Biographies of Pirates & Privateers
(** = Book is in editor's library)
(# = While not possessing it, editor has read the book)
Bonner, W. H., Pirate Laureate: The Life & Legends of Captain Kidd,
[New Brunswick, 1947]. Covers not only the factual life history, but the many legends,
ballads, & buried treasure stories surrounding Kidd.**
Bradford, Ernle, Drake, England’s Greatest Seafarer,
[1965]. Biography of Sir Francis Drake.
--, Captain William Dampier,[ Stanford, California, 1934]
--, The Sultan's Admiral: the Life of Barbarossa, [NY,
1968] Biography of the 16th C. Barbary Corsair. Illustrated.**
Earle, Peter, The Sack of Panama: Sir Henry Morgan’s Adventures on the
Spanish Main, [NY, 1981]. One of the best biographies of Henry Morgan,
provides a useful corrective to Exquemelin’s biased account.#
Eastman, Tamara & Constance Bond, The Pirate Trial of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, [Fern Canyon Press, 2000]. Complete transcript of the trial of these famous female pirates, along with historical background and bibliographical material. A valuable resource for those interested in these women pirates.**
Faye, Stanley, Privateers of the Gulf --1803-1820. This is a long neglected account of Jean and Pierre Laffite, Gulf Coast privateers, and their relations with the new government of Louisiana, the Spanish who still dominated the area outside the U.S., the Mexican Revolution and the government in Washington. Available from Dogwood Press.
Lafitte, Jean, The Memoirs Of Jean Lafitte, Translated by Gene Marshall, Ph.D. 193 acid-free pages, soft cover, endnotes. The Memoirs of Jean Laffite is a new, more complete and accurate translation of the alleged Jean Laffite manuscript, known as the Journal of Jean Laffite, which is housed at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Archives in Liberty, Texas. The book has an introduction to the new translation by Robert Schaadt, chief archivist at the Sam Houston Regional Library, who traces the history and controversy of the 150-year-old journal manuscript. In the Memoirs the unknown periods of Jean Laffite's life, from his birth in Santo Domingo to his last years near St. Louis, Mo., are elucidated to stand along side the familiar story of the years he spent in Barataria and Galveston as a notorious privateer. In these pages the "pirate" of legend becomes a person as he recounts his exploits and dreams while attempting to justify the course of his tumultuous life. Available from Dogwood Press.
Lee, Robert E., Blackbeard the Pirate: A Reappraisal of his Life and Times,
[Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1974]. The best biography of this infamous pirate.**
Lindsay, Philip, The Great Buccaneer: Being the life, death and extraordinary adventures of Sir Henry Morgan,
buccaneer and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica
, [London, New York,
P. Nevill, 1950] Hardcover, 305 pp. No illustrations or maps.
Appendices on portraits, list of ships, apologies, and Roger Elletson's
Address. Biography, well indexed.**
Lloyd, Christopher, Sir Francis Drake, [London, 1957;
Mystic, Conn., 1966. ]
--, William Dampier, [London, 1966; Hamden, Conn., 1967].
The biography of the buccaneer, naturalist, explorer, who sailed around the world 3 times,
and was the first Englishman to land in Australia.
Marx, Robert F., The Capture of the Treasure Fleet: The Story of Piet Heyn.
[New York: McKay,1977], Biography of the 17th century Dutchman who captured a
rich Spanish treasure fleet.
Pawson, Michael & David Buisseret, Port
Royal, Jamaica, [University of the West Indies Press, 2000].
Excellent resource for anyone interested in Port Royal. While it covers
the first founding of the town in 1655, to modern times, much focus is given on
the period from 1660 to 1692, the year of the great earthquake. Makes use
of research conducted in recent years by many underwater archeologists.**
Pendered, Norman C., Blackbeard: the Fiercest Pirate of All [Times
Printing Co., Manteo, NC, 1975] Small paperback on Capt. Teach, with maps &
illustrations.**
Poolman, Kenneth, The Speedwell Voyage: A
Tale of Piracy and Mutiny in the Eighteenth Century [Naval Institute
Press, Annapolis, MD, 1999] A retelling of the adventures of George
Shelvocke, commander of the 22-gun privateer Speedwell that set sail in 1718 to
steal treasure from Spanish ships in the South Seas.**
Pope, Dudley, The Buccaneer King: The Biography of Sir Henry Morgan,
1635-1688 [Dodd Mead, 1978] ISBN: 0396075665 .
Hardcover, 379 pp. Excellent book on the late
Spanish Main and the reasons for the rise of the Buccaneers, and later the pirates.
Lots of notes, and well indexed. 16 plates of illustrations. Well
worth tracking down.**
Ramsay, Jr., Jack C., Jean Laffite: Prince of Pirates, [Eakin Press, 1996] 224 pages, photos, notes, bibliography and index. Covers Jean Laffite's career from his birth to his activities at Galveston. A detailed section analyzes the authenticity of the controversial "Journal of Jean Lafitte".**
Ritchie, Robert C., Captain Kidd and
the War against the Pirates, [Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
Mass, 1986]. A well-documented book. As well as a good biography on William
Kidd, it also goes into detail on the social, political, and economic climates
of the time, the situation in the Indian Sea, details of life in Madagascar, the relationships
between the American colonists and the pirates, and much more. Many
details on the actual trial and hanging of Kidd.**
Russell, Phillips, John Paul Jones: Man of Action, [1927]
From his early career and commission in the U.S. Navy to his commission in the Russian
Navy under Catherine II.
Saxon, Lyle., Lafitte the Pirate, [1930(reprinted by Pelican
Publishing Co., 1989]. The classic story of Jean Lafitte, and his heroism at the
Battle of New Orleans.**
Shipman, Joseph C., William Dampier, Laurence, [Kansas,
1962].
Sugden, John, Sir Francis Drake,
[Henry Hold & Co., NY, 1990] Hardcover, 353 pp. 26 plates, 4
maps. **
Syme, Ronald, Sir Henry Morgan, illustrated by William
Stobbs. [New York, W. Morrow, 1965].
Tallant, Robert, The Pirate Lafitte: And the Battle of New Orleans.
Join Jean Lafitte and Andrew Jackson in the battle of New Orleans against the British as they fight the last battle in the War of 1812. Good reading for young and old alike.
Thomson, George Malcolm, Sir Francis Drake, [London,
1972]
Unwin, Rayner, The Defeat of Sir John Hawkins, [London,
1960]. Gripping account of John Hawkins’s third slaving expedition.
Williams, Neville, Francis Drake, [London, 1973].
Zacks, Richard, The Pirate Hunter, [New York, 2002]. Wonderful, fascinating biography of Captain William Kidd with parallel biography of Robert Culliford. Many other pirates are featured as well. [Reviewed in NQG May 2002].**
(** = Book is in editor's library)
(# = While not possessing it, editor has read the book)
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