Black Flags, Blue Waters

I enjoyed this quick runthrough of pirate and American colonial history more than I expected. Dolan has a great narrative voice and his rare, brief interjections in footnotes are full of personality and wit. I appreciated how Dolan didn't take too much glee in poking holes in famous myths and legends - as has been the bane of a lot of historical non-fiction I've been reading lately. Rather, he understands what makes the current understood version of the history great, and leans into that element.

It might start a tad slow, but some of that may have just been me getting a feel for the writing. I'd recommend as a primer for anyone interested in early American history.