its kind ever written.