Pirates of the Carolinas

by Terrance Zepke

Pirates of the Carolinas discusses thirteen of the most intriguing buccaneers in the history of piracy, including Henry Avery, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Calico Jack, Stede Bonnet, and Captain Kidd. These men and women are all connected somehow to the Carolinas. In this new edition you'll find an all-new chapter on Blackbeard. Includes new sections such as The Truth about Piracy, How to Talk Like a Pirate, a list of pirate movies, a pirate quiz, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Pirates

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

I was born to travel! My parents took me on my first trip when I was just three years old and I have been on the go ever since! I always knew I wanted to be a journalist or a travel writer. I decided to pursue a career as a travel writer because I felt I would see more of the world--and I have! I have traveled to every continent and lived all over the world, including Oahu, Hilton Head, and London.

My favorite places are the South Carolina Lowcountry, Africa (especially East and South), and London. While I love all travel, my favorite kind is adventure travel. I have enjoyed all kinds of adventures, including hot-air ballooning over the Northern Serengeti,camping in the Himalayas, scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, hiking Peru's Inca Trail,and dog-sledding in the Arctic Circle.

I also like to read, explore historic sites, and chase ghosts. If it's historic and haunted, you got me! I have written close to thirty books. To find out more about my books, such as TERRANCE TALKS TRAVEL: A POCKET GUIDE TO ADVENTURE TRAVEL, A GHOST HUNTER'S GUIDE TO THE MOST HAUNTED PLACES IN AMERICA, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEAP TRAVEL, and SPOOKIEST BATTLEFIELDS visit www.terrancezepke.com and www.terrancetalkstravel.com.

In addition to receiving a FREE 50-page Travel Report when you sign up for my weekly newsletter, you'll also have access to hundreds of free travel reports, contests/giveaways, and my blogs: Terrance Talks Travel and Mostly Ghostly. You can listen to my podcasts, A Writer's Journey: From Blank Page to Published and Terrance Talks Travel at www.blogtalkradio.com/terrancetalkstr... and on iTunes.

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read giving a grand overview on piracy over the course of close to two centuries. It was easily read, neither dry nor tedious. Quick references in the back in addition to bold text on every page made the information easy and quick to digest and retain.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

DO WHAT YOU LIKE ‘CAUSE A PIRATE IS FREE
YOU ARE A PIRATE

Ahem.

This was a gift from Izzi.

Zepke’s “Pirates of the Carolinas” is a quick little book with profiles of pirates who had dealings in the Carolinas. There are those you expect, of course: Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard and Anne Bonny. And there are some in here that I did not expect, like Calico Jack and Henry Avery. In truth, some of these pirates only briefly visited the Carolinas at some points in their lives, rather than had any connection to the location. *This is not a complaint.* It ultimately means that they took any excuse to have as many pirate stories as they could in here, and I am A-Okay with that!

That being said, some of the stories repeated several points–this is most notable with Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack, whose profiles go over the same points of history three times over. Blackbeard also gets much more than almost any other pirate: a trivia section, and discussion questions. This is good, I just wish more of the other pirates got them. Instead, there’s a general bit at the end.

Most importantly: this book gives you names of books and museums you can look up to find more information. And also a list of pirate movies! I appreciate that! This book is from the early 2000’s, so the only “Pirates of the Caribbean” listed is the first one, but that’s the best one so that’s okay. And I know there have been other books published in the meantime. Still, this is a good list to start with and find stuff!

So it’s a solid little pirate book.

[Bob Alger · Rating 3 out of 5]

In interesting read, but is extremely repetitive. Zepke has enough material to fill 50 pages and stretches it into 150 by telling the same story over and over. For example, Blackbeard and Bonnet join forces late in Blackbeard's career. The author has a chapter dedicated to each pirate and tells the same stories. This happens many times including Calco Jack, Mary Read, and Anne Bonny have intertwining tales, so you read the same stories 3 times.

It reads like a Wikipedia page. Lots of facts without any feeling - and repetitiveness.

Worth skimming through, but stop halfway because you have read 90% of the stories.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great mindless, but somewhat interesting, airport reading. Want to know how Henry Avery, Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Mary Reed, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, and Stede Bonnet (the last two fancy-dressing gentleman pirates after my own heart) ruled the Carolina coast for many years? Lots of real-life adventures here! A quick and fun read.

[Eric Mayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not particularly well- or thoroughly-researched, this book is what you want in a pirate book to take to the beach or pool: it is an insanely fun read. Pick it up and enjoy tales of plunder aboard the high seas!

[Dogeared Wanderer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for YA level. This book covers 13 pirates around North and South Carolina, their lives and notorious acts. The author also included a second section that covers various pirate-themed info such as ships, weapons, lingo, and movies.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok read. Best for younger audience 10-13. The connwction of amny of the pirates to the carolinas is somewhat tenuous but that doesnt make reading about them any less fun. My big complaint us that many of Zepke's facts about pirate life in general are somewhat questionable.

[Ed-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Library book challenge, read a book about pirates or the graveyard of the Atlantic.

[Levi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little book just about pirates, a good roadtrip read. May even push you into having a pirate phase, or just notice more pirate things and think 'oh, that's cool. I read a book about them.'

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I had a basic understanding of pirates but never realized how important or prominent they actually were in the history of the Carolinas. This is a very detailed book (at least when it comes to important details). The facts are straight and interesting (did you know Anne Bonny was the wife of Calico Jack?!). The chapters and short and easy to read. Perfect for anyone wanting general knowledge of the the more well-known pirates and how they associated or connected to/with the Carolinas.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because I heard the author on Rick Steeves' radio program and her description of the book was very engaging. Much more so than the actual experience of reading the book. She! Uses! A! Lot! Of! Exclamation! Marks! which makes her seem less authoritative as an author. I did learn something about a part of history I knew little about, but this book would have been more enjoyable if it were meatier.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative.... what a mean bunch of guys working for corrupt politicians...

[Ryan]

This is the pirate book I picked up in Charleston in 2015. This one will also require a reread.