- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: The History Press Ltd; New Ed edition (19 Jan 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0750943122
- ISBN-13: 978-0750943123
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,053,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Bartholomew Roberts, also known as Black Bart, was easily one of the most successful and deadly pirates in all of history. He went to sea at a young age and took to pirate life well. After his ship was taken by pirates, and he was made to join their ranks, Roberts proved himself and was elected captain in 1719. Two years after Roberts was made captain he had accumulated over 51 million pounds worth of treasure and had taken close to 400 ships throughout the Americas, Africa and Europe. He was fearless in battle but good to his prisoners and fair to his crew. He drank a lot of tea instead of alcohol, was well-mannered and clean shaven, and discouraged drinking and gambling among his crew. He is believed to be the first pirate to fly the skull and crossbones. Despite his brief career, Roberts created a reputation that can never be surpassed. Along with his success and bloodthirstiness, he was said to have been "an unusual character for this age, described as tall, good-looking, teetotal, and always well dressed. He possessed a ruthless skill in the piratical arts of intimidation and seamanship, and was highly regarded by his crew."
About the Author
Aubrey Burl has written Danse Macabre: Francois Villon. Poetry and Murder in Medieval France and God's Heretics for Sutton. He is best known as the author of several outstanding books on stone circles, including The Stone Circles of the British Isles (Yale, 1978), The Stonehenge People (Dent, 1987), A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany (Yale, 1993).
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
I read this after watching the recent movie of a similar name with Johnny Depp, sad I know but i'm glad i did. This book provides a fascinating and thorough history of the famous 'Black Barty' and associated pirates of the same era. The book reads very much like a novel, linking all the known documents and memoirs via a lively narrative, good for a casual reader but probably annoying to any historians not interested in the 'tempestuous sea' and 'grimy pyrates (sic)'. One warning though - the grammar and punctuation is AWFUL in places, it's like an editor never read this before publishing!?~+)*! Despite reading a line a page twice to garner their meaning, you could easily spend a train ride reading this.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Slack. Why? Because there are a tremendous amounts of grammatical errors, not to mention non-sequitors. The narrative has so many gaps, and splinters in it you'd think that Captain Bartholomew Roberts had broad sided the writer and editor himself.
Other than these annoyances Aubrey Burl does pitch together a fine yarn based on historical facts into a fairly entertaining singular narrative. However, caution ought to be taken as Aubrey's license with fact is never very clear; it is hard to tell when and where he is lifting his information from, and by creating such a smooth narrative on what must be disparate sources (when did pirates ever accurately report their wrong-doings) you have to question from whence they came.
The main problems come when Aubrey attempts to give some context to the period: he attempts to convey something of the exploits of other pirates, the 'South Sea Bubble' and other episodic moments in contemporary history; but with all the subtlety of a 12 pounder in the face. It's the literary equivalent of MTV video editing. This chopping into the narrative made it hard for me at times to feel like I hadn't missed something previously. Add to this vague references to undescribed incidences, typographical errors and problems with grammar and you have a very frustrating read at times. I would have to say that this book is more problematic at the beginning than the end, but it really is an experience of travelling into poor editing.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except a prospective editor to show them how 'good books can go bad'.
Other than these annoyances Aubrey Burl does pitch together a fine yarn based on historical facts into a fairly entertaining singular narrative. However, caution ought to be taken as Aubrey's license with fact is never very clear; it is hard to tell when and where he is lifting his information from, and by creating such a smooth narrative on what must be disparate sources (when did pirates ever accurately report their wrong-doings) you have to question from whence they came.
The main problems come when Aubrey attempts to give some context to the period: he attempts to convey something of the exploits of other pirates, the 'South Sea Bubble' and other episodic moments in contemporary history; but with all the subtlety of a 12 pounder in the face. It's the literary equivalent of MTV video editing. This chopping into the narrative made it hard for me at times to feel like I hadn't missed something previously. Add to this vague references to undescribed incidences, typographical errors and problems with grammar and you have a very frustrating read at times. I would have to say that this book is more problematic at the beginning than the end, but it really is an experience of travelling into poor editing.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except a prospective editor to show them how 'good books can go bad'.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Good author - bad editor
29 July 2009
The version of this book I have is produced by Sutton Publishing in the UK. The book is extremely interesting and enjoyable to read. Unforuntely, Sutton's editors could not be bothered to actually proof the work. There are numerous misspellings and typographical errors; almost one for every three pages!
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