Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Politics & government

BORN TO BE HANGED

Keith Thomson

The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune

For readers of Nathaniel Philbrick and David McCullough, a riveting account of the roguish acts of the first pirates to raid the Pacific in a crusade that ended in a sensational trial back in England.

The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than three hundred daring, hardened pirates - a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers - gather in a remote bay of modern-day Panama. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Panamanian coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become a legend.

Inspired by the intrepid adventures of pirate turned Jamaican governor, Captain Henry Morgan - yes, that Captain Morgan - the company sets out upon one of the greatest escapades in the history of piracy, crossing the jungle isthmus of the Darien, liberating a native princess, sacking the port of Panama City, and setting off a cascade of hysteria and panic as they maraud up and down the western coastline of South America.

With novelistic prose and a rip-roaring sense of adventure, Keith Thomson guides us through the pirates' legendary two-year expedition. We witness the buccaneers evading indigenous tribes, Spanish conquistadors, and even their own English countrymen, all with the ever-present threat of the gallows for anyone captured. By fusing contemporaneous accounts with intensive research and previously unknown primary sources, Born to Be Hanged unfolds the rollicking story of one of the most astonishing pirate adventures ever told.

Keith Thomson is the author of several novels, including Pirates of Pensacola and the New York Times bestseller Once a Spy. The former Columbia history major also writes nonfiction for the New York Times, Garden & Gun, and Huffington Post on a range of topics including national security and piracy. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Available products
Book Published 2022-05-10 by Little Brown
Book Published 2022-05-10 by Little Brown

Comments

This swashbuckling history recounts a two-yearlong pirate raid in the 17th century along the Pacific coastline, with over 300 dastardly buccaneers in search of Spanish gold.

Born to Be Hanged is swashbuckling narrative nonfiction at its best. Thomson skillfully weaves in the history and geopolitics of the period even as he puts the reader in the middle of an action-packed thriller that does not let up. By the end of this myth-busting, stranger-than-fiction tale, I wanted to raise a tankard of rum and toast the death-defying adventures of the greatest buccaneers of the seventeenth-century.

[A] swashbuckling account... Readers will be swept along by this brisk and entertaining adventure story.

Thomson eloquently proves Mark Twain's oft-cited adage, 'Truth is stranger than fiction.' Thanks to lively writing and thorough research, Thomson's pirates burst from the pages as vividly and compellingly as those in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series rule the screen... entertaining suspense and high energy continue to the very end.

What a rollicking ride! Born to Be Hanged is serious narrative history delivered as gripping entertainment, with all the panache of an adventure novel. Keith Thomson unspools the excesses and escapades of the high seas in what we come to see is truly the Golden Age of Piracy. From the signing of the buccaneers' initial charter to their life-or-death trial back in England two years later, I followed every battle, chase, and standoff with rapt attention. Thomson not only brings the seventeenth century to life in vivid detail; he weaves his humor and keen observations into the character studies of the pirates themselves. This book is a riveting historical delight not to be missed.

Japanese: Tokyo Sogensha

Thomson does a fine job mining the historical record for all this swash and buckle... A larger-than-life tale... It reads, quite literally, like a pirate novel.

BORN TO BE HANGED tells the dazzling true story of one of the brashest, riskiest, and all-out swashbucklingest pirating adventures ever attempted - a mission that takes an outmanned band of English buccaneers across one deadly jungle, over two oceans, through the heart of the Spanish Main, and into endless trouble. Along the way, they come upon plenty of treasure - and readers will, too.

Born to Be Hanged is a thrilling tale of piracy in the South Seas, replete with pitched and bloody battles, treasure hoards, a daring rescue, violent storms, shifting allegiances, mutiny, and a dubious trial. It is full of so many fascinating details and surprising twists and turns that you will not want to put it down until the very end. A wonderful contribution to the history of piracy, and a welcome addition to every pirate-lovers library.

It's hard to believe that serious maritime history could be quite so fascinating and outrageously readable. Born to Be Hanged is one of those books you simply can't put down, a true history of a band of buccaneers who embark on a two-year rampage along the Pacific coasts of Central and South America, undertaking a series of daring, insane, and bloody raids that are at times so improbable as to defy belief. This is a truly marvelous read and I highly recommend it.

[A] rollicking historical account... Thomson fleshes out each audacious attack and narrow escape with wit and insight... By focusing on the individuals who kept accounts of the adventure, Thomson humanizes the 'Brethren of the Coast,' shedding light on their motivations, histories, and relationships... Every action-packed page is certain to thrill connoisseurs of piracy and seafaring history.

Unleashes an epic history of a band of 'gentlemen pirates.'