Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin (1646-post 1707) era apreciado en su época como amena fuente de información sobre los piratas del Caribe, con quienes había vivido. Por ello sus amigos le convencieron para que pusiera por escrito un conjunto de relatos y descripciones que se convirtieron en este Piratas de la América, que gozó de un inigualable éxito en su tiempo, y que ha influido notablemente en este género de literatura. En sus páginas se percibe la atracción que Exquemelin sintió por la aventura. El libro nos mete de lleno en la novelesca vida del autor, que examinamos en la introducción de la obra, junto con el contexto de la piratería del Caribe en su época dorada. Antonio Sánchez Jiménez, editor del volumen, es catedrático de literatura española en la Université de Neuchâtel (Suiza), y ha publicado numerosos estudios sobre literatura medieval y del Siglo de Oro, entre ellos una edición de La Dragontea, de Lope de Vega, sobre el último viaje de Francis Drake.

Disturbing non fiction account of the lives of pirates in the Carribean, including Henry Morgan's sacking of Panama. Coupled with Marcus Reddiker's The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and Peter Leeson's the Invisible Hook, and if you can ignore the brutality of it all, it's a fascinating look at the foundations of the self-organizing, democratic labour movement that would later develop in North America. Let no man be pressed into service. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

A terrific first-hand account of pirate life during the 17th century. ( )