The Pirate Hunter by Richard Zacks

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An Overview:

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to live with pirates, The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd will give you a historical and enjoyable stroll into that part of history. Whether you like pirates, history or both you may want to add The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd to your list.

Main Body:

Richard Zacks has two things going for him in this book. The first is that he is a scholar. He knows his history and is able to take facts (which he can back up) and recreate the life of William Kidd (better known in pirate lore as Captain Kidd). Additionally, Zacks has a knack for weaving those facts into a colorful story that is a joy to read while not even realizing you are learning.

If all history classes could be taught this way I would have remembered a lot more when it came to test time. The view in this book is that Kidd was not just a bloodthirsty pirate, but was actually doing the work of the English government, hunting down pirates and taking back what they had stolen.

Through the book you will really get a feel of what it would have been like to live and operate in that time. Politics were different, government was different and survival was much more difficult than anything we can understand these days. It also shows just how dirty and nasty pirates really could be and often were.

It details Kidd’s encounters with pirates and some of the long-standing rivalries in his life, like that of pirate Robert Culliford. As one who appreciates this particular era of history, I enjoyed this book as it supported some of the things I thought about the time and then helped straighten me out on a few issues all in an enjoyable to listen to historical tale.

The Narration:

Michael Pritchard supplied narration for this audio book. He was very enjoyable to listen to and had a great voice that seemed like it belonged in a documentary. His voice has the power of a historian or teacher, but also the personality that brought the story to life.

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