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Black Barty: Bartholomew Roberts and His Pirate Crew, 1718-1723
Bartholomew Roberts, also known as Black Bart, was easily one of the most successful and deadly pirates in all of history. He went to sea at a young age and took to pirate life well. This book talks about his life.
307 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 8, 2012
I love history, especially pirates. Bartholomew Roberts is most definitely my favorite.
November 22, 2017
Interesting book, obviously well researched.
December 15, 2015
2.49 stars for this entertaining but problematic book. I read the Sutton Publishing 2006 reprint of the 2005 edition, which is rife with typographical errors. Periods appear where they should not, and the comma trade union seems to have gone on strike at press time. As a result, we get sentences such as: "The quarrel over the three captains discussed their future. " (p.39) These errors occur with increasing frequency throughout the book, ending with one or two on every page by the final third. This makes for a bumpy read.
There are also several passages scattered throughout this book that involve multiple people or multiple ships that can get confusing, leading the reader to refer back a paragraph or two to catch up on who exactly is doing what to whom:
Still and all, it's a fun book. It's a great story, and Burl does an excellent job of depicting the pirate life in all its cruelties, depravities, and victories. I'd recommend this to folks with a better-than-average interest in nautical history, but not necessarily to a general reader with a casual interest, at least not without caveats as to this book's flaws.
There are also several passages scattered throughout this book that involve multiple people or multiple ships that can get confusing, leading the reader to refer back a paragraph or two to catch up on who exactly is doing what to whom:
"Comrie was made to sign the Articles and became surgeon of the Ranger. Willson wished to have the post on the Royal Fortune where Hamilton was still mistrusted but, frustrated as always, he was not elected. On the Ranger the pirates so disliked the supercilious Scudamore that they voted en bloc for him to be transferred. Willson received nothing." (p.217)
Still and all, it's a fun book. It's a great story, and Burl does an excellent job of depicting the pirate life in all its cruelties, depravities, and victories. I'd recommend this to folks with a better-than-average interest in nautical history, but not necessarily to a general reader with a casual interest, at least not without caveats as to this book's flaws.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews