Empire of Blue Water
Ernie's Take:
Empire of Blue Water by Stephan Talty is the story of the Golden Age of Piracy and the reasons for its downfall. Talty spins a wonderful true yarn detailing the rise and personalities of the Brethren of the Coast, and Sir Henry Morgan (who kept on the right side of the law as a privateer [legal pirate]) and the political and cultural shifts that ultimately closed down the pirates’ Caribbean empire. This culminates in a disaster of Biblical proportions at the very center of pirate activity, and the shift of Morgan’s activities from privateering to hunting his former pirate comrades. A highly recommended read.
Summary:
The passion and violence of the age of exploration and empire come to vivid life in this story of the legendary pirate who took on the greatest military power on earth with a ragtag bunch of renegades. Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disasters, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler. Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the life and times of Henry Morgan and the real pirates of the Caribbean.