Rating: 
Summary: Gripping and enjoyable read but if details were calories....
Review: ...this book would make you VERY fat! The Pirate Hunter chronicles the history of Captain William Kidd, a "privateer" from New York who received a questionable commission from England to police the high seas for pirates. Zacks documents in glorious detail Kidd's 2-year voyage resulting in the capture of 2 ships that were--in theory--French and thus subject to capture as spoils of war. Authorities later claimed Kidd was a REAL pirate rather than a pirate-hunter. Zacks builds a convincing case that Kidd was justified by 17-century standards in taking the ships and thus was undeserving of his sad fate. Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, Zack's instinct for the entertaining detail could have been balanced against the length of the book, which is about 400 pages. 350 would have been enough for me, especially when Zacks digresses to tell the story of rival pirate Robert Culliford temporarily dropping the Kidd narrative. Also, to my warped 21st-century mind, the distinction between a privateer (essentially a pirate with a government license to take goods from merchants luckless enough to be flying under an enemy flag) and a private is a pretty small one. To accept Kidd as innocent of piracy you would have to believe him incredibly naive. Nevertheless, I think your interest in William Kidd will outlast this book- it's a fascinating part of history and Zacks has a good time with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Put wind in my sail...
Review: ...to learn more about pirates and the pirate lie-style...I mean lifestyle. Zack's book is rich and real. You almost feel the salt water dripping from each page. It is a true keyhole into the fascinating 17th century world of the rugged life on the ocean. I never thought much about buccaneers or pirates before cracking open this yarn, but it was not only a page-turner, but an eye-opener. What I especially liked was how Zacks turned the story on its (real life) head. Instead of Kidd being a bad guy -- as history books tell us -- Kidd was actually a good guy chasing the bad guys. Can't wait to see the movie. (Hello Hollywood or A&E, TNT or The History Channel...are yuh listening?)
Rating:
Summary: A triumph of historical research and evocative writing
Review: Author Richard Zacks in this book alone has proven to be a grand master of research. Much of the success of "Pirate Hunter' rests on unimaginable hours of pouring over documents, diaries, letters, old books and anything else he could get his hands on pertaining to Captain Kidd, Robert Culliford, pirates in general and the late 17th century in particular.
Consequently Zachs can tell this amazing story with next to no speculation and virtually no gaps. It's evident that any sources available to help tell the story were found. Ahh yes, the story...
All this research would have been for naught but for Zachs superior storytelling skills. And what a story he has to tell!
Pirates (I was surprised how many of the Hollywood stereotypes DID apply to them) their ruthless, murderous greedy adventures, those who hunted them for country and/or profiteers make for fascinating tales.
It's all here, months to years at a time at sea with disease a constant threat, bloody battles, torture, colorful characters and variously innocent, wily and lascivious natives.
There are also well-drawn settings, from Colonial New York to islands of Madagascar with numerous unforgettable stops in between.
At the centerpiece is Captain Kidd. Zachs' sympathetic portrayal depicts Kidd as more a pirate hunter than the pirate he was convicted of being and is remembered as.
Here is Kidd the charismatic leader, the shrewd businessman, the brutal captain, the faithful husband, the martyr to his own vanity.
Also meet Robert Culliford who beyond a doubt was a vicious pirate, the man whose paths crossed Kidd's at key point in both men's live and who met an altogether different fate.
The "Pirate Hunter" is simply one of the very best books of its kind ever written.
Rating:
Summary: More about politics, less about piracy...
Review: I read this book several months ago, and I liked this book very much not only because this book contained a lot of interesting anecdotes of sailors and pirates, but also because it helped me to understand British politics in late 17 century. For example, stories about man-eaters in Andaman Islands and tailed people in Nicobar Islands were fascinating enough, though I am still not sure whether there were really tailed people in Nicobar Islands in the 17th century.
But the focus of this book is on the British politics of the times. Captain Kidd was not a pirate, but a pirate hunter or a privateer. And he was a decent man according to the standard of the times. The King of England was one of his sponsors. He was actually doing King's business. But he became a pirate quite mysteriously. His biggest mistake was that he endangered the interest of British East India Company by seizing a merchant ship of a prince of Mogul Empire. The ship was carrying a French pass, and France was at war with England. Seizing the ship was, therefore, a perfectly legal operation according to the law of the times. But the Emperor of India thought that British East India Company should be responsible for it. And the company had to compensate for it thereby setting a bad precedent.
Captain Kidd was from Scotland, but he wanted to become an admiral of British Empire. Blinded by his ambition, he could not understand the political current of the times. So his entire life was ruined. Compassion for this unfortunate man!
Rating:
Summary: A-Okay for this one...
Review: I truly enjoyed this book. It proposes that William Kidd
was not a pirate but a victim of special circumstance
that led to his execution on the banks of the Thames.
Abandoned by the very people who supported his royal
commission to capture pirates and enemy ships, Captain Kidd
left New York as a privateer and returned three years later
as England's most wanted pirate. His case, as the author
suggests, is one of character assasination through rumor,
misinformation, and the twisting of facts. This book will
tell you so much about the seafaring trade in the 17th century,
how spices, dry goods, precious metals, jewels, and human lives
hang precariously over the likelihood of a pirate raid on
the high seas. There are many characters in the book, but
the author gives helpful references in case you have forgotten
who and how they figure in the story. the reader will read about
17th century protocol between ships, be it to ascertain
superior firepower among friendly ships or as a ruse for
capture. The storytelling is easy and flowing. It held my
interest very much and I can recommend it to those who
love history and piracy.
Rating:
Summary: A-Okay for this one...
Review: I truly enjoyed this book. It proposes that William Kidd
was not a pirate but a victim of special circumstance
that led to his [death] on the banks of the Thames.
Abandoned by the very people who supported his royal
commission to capture pirates and enemy ships, Captain Kidd
left New York as a privateer and returned three years after
as England's most wanted pirate. His case, as the author
suggests, is one of character assasination through rumor,
misinformation, and the twisting of facts. This book will
tell you so much about the seafaring trade in the 17th century,
how spices, dry goods, precious metals, jewels, and human lives
hang precariously over the likelihood of a pirate raid on
the high seas. There are many characters in the book, but
the author gives helpful references in case you have forgotten
who and how they figure in the story. The author touches on
17th century protocol between ships, be it to ascertain
superior firepower among friendly ships or as a ruse for
capture. The storytelling is easy and flowing. It held my
interest very much and I can recommend it to those who
love history and piracy.
Rating:
Summary: The Notorious Pirate Who Wasn't
Review: Mention the name of Captain Kidd, and you can't help thinking of buried treasure, bloodthirsty tales of plunder, and general maritime mayhem. There was a real Captain Kidd, and he did sail among the pirates, but we all have the wrong idea about him, according to Richard Zacks, whose _The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd_ (Theia / Hyperion) sets the record straight. William Kidd was a master mariner who lived in New York, on Wall Street, no less, at the end of the seventeenth century. He had a wife and daughter. "He was no career cutthroat, no cartoon Blackbeard, terrifying his prey by putting flaming matches in his hair." Kidd was a respectable sea captain, who had enormously bad luck in his endeavors to hunt pirates for profit. Kidd was no pirate, but a privateer, recruited by powerful Lords and merchants to rob from the pirates that had robbed from the merchants. He had a secret commission from King William III himself, who privately took a ten percent share of any profits that Kidd might come up with. Kidd sailed on _Adventure Galley_, a three-master built in England and launched in 1696 specifically for Kidd's mission, with a crew of 150. Many of the crew had been pirates themselves, and Kidd was putting himself in an uncomfortable management position. He had nothing but bad luck in finding pirates to rob, but even before he did so, rumors of his being a pirate himself had sprung up. After his crew mutinied, he tried to return to his home in New York, but discovered to his surprise that he was the most wanted man in America. He sneaked back towards New York, and in another unpiratical act, sought the help of his lawyer. He made overtures to Lord Bellomont, his prime backer, but the gouty and treacherous Bellomont, having learned of the extent and whereabouts of the haul Kidd had brought back, put him into jail. Kidd was shipped in chains to England. The corruption involved in his jail term and his trial are well detailed here. Zacks has dug into account books, diaries, and forgotten, centuries-old governmental documents to bring out the truth about Kidd, but this is far from a dusty academic account. Zacks has fun telling us about how pirates really lived, how politics was conducted, the difficulties of shipboard life, and how different the times were from our own. For example, he writes of a messenger: "As he reached the East River, the Manhattan skyline loomed: a windmill and two church steeples towering over a seaside row of three-story gable roofs." Kidd's was a wild and eventful life, even if it wasn't the life of a pirate. My guess is that Zacks's book will never overcome the centuries of folklore that have accumulated around Kidd's story, but the true story is still a rousing treasure.
Rating:
Summary: The "Hunter" Becomes the Hunted
Review: Richard Zacks's "The Pirate Hunter" is a lively adventure tale with the kind of twists and turns that prove the old adage that truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction. Along the way, he sets the record straight and rehabilitates the reputation of Captain William Kidd, the late 17th Century privateer and gentlemen who set out to hunt pirates with noble backing and ended up branded as one. Kidd is a tragic hero of the first order. Honorable (at least, by the standards of the time), resolute and with an unshakeable faith in his own abilities, he was laid low by an incredible run of double crosses and sheer bad luck. Particularly touching were his devotion to his wife and his strong sense of duty, neither of which were ultimately enough to save him. The book's other main character is the despicable Robert Culliford, an actual pirate who betrayed Kidd twice and whose fate was tied closely to the Captain. Culliford's villany stands in sharp contrast to Kidd, giving the story a strong counterpoint. Along the way Zacks, who demonstrates himself to be a meticulous researcher, paints a vivid portrait of the lives of sailors and pirates during the period. Zacks's authentic descriptions of what it was like to be a real life pirate bears little resemblence to the modern literary and cinematic stereotypes. His prose is vivid and highly readable, and the book feels more like a novel than a work of history as a result. My only quibble is the Zacks occasionally gets a little TOO bogged down in the details, as evidenced by the narrative's 400 plus pages.
Nevertheless, overall "The Pirate Hunter" is an excellent read for those who enjoy nautical history tales.
Rating:
Summary: Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction
Review: The Captain Kidd who comes down to us through oral tradition bears no resemblance whatsoever to the true Captain Kidd, and as is almost always the case with the mythologies of historical persons, the truth is even more fascinating than the myth.
Richard Zacks has written a marvelous reconstruction of the rise and demise of Captain William Kidd. Zacks' depth of research and attention to detail fully immerses the reader in the period. It is the late 17th Century, the American Republic is, as yet, still two generations away. The British Empire consists only of a tentative foothold in Bombay, scurvy is still the scourge of sea travel, and ships are steered at the rudder rather than via the more familiar wheel.
Some readers may be overwhelmed by the level of detail Zacks includes, but without this detail The Pirate Hunter would have been little more than a minor work; a hobby topic. I found Zacks' style of writing to be quick and quirky, while his construction of historical events read like an adventure novel. The reader completes The Pirate Hunter with not only a deep knowledge of the life and motivations of Captain Kidd, but also a strong understanding of this period in history.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Subject - Okay Writing
Review: This is a fascinating subject - what's the real story of Captain Kidd? I was so excited to get this book - and disappointed in the writing style. Mr. Zacks writing is factual, but unfortunately he jumps around and is not engaging to the reader. Read it if you must find all the details -- but for the overall story -- Stick with "Under the Black Flag", "The Pyrates" by Daniel Dafoe and "The Pirates own book".
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