Keith Thomson (1) (1965–)

Thomson does a great job of making this history based mainly on diaries and logs read seamlessly, like an adventure novel. He had devilishly delicious material to work with and made the most of all the spine tingling details. These were outlaws and their acts generally unjustified, but taking pleasure in their telling now is harmless fun. Plus honestly, the Spanish were no better in their ruthless methods of extracting the gold and silver from the new world in the first place. A lot of their victims might say they got what they deserved. Makes you wonder who the real barbarians were.… (altro)

This book follows the first English pirates to cross the Darian Passage (on foot), which is the dividing line between North and South America, mainly from pirate Basil Ringrose‘s diary and the diaries of others. They travel the length of South America and are the first to navigate around Cape Horn, fighting the Spanish, hunger, thirst, and the elements. I learned so much from reading this book, not the least that pirates wrote detailed diaries! Pirates care mainly about the next big score so they can lose it all drinking and visiting brothels. They worked hard and played hard. They had the most up-to-date medical care because the ship doctor had to treat everything imaginable. Living on a pirate ship can mean months at a time without seeing land or getting re-provisioned with food and water. These pirates were skilled sharpshooters and could defeat large numbers of enemies even those with guns as well. They were a democracy and voted in and out captains, sometimes frequently. I was amazed at the detail these pirates recorded! The narrator was very monotone for much of the beginning of the book. Either I got used to it or he finally started enjoying the narrative himself, but the audiobook got better with time. If you have any interest in pirates, this is a must read.… (altro)

I was heretofore unaware of this group of 17 century English pirates, and their fascinating exploits in the Darien region and the south sea. As with many conquistadors, pirates and adventurers in this time period, the trials and tribulations that the men endured are often hard to believe. Tough times and very tough man indeed.

Nonetheless, the author’s account did not capture my interest as much as I presumed. Part of the reason may be due to the author’s tendency to overexaggerate and embellish. Simply put, there’s absolutely no reason to do so… with men like these truth is far greater than fiction.

A good, but not outstanding read.… (altro)