Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests and Captivity in 17th-century Mediterranean

By Adrian Tinniswood

Book Overview

The true story that's "bloody good entertainment" ( New York Times ) about the colorful and legendary pirates of the 17th century. If not for today's news stories about piracy on the high seas, it'd... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159448774X
• ISBN13: 9781594487743
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 343 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Definitely worth the read but kinda all over the place. Did I mention pirates?

Worth the read but kinda all over the place, which I guess is part of the appeal. Tinniswood did his research and it shows in lots of excerpts from original sources including diaries and personal accounts. There are thrilling pirate attacks, strategic level naval battles, a substantial overview of white slave trade which will challenge those who fail to understand how endemic slavery is in human history, an interesting view of another generation's war of Islam against the West, a dash of failed colonialism, rampant mercantilism, and the inexplicable Americans...for those who wondered why the Marine Corp Hymn refers to the "the shores of Tripoli". As much as I enjoyed the zooming around the Barbary Coast, it was sometimes hard to see if a cohesive theme would emerge i.e. some chapters focused on the details of a particular battle or a slave's journey while other chapters focused on the clash of empires. This made it an easy read as but made it a little hard to develop a thesis. But, I enjoyed it.