"The Pirate Menace" by Angus Konstam is an overview of piracy in the Caribbean, specifically between 1690s and ~1718, beginning in Jamaica. Before the earthquake of 1692, Port Royal was the busiest harbor in the Caribbean. Port Royal was home to the original buccaneers, Henry Morgan, and a constant threat of French privateers. When a Spanish treasure fleet sank in 1715, Jamaican privateers-turned-pirates Henry Jennings and John Wills clashed with pirate Benjamin Hornigold for a bit of the bullion. They eventually joined forces and Jennings witnessed the true pirate haven that Hornigold built in Nassau. Searching for more gold, Jennings encounters pirates Black Sam Bellamy, his cohort Pulsgrave Williams, two of the most successful pirates. We then meet the infamous Blackbeard, who originally sailed with Hornigold; and where there's Blackbeard, there's Stede Bonnet. Then of course there's Charles Vane, the leader of Nassau and Calico Jack! Eventually the era would end with the death of Bartholomew Roberts.

Overall a lively read, but it's a good thing I've read other piracy books already. It actually covers the pirate community of the later years rather than the entirety of the Golden Age, but it's dense! In the first two chapters, names fly by as Konstam sets the stage for Nassau. Throughout, there's not enough context for larger political events, and English vs Spanish vs French can be confusing. Corrupt Royal governors were actually the major cause of the early rise of piracy, but this isn't really discussed until Gov. Spotswood and Woodes Rogers emerge. There are also a few unnecessary diversions, which could've been removed to lighten the narrative. However, I thought the chapter on the structure of the pirate community was the best. Konstam successfully argues that it was a "commune" rather than a "republic." I can only select 3 stars but on Instagram I gave this one a 3.5 out of 5!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this account of the Golden Age of Piracy! This account was very detailed and I learned so many cool things about specific pirates and about the practice of piracy through reading it. I also didn't find it to be too dense, which I do worry about with nonfiction accounts sometimes.

Would highly recommend to anyone doing historical research on piracy or just interested parties (like myself!) who are interested in learning more about piratical history.

Publication date: May 7, 2024

Thanks to Angus Konstam, Osprey Publishing and NetGalley for access to the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a detailed and comprehensive review of piracy in the Caribbean, the Atlantic coast of North America and South America, with a bit of Europe and Africa included for completeness. Mr. Konstam does an excellent job describing the origins of the Golden Age of Piracy and the steps taken to snuff out the problem. The book also includes extensive references and a bibliography.

For those of us who remember the names of Blackbeard, Black Bart, and others, this is an excellent book to take you through what really happened.

I loved this history book learned so much about the history of pirates. Very quick read. I thought it was well written and loved the attention to detail. Peaked my interest for pirates and their history.

Thank You to NetGalley, Osprey Publishing, and Angus Konstam for the advanced copy!

This was really a 3/5-4 star read for me. I love learning about history and was intrigued by an era of history that I wasn't particularly familiar with. And this book delivered! I really enjoyed the deep dive into the different pirates that operated in the Caribbean and what happened to them. I also enjoyed learning about how the African slave trade played a roll in this.

My only issue with the novel was the overlapping of time frames and pirates! It got a wee bit confusing in some spots where individuals were introduced to the story and then showed up again later to back track to that persons history, etc.


Otherwise this was a great read! Thank you for allowing me to review it!

An informative novel about the pirates and their experiences in the Carribean. The stories are well-done and full of detail to help the reader understand why people resorted to piracy. There were good firsthand accounts, and the book was a fast read. Overall, a well-done and informative book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

In this tale from the golden age of piracy, the British Empire and history’s most infamous pirates battle to control the Atlantic and Caribbean seas. After the War of the Spanish Succession, privateers-turned-pirates created a haven in the port of Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas, attracting merchants eager for their ill-gotten plunder. From this nexus, a vast criminal network emerged, giving rise to legends that still captivate us today.

This account is fascinating and fun to read. I found a factual inaccuracy early in the ARC that left me wondering how reliable the narrative is. (Hopefully, that inaccuracy was corrected in the published version.) The book was repetitive at times and didn’t follow a strict chronological order, focusing instead on telling a good story. This book wouldn’t be my choice if scholarship were my goal, but it’s entertaining and informative for a lay audience.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A new look into one of Nassau's most notorious pirates, you won't want to miss this rip roaring look into the lives of pirates and what led to their rise after the War of Spanish Succession. The Pirate Menace takes a deep look intoBlackbeard, 'Calico Jack' Rackam, Charles Vane and Bartholomew Roberts. If you're fans of the Start Tv show Black Sails, you definitely won't want to miss this book.

There is a very strange thing about the history of pirates. Pirates are big business and they sell books. However, the lion's share of information on them has been pretty well covered already. This isn't to say there is nothing new out there to learn or uncover about them, but it usually follows that a new book on piracy is going to go over a good amount of well-trodden ground.

This brings us to Angus Konstam's The Pirate Menace. Konstam loves pirates or at least writing about them. He starts this book off by mentioning other books he's done on pirates and how this is another attempt to tell the story. His research and passion for the project are palpable. He has full control over the history and even adds in the apocryphal stuff (while identifying there is no evidence for them) just for fun. I feel like if I sat down with Konstam for drinks at the bar and let him spout off about pirates that he would have me riveted for hours.

Unfortunately, I think his passion for the subject also blunts the narrative. For example, multiple times, a pirate will be introduced mid-chapter only to have the same pirate as the focus of the next chapter. This happens a few times and it means there are multiple instances where time jumps around and the information feels repetitive. The flow is never quite there and it could probably only be fixed by deleting pirates out of the narrative or by going too broad on the subject.

Another aspect missing is the "menace" part of the title is missing. To be clear, Konstam tells the battle stories exquisitely. The final battles of Blackbeard and Black Bart are exceptional. However, if you are telling the full story of pirates then you need to make sure the reader understands these were not Robin Hood type rogues. They were murderers. They were rapists. They were bad people. Konstam doesn't cover up their misdeeds or excuse them, but I never felt like he made the reader face the fact that we are so often mesmerized by these sailor sociopaths.

I am giving this book 3 stars, but I don't feel great about it. If you are new to pirate stories, you will enjoy this and learn a ton. However, if you have read pirate literature, I don't think this is a must read.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Osprey Publishing.)

The sheer amount of information in this book is absolutely phenomenal. It is not your common or garden pirate history book, this goes deep and the writing style is so engaging that hours pass before you even realise it

A lovely touch is that the beginning of the book primes you for the wonderful adventure through a little-known but extensive history that you are getting into and if you are a history lover, you will be absolutely captivated . If you are new to the stories and legends of piracy and privateers, the first sections will prove invaluable

I find a lot of times when you read a book by an expert, that they lose sight of communicating their knowledge with an audience without just reciting their knowledge. Angus Konstam gives the wealth of his extensive knowledge as if he is talking to a friend, engaging them in the adventure and sharing his love of the subject

I would recommend this phenomenal book to anybody who likes to go beyond the basics and has a fascination with Piracy around the world and through the ages. Very well written and very enjoyable

Thank you to Netgalley, Osprey Publishing, and the author, Angus Konstam for this wonderful ARC. My review is given voluntarily, and all opinions are my own

I enjoyed this book and appreciated the overview of the historical golden age of pirates and privateers, situating it in a broader network of trade and imperial ambitions. While biographies of the major historical figures are all present, I enjoyed that the system of piracy remained the central focus. It is great to see the topic getting a dedicated historical treatment after years of pop culture influence from a certain series of Disney films.