Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin (1645–1707)

A period piece, no doubt about that!
If you needed a single source to rip off for adventure stories, well, this is your victim. We based a seventeenth century role playing game on it, and seldom needed anything else except stock market reports and "How to Sail" books. Read your child this book, and they'll be cured of pirates for life, or bent for a career of delinquency on the Stock exchange. I would not be without a copy of these publications.
Exquemelin published his book in 1682, in French and 1684 in English. Ringrose was a shipmate of Sharpe the privateer, and was killed during his second voyage, with Swan in 1686. His journal has been bound with the Exquemelin since the publication in 1685.… (more)

This is a thick, hefty book. Full of the dastardly exploits of famous pirates, including Captain Morgan and L'Ollonais, it's marvelous history of those sea-dogs. It's a bit lengthy at points and can sometime get bogged down in minute details, but that doesn't detract from the overall story. Esquemeling probably sensationalize the details a bit, but the general story rings truth. This is considered the best historical accounts of pirates during the late 1600s, and one of the only ones told from an eye-witness. If you are a pirate affecinado, this is a must read.… (more)

This Is a busy book with something for everyone . In fact I could not decide on who is the target reader. It is a Modern (2008 edition) of a contrmporary memoir of a ship's surgeon, Alexander Exquemelin , first published in Dutch in 1678 and in English translation in 1684. The subtitle is "an eyewitness account of Captain Morgan and the Bucabeers " . Henry Morgan is known to many of us a a brand name of a rum, the pirate drink but the original Captain Henry Morgan was a Caribbean buccaneer who between 1666 and 1672 had a grand time terrorizing the Spanish treasure ships culminating in the seizure, sack and burning of Panama city in 1672 . Cruelty, lawlessness piracy , assault , murder and a disregard for human life were characteristic of the era. The mayhem lasted a relatively short period of time but became the stuff of legend and boys own adventure stories . Morgan became Sir Henry Morgan and Governor of Jamaica and Exquemelin's English version of book was the cause of Morgan bringing a successful libel case against the publishers because they had sensationalized details to sell the English editions. The book proved to be enduringly popular and inspired Daniel Defoe and a long line of other writers .Literature was enriched by that genre of pirate, desert island , adventure fiction. Who has not been thrilled by Roert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island ? this book reproduces the Exquemelin text , and "has been lightly edited " but we are not told which version of the hundreds that could have been used. The editor is Terry Breverton, but he is listed as "consulting editor" , and closer inspection reveals that this is book production as team work with a number of people involved in research , editing , pictures and production . The book goes beyond the original text as it includes maps, photographs , reproductions of prints , engravings and paintings , inserts and box text of informative snippets brings the life of a pirate to the modern reader. It's a colourful book, educative, informative but at the popular level . There's a glossary, a list of further reading plus websites , but no footnotes. The book immediately appealed to my five year old grandson who wanted me to read all the photo descriptions . it is worth remembering that the pirates and hostage taking off the Somali coast today has historical antecedents but our. 21st century pirates are unlikely to use Exquemelin as their guide . My main criticism is that the additional information is all over the place and the original text slips out of sight . I think I shall aspire to purchasing an 18th century edition or perhaps someone has published a facsimile . Star rating perhaps a 3.5

It is unlikely though that ,… (more)