The Pirate Hunter [MP3 CD - UNABRIDGED]

Rating:
Summary: MESMERIZING
Review: COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. EASY READ AND VERY INFORMATIVE. HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN A FACTUAL INTERPERTATION OF THE HISTORY OF CAPTAIN KIDD. THANK YOU MISTER ZACKS FOR A VERY ENJOYABLE BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: * A Compelling Ride Through Capt. Kidd's True Adventures *
Review: For centuries, pirates like Captain Kidd have been portrayed in 'fairytale' fashion on the big screen and in literature. Finally now someone has done enough extensive research to compile a more accurate portrayal of pirate history, life onboard ship, and the life of the great Captain William Kidd, who was not the man we knew from fiction. Disney movies and candy-coated stories are fine for kids, but "The Pirate Hunter" actually skips back in time to the gritty life that pirates lived in the late 1600s. Zacks doesn't hold back. America, and the rest of the world was a different place 300 years ago. Packed with enough facts and documented accounts to please any historian, blended seamlessly with segues, and flavored with dramatical asides, "The Pirate Hunter" is a truely entertaining read!

Rating:
Summary: Husband loved it as gift
Review: I bought this for my husband, interested in history but not interested in "dry" reading. He loves the book and enjoys the writing style and very interesting facts about the tedium of life during this time.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but strangely written
Review: I enjoyed the story, and the book as a whole, but my concentration and enjoyment were disrupted time after time by several strange habits of the author. Every so often he slips in a really anachronistic term or usage, and his frequent use of italics is often startling, and sometimes unexplainable.

And my continuing complaint - doesn't anybody *proofread* a book before it goes to print? The typos are really bothersome.

Jim Beckman

Rating:
Summary: Detailed, fact-filled narrative of an interesting life & tim
Review: I enjoyed this book. If you like reading history told as a novel, where you kind of know the story but not really, this will grab you. I especially liked how the author realted details like what life was like in Manhattan in the 17th century, how pirates lived, what trials and imprisonment was like in England, even how you went to the bathroom on board a ship.
Two minor complaints: first, the author has an annoying tendency to italicize words seemingly at random and sometimes 2 or 3 times in a single sentence! Second, there is a bit of repetition; for example, every time someone goes to jail, they "rot" there.

Rating:
Summary: "Zacks" is not stranger than fiction
Review: I feel guilty that I cannot share the enthusiasm for this book that others have expressed. I have no doubt that Mr. Zacks' research was painstaking and he did present all the facts. It was an interesting narrative, but there were sections within the book where the facts turned dry, and I sensed that even Mr. Zacks lost interest; his prose turned almost flippant as if someone else had taken over his pen. I am a fan of historical fiction; I find it a painless and pleasurable way to study history provided the author has done his research. Several months ago, I read Nicholas Griffin's "The Requiem Shark." If you want to learn about piracy on a personal level, I would recommend Griffin's work. His research is sound and his narrative takes you deep inside this dangerous but carefree world. When I compare the two books, "Zacks" was not stranger than fiction, and I felt I learned more from the novel. That being said, if your specific interest is Captain Kidd, and not the world of pirates, then "The Pirate Hunter" is worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Thrilling NonFiction
Review: I know a book is great when I get so involved, I miss my subway stop. Pirate Hunter had me from page one. It's right up there with "Into Thin Air" and "A Perfect Storm."

I had assumed Captain Kidd was the bloodthirsty pirate we all heard about. Richard Zacks, using the skills of a master story teller, paints a different picture. I don't want to give anything away, because the book surprises you CONSTANTLY. It's simply a great read.

Rating:
Summary: More about politics, less about piracy...
Review: I read this book several months ago, and I liked this book very much not only because this book contained a lot of interesting anecdotes of sailors and pirates, but also because it helped me to understand British politics in late 17 century. For example, stories about man-eaters in Andaman Islands and tailed people in Nicobar Islands were fascinating enough, though I am still not sure whether there were really tailed people in Nicobar Islands in the 17th century.
But the focus of this book is on the British politics of the times. Captain Kidd was not a pirate, but a pirate hunter or a privateer. And he was a decent man according to the standard of the times. The King of England was one of his sponsors. He was actually doing King's business. But he became a pirate quite mysteriously. His biggest mistake was that he endangered the interest of British East India Company by seizing a merchant ship of a prince of Mogul Empire. The ship was carrying a French pass, and France was at war with England. Seizing the ship was, therefore, a perfectly legal operation according to the law of the times. But the Emperor of India thought that British East India Company should be responsible for it. And the company had to compensate for it thereby setting a bad precedent.
Captain Kidd was from Scotland, but he wanted to become an admiral of British Empire. Blinded by his ambition, he could not understand the political current of the times. So his entire life was ruined. Compassion for this unfortunate man!

Rating:
Summary: Two sides to every story
Review: I truly enjoy any book that looks at the other side of the coin. This one was no exception. As bonus, there is an insightful look into early 18th century English "justice". No wonder our Constitution was written with a Bill of Rights.

Rating:
Summary: A-Okay for this one...
Review: I truly enjoyed this book. It proposes that William Kidd
was not a pirate but a victim of special circumstance
that led to his execution on the banks of the Thames.
Abandoned by the very people who supported his royal
commission to capture pirates and enemy ships, Captain Kidd
left New York as a privateer and returned three years later
as England's most wanted pirate. His case, as the author
suggests, is one of character assasination through rumor,
misinformation, and the twisting of facts. This book will
tell you so much about the seafaring trade in the 17th century,
how spices, dry goods, precious metals, jewels, and human lives
hang precariously over the likelihood of a pirate raid on
the high seas. There are many characters in the book, but
the author gives helpful references in case you have forgotten
who and how they figure in the story. the reader will read about
17th century protocol between ships, be it to ascertain
superior firepower among friendly ships or as a ruse for
capture. The storytelling is easy and flowing. It held my
interest very much and I can recommend it to those who
love history and piracy.