The Pirate Hunter

By: Richard Zacks

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Captain Kidd has gone down in history as America's most ruthless buccaneer. However, Captain William Kidd was no career cut-throat; he was a tough, successful New York sea captain who was hired to chase pirates. His three year odyssey pitted him against arrogant Royal Navy commanders, jealous East India Company captains, storms, starvation, angry natives, and above all, flesh-and-blood pirates. Across the oceans of the world, the pirate hunter, Kidd, pursued the pirate, Culliford. One man would hang in the harbor; the other would walk away with the treasure. The Pirate Hunter is both a masterpiece of historical detective work and a page-turner.

©2002 Richard Zacks (P)2003 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Entertaining, richly detailed, and authoritatively narrated, Zacks's account of the life of legendary seaman William Kidd delivers a first-rate story....Zacks' book is a treasure, indeed." (Publishers Weeekly)
"Zacks fills our minds with the sights, sounds, and even the smells of the seventeenth century, and he rescues William Kidd from eternal damnation. A lively, educational, thoroughly spellbinding trip back in time." (Booklist)
"Enthralling....rich and riotous." (Time)

Pirate and History Lovers Come Forth...

I really loved parts of this book because I am a pirate and history fan, but parts of it were slow. It is the truth and our lives are not always edge-of-your-seat exciting so that is forgivable. I find history's little details very interesting and if you do to, you will like this. There is a tremendous amount of research in this story and that makes it very interesting. Some of the paths that cross again and again and the endings are fiction worthy. If you love pirates and history in its true form, you will love this book. #Pirates as they really lived #History lovers unite #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Very good historical story

I enjoy history and especially history relating to pirates and their era. This is a very interesting story with lots of history.

Best story ever!

I’ve read pretty much all the pirate books and this is the best one by far.

Arrrghhh!!! PIRATES!!!

This book is a lot of fun. If you like pirates, intrigue, sea battles, history and a gripping story, get this audio book. The narrators voice is good and very appropriate to the content. ARRRGGH!!! Pirates is a fun, easy listen. I reccomend it!

Better Than Fiction & Great Narration

If you like the Captain & Commander novels this is the real thing and the tale is far more interesting. Michael Pritchards newsreel style of narration really works with this fascinating work.

What?!

This book changes everything we thought we knew about Captain Kidd!! It will surprise many.

Could use better narration

It's the story of Capt. Kidd. Was he a notorious pirate or wrongly accused privateer? The audiobook portrays both sides of the story. I especially liked the history itself. However, the narration was delivered in a near monotone. In order to get through the book I had to speed up the audio. If it had been fiction, then I would have given up on it well before the end. However, since it's a true story I wanted to hear the end. There are additional books available, but I can't bear to suffer through the narration. In the past, I've listened to other books narrated by Michael Prichard and he did a far better job than on this one.

Amazing history lesson

This book taught me so very much about that era and life. Very well researched. I recognize this to all even if there is no interest in pirates.

History I never knew.

A great deal of detail. Well prepared and apparently researched. I've heard the name of Capt. William Kidd since I was a child and always supposed he was a Pirate. I had never heard this account. It was well prepared, well read, but perhaps a little dry for some folks.
I liked it, but then it's my cup of tea.

The Pirate Hunter

Excellent work. Well read and easy to follow. A must for maritime history buffs. The book captures the political, religious, legal and general atmosphere of the late 17th and early 18th century. The book captures the lifestyle's of seafaring merchants, sailors and pirates as well as the problems captians faced. It gives the listener a better insight into the life of a very well known figure in world history of which nobody knows much about. Fact based, well studied and to the point.