Avail Yourself The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World Of The Corsairs Of The Gulf Formulated By William C. Davis Delivered In Digital Edition

took me three years to read this book, This was not a series of attempts, starting over again and again, having forgotten what I read before, but a single attempt, in which I laid the book down for months at a time and, taking it up again, resumed where I had left off.


This book was extraordinarily detailed, With those familiar with my progress in the book, I have joked that I would have found less information had I read the primary sources myself.
Mr. Davis put such great effort into researching this subject, and presenting the truthful information he found, that I found it very easy to become bogged down in the minutia.
The book also had a tendency to follow rabbittrails, pursuing avenues of historical data that seemed largely irrelevant to the story of the Laffites.


On that account, the book became most exciting near the end, when documents became scarce and historical accuracy fell away, in favor of a few spare reports and a host of romantic fiction.
While the details of tangentially related admiralty courts and Mexican independence movements had some bearing on the story of the Laffites, the real character of the brothersand the adventures of their livesseemed an afterthought.
The relation of their deaths, in the nexttolast chapter, occurred midparagraph without any fanfare, The final chapter focused, in part, on the death of piracy in the Gulf the remainder was about race relations in Louisiana, where Pierre Laffite's descendants sought to deny nonwhite ancestry and forgot about the infamous brothers except that they were pirates.


The summation of the brothers' lives was both telling and, in a way, disappointing, The pirates Laffite were so careless with their money, so selfinterested, and so unsuccessful in spite of their many talents that, according to the author, they had almost no bearing on the politics of the Gulf and, ultimately, died in poverty and failure.
On the one hand, this is a reasonable warning against a life of selfinterest and piracy, but on the other, it begs the question of why I should have spent three years reading about these men.
The real answer, of course, is that I should have buckled down and read through the book in a sensible amount of time, but I digress.


If your interest in the corsairs of the Gulf is that of an academic historian, seeking more details on the politics, economics, and complexities of life in the earlyth century, then this may very well be your favorite book.
For me, I appreciated the look at the realities of the last age of piracy, and I found much of the book informative, and even entertaining, there was far too much detail to keep me engaged as a reader.
Perhaps you will say that I should read a romanticized fiction of piracy that focuses on tall tales rather than real history, and perhaps you would be right, but I'm still glad to have read this bookI only wish it hadn't taken so long.
My American history knowledge is basics at best so while this could be an interesting part of history, I just got too confused with the politics and the numerous names that flew back and forth throughout.
A little frustrated but I persevered, What amazed me is that thesebrothers stuck together there didn't seem to be any backstabbing or cheating one each other.
Very interesting story of the Lafitte brothers, though somewhat unreadable at times, In light of the new work out on Jeans “death,” Im surprised his death was covered as assured as it was here, especially given the flimsy citations on it.
Overall I enjoyed learning more about the Lafittes and this book gave me exactly what I was hoping for.
An engrossing and exciting account of legendary New

Orleans privateers Pierre and Jean Laffite and their adventures along the Gulf Coast Booklist, starred review.
At large during the most colorful period in New Orleans's history, from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of, privateers Jean and Pierre Laffite made life hell for Spanish merchants on the Gulf.
Pirates to the US Navy officers who chased them, heroes to the private citizens who shopped for contraband at their wellpublicized auctions, the brothers became important members of a filibustering syndicate that included lawyers, bankers, merchants, and corrupt US officials.
But this allegiance didn't stop the Laffites from becoming paid Spanish spies, disappearing into the fog of history after selling out their own associates.
William C. Davis uncovers the truth about two men who made their names synonymous with piracy and intrigue on the Gulf.
Davis should be applauded for the superb research and at times overwhelming attention to detail, It is as if he had to discuss every little thing Pierre and Jean Laffite ever did.
Trouble is, the forest is lost for the trees, as the book lacks analysis and fails to properly explain the context of the times.
I found it at times confusing those without a working knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars will be lost.
Nor does one get the feeling, until the end, that the Laffite brothers were the last great pirates of the age of sail to prowl the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.
The prose is oddly dry compared to Davis' usual Civil War fare, All in all, not a page turner, but the only reliable book on two outlaw brothers who have been covered in myth ever since they died.
I think I would probably have enjoyed this book more if I didn't feel like I was racing against the clock.
It took a while for me to get to it and it's actually due back at the library tomorrow, so I kind of rushed through it and probably missed at leastof the information in there.
I'll probably buy this book and read it again some other time, because it was interesting, and there was a lot of useful info for my pirate wip.
When that happens, I'm sure I'll have a more thorough review,

I will say, at least in the beginning, there was kind of an overdose in background information.
I know the author has to set the historical context and it was important and interesting to read about how the earlyth century around the Gulf coast was so ripe for piracy and privateering but after over a hundred pages, the book still seemed to be mostly background with an occasional sprinkling of what the Laffites were up to at the time.
Historical novels can put a strain on my attention as it is, and especially because I was rushing, those chapters kind of blurred together.
I think he could have been a little more concise and given the people he actually intended to write about a little more attention.


My favorite antic that I read in this book happened shortly after a price was put on Jean Laffite's head for the first time.
Areward was put out for his apprehension, which was pretty small compared to everything he had done at the time.
Soonafter, there were signs posted around New Orleans offering a,reward for the apprehension of Governor Claiborne, signed "Laffite.
" I also poked some fun at the fact that Pierre Laffite's sons were named Pierre and Jean and Jean Laffite's son was named Jean Pierre.
The ending was captivating enough, and I enjoyed reading about the legends that lingered even after they died.
I'm sure when I read it again, I'll have more to talk about but that's about all I remember for now.
.