The Pirate Hunter

By: Richard Zacks

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Captain Kidd has gone down in history as America's most ruthless buccaneer. However, Captain William Kidd was no career cut-throat; he was a tough, successful New York sea captain who was hired to chase pirates. His three year odyssey pitted him against arrogant Royal Navy commanders, jealous East India Company captains, storms, starvation, angry natives, and above all, flesh-and-blood pirates. Across the oceans of the world, the pirate hunter, Kidd, pursued the pirate, Culliford. One man would hang in the harbor; the other would walk away with the treasure. The Pirate Hunter is both a masterpiece of historical detective work and a page-turner.

©2002 Richard Zacks (P)2003 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Entertaining, richly detailed, and authoritatively narrated, Zacks's account of the life of legendary seaman William Kidd delivers a first-rate story....Zacks' book is a treasure, indeed." (Publishers Weeekly)
"Zacks fills our minds with the sights, sounds, and even the smells of the seventeenth century, and he rescues William Kidd from eternal damnation. A lively, educational, thoroughly spellbinding trip back in time." (Booklist)
"Enthralling....rich and riotous." (Time)

What a movie it would be!

A sweeping tale of two men on the high seas, spanning most of the known world in the late 1700's. One man - Kidd, a story of unspeakable tragedy much like the story of "The Man with the Iron Mask" but with an opposite ending. The other - Colorford the luckiest pirate that nobody knows about. The Story sweeps from Early New York, to the Indian Ocean, from then prisons in London to the islands of the Carribean. Somehow, when it is all over, the reader is not so much interested in where the treasure was buried, but simply grateful we do not live in a time such as these when the life of a man/ or woman / or slave meant so much less than money and gold. I could not stop listening to it, So much research, So much time spent to find the facts of a case woven together to create a picture of a time which has passed. Five Stars!

Truly better than fiction

This is a great adventure story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's even supposed to be true and well researched. The author gives such wonderful descriptions of the surroundings, that makes you feel you are there. Beware, there are some nasty places!! A must read that is very well narrated. Enjoy. I have listened to over 100 books this is in my top 10.

Great Book

Avast thar me hearties! You definitely want to drop your anchor and listen to this tale. It’s a fascinating story of how one man was both the hunter and the hunted.

Excellent

This is an astounding tale, well written and performed. You will not be sorry if you get it.

Longer than it needs to be

Quite long for the material. The author gives a bio of each of the players, sometimes getting quite far afield from treasure hunting and pirates. The basic story is interesting and well paced, but interspersed with other material that slows down the read. Pirate treasure is the plum for salvage divers--other sunken treasure is claimed by the country to whom the ship belonged but no one claims pirates. Salvage divers are the bane of archaeologists, removing artifacts from site without documenting the context. So, good guys / bad guys dilemma for me. #adventure

The Captain was robbed!

This book is an excellent telling of a little known story about Captain Kidd's life as a Privateer. Apparently there was a thin line between Pirate and Privateer distinguishable only to those with the power to benefit from a conclusion which was to their advantage. This story is well told and well read. It grabs you by the ?yard arm? and ?keel hauls? your interest. You will know why the American colonists decided to rebel against the English crown after listening to this wonderful tale of 17th and early 18th century commerce.

Excellent information, poor narration

This is one of those books that immediately intrigued me and with a 40 minute commute each way to work, I thought it would be an excellent candidate for audiobook. Sadly, it would have been an excellent book to read rather than listen to, as the narrator is extremely monotone and abrasive in his speaking style. It made an otherwise fascinating book, very difficult to listen to - I highly recommend the book. I bought it for a friend who was going on a vacation, he loved it; but again I believe that is because he read it rather than listened to it through the interpretation of Michael Prichard.

Extraordinary researched history makes for a stirring book.

The real story of Captain Kidd, unveiled in this book through extraordinary research and brilliantly told, shows how politicians, bureaucrats and the greed of worlds must successful multinational corporation (The British East India Company) were the genuine pirates.
You'll get a sense of the times and lives of sailors, pirates, British seaman, British aristocrats and businessmen, and the world they populated. You'll get a taste of sea battles and legal skirmishes -- the latter which turn out to be more deadly.
This is a highly detailed book that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you're not into knowing that much information, or you want a "swashbuckling" story, this may not be for you.

Not bad

As the previous reviewer said, this was not bad, but was not nearly as good as Empire of the Blue Water. The narration was not as good and the continuity was not either. But overall it was well written and well narrated and I would recommend it.

good historical account

I felt it had way to much details and explanation and varies from the story to much. the book is good but I was hoping for more of a smooth following and not jumping around and getting stuck on background on everything. just my opinion. listen for yourself. I liked it.