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The Pirate Hunter  By  cover art

The Pirate Hunter

By: Richard Zacks
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
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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)

What listeners say about The Pirate Hunter

Average customer ratings
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Story
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Aaaargh Matey, Listen to this tale!

Well researched, deftly written and masterfully read this Audiobook is an interesting listen for lovers of fiction as well as non-fiction. It is no easy task to bring legend to life and harder still when the truth does not parallel that legend. The author manages to bring Captain Kidd's story, and the time period, alive in this fascinating look at piracy - and not all the pirates being sailors, some are politicians, businessmen and royalty. This was a fun listen and worth the purchase.

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54 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Captain was robbed!

This book is an excellent telling of a little known story about Captain Kidd's life as a Privateer. Apparently there was a thin line between Pirate and Privateer distinguishable only to those with the power to benefit from a conclusion which was to their advantage. This story is well told and well read. It grabs you by the ?yard arm? and ?keel hauls? your interest. You will know why the American colonists decided to rebel against the English crown after listening to this wonderful tale of 17th and early 18th century commerce.

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44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

What a movie it would be!

A sweeping tale of two men on the high seas, spanning most of the known world in the late 1700's. One man - Kidd, a story of unspeakable tragedy much like the story of "The Man with the Iron Mask" but with an opposite ending. The other - Colorford the luckiest pirate that nobody knows about. The Story sweeps from Early New York, to the Indian Ocean, from then prisons in London to the islands of the Carribean. Somehow, when it is all over, the reader is not so much interested in where the treasure was buried, but simply grateful we do not live in a time such as these when the life of a man/ or woman / or slave meant so much less than money and gold. I could not stop listening to it, So much research, So much time spent to find the facts of a case woven together to create a picture of a time which has passed. Five Stars!

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

There are three reasons to rate this book 5 stars. The first is the narrator. The book is read to us with professionalism and aplomb. I wish every audio book could be read by this guy. Secondly it's a fascinating story that leaves you caring deeply about it's anti hero. Thirdly, it gives a feel for a seafarer's life 300 years ago.

As the book draws to it's conclusion, after many hours of rich story telling, you cannot help be sad. Every great adventure must come to an end, and this is indeed a great story!

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Not a bad story, but not nearly as good as Empire of the Blue Water. If you are looking for a pirate tale go elsewhere. If you want to hear about one person's defense of Capt. Kid and long quotes for century old letters, this book is for you.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

good

I Like history. I like pirate storys.

I started reading this book and had a little trouble really getting into it. (I always found a reason to read something else) so I decided to listen to it. What a good idea. I liked the book. I got the history lesson I wanted and I didn't fall asleep doing it.

The narrator was fine.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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!

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Truly better than fiction

This is a great adventure story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's even supposed to be true and well researched. The author gives such wonderful descriptions of the surroundings, that makes you feel you are there. Beware, there are some nasty places!! A must read that is very well narrated. Enjoy. I have listened to over 100 books this is in my top 10.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent information, poor narration

This is one of those books that immediately intrigued me and with a 40 minute commute each way to work, I thought it would be an excellent candidate for audiobook. Sadly, it would have been an excellent book to read rather than listen to, as the narrator is extremely monotone and abrasive in his speaking style. It made an otherwise fascinating book, very difficult to listen to - I highly recommend the book. I bought it for a friend who was going on a vacation, he loved it; but again I believe that is because he read it rather than listened to it through the interpretation of Michael Prichard.

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12 people found this helpful