<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: just the facts
Review: as this book is more of an in-depth research paper concerning all things blackbeard, it deals mostly with litigation and politics surrounding his life. that is what all the known public records deal with, and that is almost all that is in this book. the last 75 pages are footnotes. it's well-researched and interesting if you want that level of information.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent Historically Accurate Book for Piratologists!!!
Review: I can't believe Dr. Lee's book is still in print. I bought it, a newly published book, from a small bookstore on St. Croix US Virgin Islands. It is dry for people who are looking for Errol Flynn swashbuckling or Pirates of the Caribbean's Curse of the Black Pearl. But Dr. Lee was Dean of the law school at Wake Forest University so was used to writing accurately after doing meticulous research. Over the years I have referred to this Blackbeard book many times, because I can vouch for its accuracy. Read The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo, a fictional book about a young slave girl who witnesses the Blockade of Charleston Harbor (South Carolina) by Blackbeard and his 400 men in 1718. It is for anyone ten to a hundred and ten!
Rating:
Summary: Blackbeard, pirate and legend.
Review: Over the years Edward Teach, more commonly known as Blackbeard, has become more legend than man. A process that I think would have pleased Teach very much for he was as much a showman as a pirate. That is a part of his character that is richly brought out in this book. Unfortunately, there is really little for Mr. Lee to work with since real hard evidence of Teach's activities is scarce. Pirates after all were criminals and weren't exactly known for keeping records of their thefts. Lee I suppose did the best he could with the evidence he had to work with but this already short book would have been much better if it had been even shorter. The parts of the book that deal with Teach are excellent but there is far too much dead weight in this book. For example, some of the politics of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have to be dealt with to understand why the Governor of Virginia invaded North Carolina to capture or kill Blackbeard. The author however, included much more of the era's politics than was necessary. This led to parts of the book being almost mind numbingly dull and the parts of the book dealing with the genealogy of some of the colonial first families were as tedious to read as almost anything I have seen. Being a lawyer, the author has also sprinkled his text with Latin legal terms with no explanation of their meaning. If I were to ever learn Latin that would not bother me I suppose but as I speak no Latin this practice annoys me no end. Overall, the reader will get a fairly good feeling for Blackbeard and his times. Be warned however, parts of this book will bore you to tears. Instead of the politics and genealogy, a good chapter on the treasure hunters who have sought Blackbeard's probably non-existent buried loot would have been nice.
Rating:
Summary: Blackbeard, pirate and legend.
Review: Over the years Edward Teach, more commonly known as Blackbeard, has become more legend than man. A process that I think would have pleased Teach very much for he was as much a showman as a pirate. That is a part of his character that is richly brought out in this book. Unfortunately, there is really little for Mr. Lee to work with since real hard evidence of Teach's activities is scarce. Pirates after all were criminals and weren't exactly known for keeping records of their thefts. Lee I suppose did the best he could with the evidence he had to work with but this already short book would have been much better if it had been even shorter. The parts of the book that deal with Teach are excellent but there is far too much dead weight in this book. For example, some of the politics of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have to be dealt with to understand why the Governor of Virginia invaded North Carolina to capture or kill Blackbeard. The author however, included much more of the era's politics than was necessary. This led to parts of the book being almost mind numbingly dull and the parts of the book dealing with the genealogy of some of the colonial first families were as tedious to read as almost anything I have seen. Being a lawyer, the author has also sprinkled his text with Latin legal terms with no explanation of their meaning. If I were to ever learn Latin that would not bother me I suppose but as I speak no Latin this practice annoys me no end. Overall, the reader will get a fairly good feeling for Blackbeard and his times. Be warned however, parts of this book will bore you to tears. Instead of the politics and genealogy, a good chapter on the treasure hunters who have sought Blackbeard's probably non-existent buried loot would have been nice.
Rating:
Summary: Boring Blackbeard
Review: This book is very historical and full of facts and footnotes but that is its downfall. We don't get to see the real, personal man. It has alot of North Carolina politics and deals with some of the relations of England to the colonies but most people want to get to know the man intimately. It does tell of his death and the aftermath and goes into the legal fallout after Blackbeard's death, such as who had legal right to Blackbeard's loot. All in all I would rate it as average read.
Rating:
Summary: Decent, but not about the man
Review: This book, while a bit dry in writing style, is a decent history. However, it is not a decent history of Blackbeard, himself. While the author makes some nice points about Blackbeard and the creation of his image, the main focus of the book is the political struggle that led up to the attack on the "retired" Blackbeard and the fallout from that action. If political intrigue between Virginia and North Carolina during this period is your interest you may enjoy this book. If you are looking for a history of Blackbeard, the man, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Captures the Excitement of Blackbeard
Review: This is a compact but entertaining book on the life of Blackbeard. Lee describes how being a pirate was not so notorious during Blackbeard's time when they were virtually raiders on commission. But Blackbeard seems to be the first that self promotes himself as a fearful pirate with a his unique for times long Blackbeard and during an attack of a ship he would curl lit fuses behind his ears to promote a frightful look of a bearded pirate with a frightening haze about his face. This is a man that once fired two pistols at the kneecaps of two fellow card players from under the table disabling one merely to ensure his reputation as a scoundrel. As Lee points out he was a rascal recognizing the value of his reputation which assisted him in closing off Charleston and holding it for ransom and he loaned his reputation to many ladies by making over 13 woman as his wife to provide them their own fearful reputation as Mrs. Blackbeard. Sad ending for the semi retired pirate and friend of the governor of N. C. who meets his demise when Governor Spotswood of Virginia organizes his death. Final interesting query, where is Balckbeard's head today after it one was hung on a pike in Hampton and allegedly used as a punch bowl in Williamsburg? Lee covers his life and notes he was an entrepreneur as well as a pirate. A great read while visiting Nags Head and the Outer Banks where he lurked in semi retirement.
Rating:
Summary: Well researched and detailed
Review: While at times this book can get more than a little dry, as a series text on the life of Blackbeard it has no equal. It delves behind the image created by the man, and takes a deep look at what he was REALLY like
<< 1 >>
| 
