Black Flags, Blue Waters

The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates

By: Eric Jay Dolin

Narrated by: Paul Brion

Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy's "Golden Age" - spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s - when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. Best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them.

Through engrossing episodes of roguish glamour and extreme brutality, Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them towering Blackbeard, ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. Also brilliantly detailed are the pirates' manifold enemies, including colonial governor John Winthrop and evangelist Cotton Mather.

Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Dolin provides this wholly original account of the seafaring outlaws whose raids reflect the precarious nature of American colonial life.

©2018 Eric Jay Dolin (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

More than the average pirate book.

A deeper than normal look at the interactions between pirates and the colonial governments and their citizens.

solid story for fans of the tipic

interesting story for historical pirate fans, but less than stellar reading. Would have preferred more focused detail than the broader scope presented.

Fascinating

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Golden Age of piracy. This was great.

good read

Seems like a very good take on all things pirates. mundane at times, yet it crosses several myths, truths, legends and the general life of a pirate.

fascinating

a fascinating historically accurate account age of piracy taught me many things I would have never known. especially enjoyable is the author's overlay of fact and myth in a seamless comparison!

Great read

I couldn't get enough might even listen again because of how engaging and entertaining the book was.

More about why piracy; less about pirates

This is a fine introduction to history of piracy or pirates. Author spends a lot of time discussing social and economic factor for why people became pirates but has a narrow focus of which actual pirates he will discuss. So there are lengthy sections where is seems like he mentions interesting people or events but then says it is not in the scope of the book. Or provide descriptions of other people's descriptions of a person or event.

Overall, not a bad book but if you have read other books about this time or pirates you may not need to read this one. He has mostly high level summaries and when it goes into detail there is more time spent on the delivery than the actual detail. The section I found most interesting was the north american pirates spending time on the east side of africa and robbing pilgrims to/from Mecca.

The narration delivery is a little dry, tries to hype things with over-dramatic language but makes it even drier.

a very historical look at pirates

Very historical, thorough look at some of the most famous pirates and their exploits. very dense content, not much of a narrative feel; if that's what youre hoping for, I would loop elsewhere.

good one for visiting the coast

Good sober minded look at the Golden Age of Piracy and still entertaining. The author gives good context for the stories of the pirates themselves.

Pirates!

A wonderful history of pirates with great stories and accounts of their actual exploits!