This was an intriguing read! I really enjoyed the subject and learned a lot of information I didn't know before reading this book. I have been looking for an interesting read on pirates as I haven't read any nonfiction books on pirates as of yet. Born to be Hanged definitely satisfied that need. I saw this title and cover and was drawn in.
This was thoroughly researched and detailed. The author, Keith Thomson, even uses the words from the mouths of these pirates and those accompanying them, and written accounts from that time in history. If you love anything Nautical, and especially pirates... I reccomend this one!

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Little Brown & Company for an advanced copy of this new nautical history of pirates.

Being a pirate back in the Golden Age of Piracy, looks like great fun, at least in the movies by Errol Flynn or Disney studios. Call yourself and your companions buccaneers, receive letters of marque to attack ships that were considered enemies, steal their gold, sail away and spend the night drinking with your mates. The reality was a lot different, as shown in Keith Thomson's Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune. A pirate really had to hustle to hassle the enemy, travelling long distances, with poor food, leaky ships and companions who might not be the most trustworthy.

The book begins with a quick history of the times and the powers in the area, Spanish, English, and French. A group of disparate men from every where in Europe, and from every social circle gather in the Caribbean with dreams of plunder. Joining together in the interest of freeing a native princess from the Spanish, and liberating their treasury, the men travel overland to a small settlement, are successful at the assault, but learn that the treasure has been taken to safety. Not liking this the men set off again across Panama, through jungle and raging rivers until reaching the South Sea, where they begin an assault on towns up and down the Pacific. Fortunes are made, property is destroyed and lives are lost. Some tire of the life, and return to England, where they are held for trial for their depravations. Some retire and are lost to history. And some go back to the only life they know.

The books is very good read, that flows like a novel, but tells a very interesting and very comprehensive history of the era. The book is well sourced with much coming from the pirates own words, journals, court transcripts and even a book or two from a pirate turned author. There is a certain understanding that maybe some of the stories are downplayed, especially during a trial, or full of brags and lies when talking to the boys, but a good solid story can be told from this. My favorite part is just when everything might have gone easier, the pirates always picked the harder way to do something. The book is full of seiges, sea battles, life on board and lots of walking and sailing. Lots of sailing. My only realy problem was that there was quite a few different pirates telling their tales, and sometimes it was hard to follow who was who. However that was a minor quibble.

A book full of the swash and the buckle. Highly recommended for a Father's Day gift or a great book to read on the beach. For fans of history, Patrick O'Brien readers, or readers of Pyrates books. Also for people who have watched the HBO/MAX show on real pirates. And for fans like me who used to play Syd Meier's Pirates! game for hours upon hours. Four fun salute.

I enjoyed this non fiction book about a real life pirate. Who lived a life that seemed more fiction than fact but was very much fact. I couldn't put it down. I finished it in a few days.

I very often watch TV shows and groan when a big twist happens. A main character is in a seemingly impossible situation but somehow survives. It feels cheap and contrived. What does this have to do with Keith Thomson’s Born to Be Hanged? Well, his book is full of these types of situations and somehow the pirates don’t all die immediately.

Thomson follows the true story of a band of pirates who cross Panama on foot with the intention of freeing a native princess and maybe doing some plundering. This trip becomes a two-year odyssey of the most inexplicable decision-making I have ever read.

While the story alone is amazing, the book is further elevated by Thomson. He realizes just how absurd his characters are and he leans into it. I laughed out loud quite often from Thomson’s humorous asides. This is a highly readable adventure which anyone can enjoy.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity of reading Born to Be Hanged. This deeply rich book makes one feel as though they are sailing along with the Buccaneers navigation in canoes, stealing Spanish gallon ships, and foraging for food on deserted islands while questing for gold and silver. The book is wonderfully written, a mixture of diary entries and research to round out what life was like for these men who roamed the South Seas in a quest for riches.
There is so much to relish in this book as stories are pulled from real people. One has to realize that the book must be taken with a grain of salt as the men may have embellished their tales, were often drunk, ill, and fighting for their survival. Even with guns and grit, navigating the waters was never easy, given that they were always enemies lurking on the horizon. Storms were also a constant threat, and when they hit they were often so fierce they were capable of breaking a boat apart and causing ships to lose their way never to be seen again. Decisions had to be made by all the men in the group even with a captain, as missions were always fraught danger, and sometimes men would abort. Life was often on the edge, as men were killed in battles and leadership had to be rearranged.
This books gets us into the minds of swashbuckling pirates, with lots of action and a provides insights that most books don't cover.