Paul's Reviews > The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines & the Secret Mission of 1805

The first thing to say about this book is that the title is extremely misleading. This has little or nothing to do with pirates (the only thing close to pirates in the book is some state-sponsored privateer types out of Tripoli), Thomas Jefferson barely plays a role and the marines described are from a pre-modern version of the USMC that is nothing like the one we'd expect today. It's like writing a book about the Lewis and Clark expedition and calling it, "Cajun Country: Thomas Jefferson, Louisiana and the Expedition that Explored America".

That said, I found the book very interesting and engaging, and it shined a light on a historical event (The Barbary Wars) about which I knew almost nothing, so it was a great find for me. It's rare to find a good history book set immediately after the revolutionary war, and even more rare that it's about something other than domestic politics, so it's a big win there. I'd say it's a recommended read, though I'm hoping to read another book or two about the same time period which includes these narratives to try and get a sense of whether or not Zacks has distorted the history to make a good story. Given the shenanigans with the title, I wouldn't put it past him.