If you like history then you will love this book. Like all good historians he doesn't just tell you the story but he tells you how he knows the story. There are too many historians who just tell you the story but never tell you how they came about the facts or what facts cause them to interpret the story a certain way but this author does.
The only complaint I have about this book and the reason I only gave it 4 stars is that it is not strictly chronological. Although it begins with the origin of Blackbeard and ends with his death and effect on society since then, in the middle it jumps forward and jump backwards and jumped forward and jumps backward several times causing me to get a little confused concerning the chronology of Blackbeard's exploits. Don't get me wrong the book is very well written and I enjoyed every page I just wish it was in a more strict chronological order that's all.