Empire of Blue Water: Henry Morgan and the Pirates Who Rules the Caribbean Waves in Around the World in 80 Books

Aug 15, 2008 Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, seafaring_tales, audiobooks, european-history-civ, world-civ, ripping_yarns

Pirates (or privateers) always make sensational subjects, so author Stephan Talty didn't need much embellishment to make the tale of Henry Morgan into a fast-paced and thrilling book. I've read a handful of other accounts of Morgan and other privateers and found this one of the most successful renderings. And while Morgan cuts a definite dash, Talty doesn't shy from making it clear that it was ruthlessness as well as leadership skills, strategic thinking, and inventiveness that led to his succes Pirates (or privateers) always make sensational subjects, so author Stephan Talty didn't need much embellishment to make the tale of Henry Morgan into a fast-paced and thrilling book. I've read a handful of other accounts of Morgan and other privateers and found this one of the most successful renderings. And while Morgan cuts a definite dash, Talty doesn't shy from making it clear that it was ruthlessness as well as leadership skills, strategic thinking, and inventiveness that led to his success. Interestingly, Morgan was best operating on land, not sea, as one might assume. It was his epic land-based raids that assured his fame, not pitched sea battles (though there is one wonderful episode involving the brilliant use of a 'fire ship' that is the exception).

What I found especially interesting, however, was the how Spanish inflexibility and bureaucracy in the New World made it (relatively) simple for Morgan to defeat them time and again. Talty's descriptions of the bizarre workings of the Spanish court, the historical background on the shifting alliances among the British, French, Spanish, and Dutch, and the details of Morgan's campaigns were all masterfully done. He gave vivid accounts of both the top and bottom of the social ladder, summoning images that made, for example, death-obsessed Philip IV of Spain spring to life. Talty has a vivid style, too, that made listening to the tale even more enjoyable.

I'd be remiss not to mention the reader of this audiobook, John Mayer, who not only has the ideal voice for reading such a swashbuckling tale, but who injected a certain humor and relish into the reading that struck a suitable piratical tone. Mayer's pacing and reading of the text only improved upon it and were always a delight. This reading is an abridged version of the book, I understand, but I can't think that reading the full text would be any improvement -- there are no tell-tale "gaps" that gave away the abridgment.

This was the first of what I hope will be many audio CDs downloaded from a website maintained by a state-wide consortium of libraries. It took some "fiddling" to get the files into a format that would play on my iPod, but persistence paid off. It sure beats loading and ripping individual CDs checked out from my local library. ...more

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