Pirates of the North Atlantic

by William S. Crooker

Along miles of rugged coastline, in secret bays and hidden inlets, and even in the busiest ports lurk stories of the infamous pirates who visited the North Atlantic in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Peter Easton, and Black Bart all came here in search of plunder, supplies, and sanctuary. From Newfoundland to Boston, from Cape Breton to the Bay of Fundy, the North Atlantic was once teeming with highwaymen of the sea.

In Pirates of the North Atlantic, the most gripping and thrilling of these tales are brought together in vivid detail: the sordid depravity aboard the Saladin; the murderous mystery of the Mary Celeste; and the modern-day treasure hunts on Isle Haute. Master storyteller William Crooker once again captures the imagination of his readers, this time with a thrilling collection of stories about the world’s most notorious pirates, and their connections with the icy waters of the North Atlantic.

Genres: Pirates

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Percy]

I very rarely give one star reviews to books, however this one was so thoroughly disappointing I feel I must express my many grievances before I can sleep again. Crooker has written a book so incredibly boring, so terribly dull, and so lacking in stylistic devices it made me, an autistic person with a special interest in maritime history, throw it away. The fantastic stories of murder and mutiny on the high seas which this book attempts to relay are rendered unreadable by Crooker’s writing. The tale of the mysterious disappearance of ten sailors aboard the Mary Celeste is told in the same way one might tell of a change in gas prices or a trip to the supermarket: without so much as a trace of enthusiasm or artistic efforts. My personal favourite pirate, Black Bart, is rendered as interesting as dead rat at the side of the road by Crooker’s monotonous style of storytelling. Perhaps I should have seen this coming, as it would take a truly talented writer to contain the stories of ten or so pirates within a book of 150 pages, but it is clear to me now that Crooker is not that writer.

Additionally, for a book which attempts to make these stories accessible to the general public, the glossary is entirely inadequate, containing perhaps twenty definitions (I cannot tell you the exact number, as the book lies at the bottom of my wastepaper basket as I write this). I suspect most tourists who pick this book up at some Atlantic gift shop on a whim will not know what a bilge pump is, nor a yardarm.

It takes a truly unique person to make me hate a book with this much passion, and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that Mr. Crooker is one of a kind.

[Kay Foresy]

Arghhhh

My favorite was Black Bart

[Cindy Vallar]

Many accounts of piracy focus on the period in which these sea marauders were the most prolific (1650 to 1730) and in the region where they were most prevalent (the Caribbean). Crooker shows that this was neither their only hunting ground nor the only time when they prowled. They also plied their “trade” in the North Atlantic along America’s eastern seaboard. He introduces readers to pirates of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries who left indelible footprint on history, with particular emphasis on those whose attacks took place in Canadian waters.

Some of the pirates included in this volume are well-known: Edward Low, Blackbeard, William Kidd, and Bartholomew Roberts. Others are lesser-known, but still conspicuous for one reason or another: John Phillips, Edward and Margaret Jordan, Samuel Hall, Thomas Pound, and Peter Easton and Henry Mainwaring. A trio of incidents are remembered for what occurred on ships – Saladin, Mary Celeste, and Zero – rather than for the pirates themselves. A fourth chapter involves a piratical mystery on Canada’s Isle Haute and the maritime historian and pirate raconteur, Edward Rowe Snow.

This is the second edition of the book, which was originally published in 2004, and includes a glossary, occasional illustrations, and a bibliography, but no index. As the back cover claims, this is “a thrilling collection of stories,” yet it is not without a few imperfections. Crooker presents the myth of Blackbeard having thirteen wives as fact. He states that the Royal Navy’s encounter with Bartholomew Roberts took place in the West Indies; in reality, it occurred off the west coast of Africa. The chapter on Thomas Pound, who pretended to be a pirate to free an imprisoned governor and ended up becoming an actual pirate, is a bit confusing to follow. While the mystery of the Mary Celeste still fascinates readers, this chapter provides no evidence of piracy; one sentence near the end merely mentions that rumors and suspicions existed.

Even so, Pirates of the North Atlantic is one of the rare accounts of piracy in northern waters available today. It also provides information on the gruesome deeds of Canadian pirates, who are mostly ignored by other authors. Crooker entertains and informs readers with accounts of greed, mutiny, murder, barbarity, and a touch of romance.