The Republic of Pirates

Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down

De: Colin Woodard

Narrado por: Lewis Grenville

Duración: 13 h y 26 m

Resumen del Editor

The untold story of a heroic band of Caribbean pirates whose defiance of imperial rule inspired revolt in colonial outposts across the world.

In the early 18th century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates - former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves - this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, Blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote. They cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. And for a brief, glorious period, the Republic was a success.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audiobooks

Real History Told With Passion

Detailed and well-researched book with an Ian Toll (Six Frigates) style, meaning that characters are well developed and stories have a level of detail that might bore passersby but quench the thirst of someone searching for a definitive resource. Incredibly subtle and well-timed references to the times and wider societal context which accounted for the rise and flourishing of piracy and the sympathy of the people for them, without shying away from reality. I was very impressed with the author's ability to weave together a story with suspense and cliff hangers and warmth that must have required countless hours in the cold stacks of the library. Great work!

Get ready for a long listen.

To start, I enjoyed the beginning of this book. It gave a wonderful introduction to what this book should have been. With that, I should state that the introduction was the high point. While the idea was wonderful, this book should have taken many more years to write. While I have anticipated a book on the history of piracy in the Americas for years, I would’ve waited decades longer for a more complete and more interesting monograph than this book.

While I rated the book three stars, there are I’m sure many who would rate it lesser or higher. Myself, reading this book was hard at times, aggravating and overall I felt sloppy listening to it. While listening to a book you should be mesmerized and lost in your own world, with “The Republic of Pirates” I felt as such for roughly two hours throughout. There were captivating points such as Woodard’s descriptions of characters and landmarks that beyond grabbed my attention, but then he would revert to how the captain of a ship would be searching for a point to careen his ship. While this is crucial to understand, I felt as if Woodard wanted the reader to know that two thirds of piracy requires you to clean the hull of your ship.

On top of the lack luster story telling, the narrator sounded as if Ian McKellen tried to impersonate Liam Neeson. Along with this tone, there was an egregious pronunciation of places, names and overall awful mispronunciation of vocabulary. While I cannot simply believe that the narrator could mispronounce such simple city names and names of persons, I cannot further believe that the editor of this audiobook overlooked it.

Nonetheless, I gave this book three stars as it is wonderful as a reference book but nothing more. I looked for an informative narrative but got what seemed to be fairly accurate information, if you are to believe the sources in which Woodard pulls from.

Entertaining and informative

I knew very little about the golden age of piracy before this book, I found it very informative and entertaining to listen to. The characters are engaging and it's full of quirky info about general life in the 17th century. Also the narrator has a calm tone and is easy to listen to.
Some sections are a little long winded/heavy on politics and I found I zoned out a few times but I will definitely be listening to it again anyway.

amazing research

Any additional comments?

The way research was handled, blending court reports, diaries, and government records into a seamless story is amazing.

Great Swashbuckling Adventure!

This was just the right amount of detailed, we'll researched fact and compelling narrative. And the narrator did a good job of holding attention. Recommended for sure.

school

need the book in schools, teaches alot of the era. great read if you like history

Perfect book to listen to-

I found this book through my research on Colin Woodard after listening to "American Nations." I liked "American Nations," but I loved this book. Even with my limited exposure to maritime history, I found this book enthralling and didn't get anything done for the three days I spent listening to it. I had to stop googling people to avoid spoilers. Many kudos to the author for writing a history book capable of spoilers. It translated well into an audio book, and if you're even slightly interested in maritime history or pirates you'll like this book. RIP, Bellamy!!

Good but limited focus

Very good research and writing, just seemed very focused on only a couple of people. This seemed to reprint stories of the most popular, well know pirates

Very enlightening

I knew nothing about the history of pirates. I have a new found respect and I’m thankful for it. Definitely listen to this audible.

Good book about pirates.

An interesting recounting of the Golden age of piracy refreshingly without the sugar coating or Hollywood sparkle. Factual history is recounted. Whenever conjecture is used to fill in the blanks, the author is good to inform the reader. Well written and a good performance by the narrator.