Black Flags, Blue Waters

“A compelling examination of the economics, geopolitics and strong—sometimes mad—personalities that fueled the great age of New World piracy. It not only illuminates a fascinating era of maritime history but also the dark actions of desperate men.” - Dean King, author of Skeletons on the Zahara“A masterly and vivid account of the pirates who operated around America's coasts in the late 1600s and early 1700s. Using an impressive array of sources, Eric Jay Dolin throws a fresh light on familiar stories, unearths some new and surprising facts, and skillfully sets the exploits of a notorious generation of pirates in their historical context.” - David Cordingly, author of Under the Black Flag“As he did with whales and lighthouses, Eric Jay Dolin gives us another sea-meets-shore epic wrapped in a swashbuckling narrative. Like a pirate’s treasure chest, this book is chock full of gold pieces that had me asking: “Why didn’t I know this?” Why didn’t I know that early American colonists often embraced pirates to irritate the British Crown? That pirates’ plunder was integral to the colonial economy? That the notorious Blackbeard once blockaded Charleston Harbor, took prisoners, and demanded medicine for his sick men? A fascinating adventure story filled with rogues, rascals, and ruthless renegades, this is stirring history that reads like a novel.” - Stephen Puleo, author of Dark Tide“In Black Flags, Blue Waters, Eric Jay Dolin presents the surprising and enthralling Age of Pirates that was more bloody than golden. In the process, he proves again that skillfully presented narrative nonfiction is even more gripping than swashbuckling mythology. If you've never read Dolin before, prepare to have a new favorite historian.” - Jeff Guinn, author of The Road to Jonestown“Bravo! Eric Jay Dolin—deftly blending scholarship and drama—has captured the flotilla of rogues who tormented merchants and crews along the American coasts. He powerfully re-creates the pirate life—from outlaw ports to stolen ships, from sunken gold to mass hangings. However, truth to tell, we do differ on Captain Kidd but that’s what keeps the world of pirate scholarship so lively.” - Richard Zacks, author of Pirate Hunter“A vivid and surprising book. Black Flags, Blue Waters weaves old names and fresh themes in unanticipated ways, giving us a deep history of American piracy that reads like a blood-drenched thriller.” - Stephan Talty, author of Empire of Blue Water“Black Flags, Blue Water is a terrific—and at times terrifying—read. Tearing back the fiction of Hollywood movies, Eric Jay Dolin presents a frighteningly accurate and riveting portrayal of America's pirates and the surprising ways their ruthless trade affected the colonies and helped shape the American experience.” - Gregory N. Flemming, author of At the Point of a Cutlass“Once again Eric Jay Dolin has taken a massive subject and focused it into a single volume that is both well-researched and highly readable. This true story of the pirates who infested the shores of America during piracy’s “Golden Age” is a fascinating look at who and what these criminals and their accomplices ashore truly were. It is the perfect antidote for the Johnny Depp-ism that has infected this part of our nation’s history.” - James L. Nelson, author of Benedict Arnold’s Navy