Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail

Rating:
Summary: Captivating story with a style to thoroughly engage.
Review: Anyone interested in the history of sailing, prisons, religious mysticism, African-Americans, the early United States, and occupational hazards would be well-advised to read this clear, concise, absorbing book. Bolster obviously did his research, and his narrative pulls the reader into the story of the under-studied community of black sailors "in the age of sail". Highly recommend for scholarly or other mind-broadening pursuits.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding Afro-American contributions to exploration
Review: Bolster, a mariner and historian, provides a coverage of the history of black seafaring in the age of sail and reveals the role black sailors played in America. Chapters hold many nearly-forgotten facts gleaned from source materials, providing important keys to understanding Afro-American contributions to exploration.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ for sailors, historians, and African Americans!!
Review: The is an excellent well-written book about the role African Americans sailors played in our country's history. My major criticism, however, is that the author included only 6 pages on pirates. More should have been written, because few people are aware that many fugitive slaves joined pirate ships. And before our country gained their independence pirate ships were democratic. Pirates elected their captains and voted on what ship they would take and where they would sail. And most pirate ships treated their fugitive slave hands as equals. In other words they ate the same food, performed the same tasks, and received the same amount of plunder as the white hands. Blackbeard had several fugitive slaves sailing on his ships. Read about one fugitive slave joining Blackbeard's crew in The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo. Other than not giving more information about BLACK PIRATES, I think this book is very informative and should be on every library shelf. I plan to reread it!