2024 the best of enemies true story review

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“Thoroughly engrossing . . . a spirited, suspenseful, economically told tale whose significance is manifest and whose pace never flags.” —The Wall Street Journal
 
From The New York Times–bestselling author of The Ghost Map and Extra Life, the story of a pirate who changed the world

Henry Every was the seventeenth century’s most notorious pirate. The press published wildly popular—and wildly inaccurate—reports of his nefarious adventures. The British government offered enormous bounties for his capture, alive or (preferably) dead. But Steven Johnson argues that Every’s most lasting legacy was his inadvertent triggering of a major shift in the global economy. Enemy of All Mankind focuses on one key event—the attack on an Indian treasure ship by Every and his crew—and its surprising repercussions across time and space. It’s the gripping tale of one of the most lucrative crimes in history, the first international manhunt, and the trial of the seventeenth century.

Johnson uses the extraordinary story of Henry Every and his crimes to explore the emergence of the East India Company, the British Empire, and the modern global marketplace: a densely interconnected planet ruled by nations and corporations. How did this unlikely pirate and his notorious crime end up playing a key role in the birth of multinational capitalism? In the same mode as Johnson’s classic nonfiction historical thriller The Ghost Map, Enemy of All Mankind deftly traces the path from a single struck match to a global conflagration.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books; Reprint edition (May 11, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0735211612
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735211612
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.57 x 0.83 x 8.24 inches
Reviewer: Fluffy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great read
Review: Highly recommend for any history buff. Very well researched and lots of detail about life on those old ships. Man, those guys were tough.

Reviewer: Mike watkins Jr.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Didn't focus on pirates specifically as much as I expected it would.
Review: 1. The author does a good job of entertaining the reader with interesting “pirate facts” throughout the book. This book will teach you about how the first pirates were Egyptian pirates that Dominated the Carribien. You’ll also learn about where the term “enemy of all mankind” originated from and that the difference between a Pirate and a “privateer” was. You’ll even come to realize that being a crew member on a pirate ship was an even worse experience than being a lower-level employee on a cruise ship (which is a terrible experience by the way). With the one difference being that piracy offered a potential “rags to riches” and “nobody to famous” opportunity that working on a cruise ship does not.2. The author does a good job of setting up the historical events that created just the right circumstances for Henrey to thrive as a pirate. A. The invention/ spread of newspapers and other mediums enabled pirates to become popular, which is how Henrey discovered Piracy in the first place.B. The development of the Indian East trading company provided pirates with more potential trading ships to target (and also introduced a new way to make money). The book goes back and forth between this company, and Henrey's crew because these two entities are deeply connected. Henry wouldn't have achieved what he achieved without this company, and the company wouldn't have achieved what it achieved without Henrey. 2. The author does a great job of “filling in the gaps” that can’t be filled with direct historical accounts in regards to Henry's story. He conducted extensive research on the time Henry's life takes place, which enabled him to produce various educated guesses on what likely happened in the “gap” of a particular event. 3. The author does a great job of breaking down the legal proceedings within the infamous court trial that took place involving Henry’s men. Despite not being a lawyer himself the author did a good job of analyzing and describing what went on.Cons 1. I don’t mind the book going into details about characters/ other elements beyond their relation to Henry. But the author goes on a bit too much about the other interesting but off-topic details. This book spends more time focusing on everyone and everything else that in some way contributed to Henrey's success instead of focusing on Henrey specifically.

Reviewer: S. Stutzman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: First rate on multiple levels
Review: This is an easy and excellent read. It does a masterful job of developing history on a subject that I knew little about save what movies have shown--pirates in the 17th century. Henry Every was a British seaman turned pirate who had a enormous stroke of luck during an attack on a treasure laden ship from the Indian (Muslim) empire.What made the book so fascinating was its description of the pirate life--a combination of remarkable egalitarianism and ovewhelming brutality, on boats that might have had a hundred people in six thousand square feet for weeks at a time. Pirates were in some ways the first outlaw media darlings, given the media of time, the ballad and printing press. In some ways (wont give away the plot) Mr. Every was like 21st drug dealers, looking--and finding--a way to launder money consistent with the regrettable norms of the day.The book proves the maxim that "it is always about the money" by demonstrating that in contrast to "privateers" (think Francis Drake, who was knighted for stealing other countries boats) pirates who attacked trading partners (India) threatening commerce, were deemed as the title reads, Enemies of Mankind, and Mr. Every and crew were perhaps the first subjects of an international manhunt.Simply compelling and absolutely worth your time.

Reviewer: Jack Hicks
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Democratic Pirates?
Review: Enemy of All Mankind, A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global ManhuntSteven Johnson, 2020In recent history, global terrorists have writ large in international affairs, politics, history, and news. Who were the first global terrorists? Starting in the 17th century and continuing into most of the 18th century Pirates were the scourge of global commerce. Steven Johnson tells the story of the first world famous terrorist and pirate; a man known by the name of Henry Every. He appears in history at the end of the 17th century. This was a time of a burgeoning world trade, a time of the first joint stock trans-national corporations and a time of a nascent popular press that would glamorize the rakish exploits of pirates.Along with the Dutch East India company, The British East India Company were the harbingers of the coming predominance of corporations in the both the generation and concentration of wealth, national and international commerce. In the early 17th century most of eastern India was ruled by the Mughal empire, a Moslem autocracy headquartered in the city of Agra. The Portuguese founded the first trading colony at the city of Surat in the late 16th century and its trade was mainly centered on spices and cotton. In the 17th century the British East India company was able to establish a competing trading base which capitalized on a growing demand in England for cotton and calico fabrics.This book is the saga of one of the most audacious and world changing heists to ever occur. Henry Avery came into possession of one the fastest, cutting edge warships of the time, first owned by another corporation in Spanish, Caribbean trade. Every was able to commandeer the ship by employing a mutiny of disgruntled and abused sailors. His target was the Grand Mughal’s treasure ship which made an annual trip to Mecca each year. On board this huge ship of 1500 tons was not only vast quantities of gold and silver but also members of the Mughal’s harem as well as family members. When the ship was attacked, looted and when the passengers were raped and abused by Every’s crew, huge repercussions were experienced by the East India company. Employees of the company were arrested and confined in the port cities of Surat and Bombay. Only restitution of the losses by the company and a promise to protect the sea lanes to Mecca would suffice to restore relations with the Grand Mughal. Fascinating is the fact that this led to the beginning of the militarization of the East India company, a development that within fifty years would lead the company to assume all the governmental duties for all of India. There are many interesting details here of the functioning of the East India company both in India but also England: Insider stock manipulation, political influence buying, corruption of local officials are examples of corporate malfeasance still very much with us today.Back in England the outrage perpetrated by Every and his crew leads to a global manhunt. Piracy before his time was tolerated and rewarded to a certain extent especially if the target was a country that was either on a war footing or had bad relations with England and especially if the spoils were shared with the Crown. Sir Francis Drake is an example of this type of individual. Every violated all these rules because he commandeered corporate private property, the ship, he was attacking the viability of a corporation, The East India Corporation, with many rich and influential stockholders and he wasn’t into sharing any spoils with anyone.The book looks at the lives of typical seamen of the 17th century. Many seamen of that era were impressed into service in the Royal Navy. Wages were meager and life on a ship of that era was miserable. 100s of sailors were crammed together below decks with 5 foot ceiling heights, airless, dank quarters. Food was moldy and contaminated with worms. Disease was rampant including Typhus, Scurvy and dysentery so one’s chances of returning home were chancy at best. Given these conditions Piracy would in some cases seem an attractive option. In fact, the term “strike” as related to labor disputes derives from the refusal of abused, complaining crewmembers to strike or raise the sails to allow the ship to proceed. On a Royal Navy or commercial vessel of the time. The Captain was supreme and could dictate all behavior and punishments on his vessel. If a group of common seamen were to organize a society free from authoritarianism and the power of wealth, what type of society would they create? In fact, the pirate codes can answer that question. Their codes incorporated the very democratic principles that would surface a century later in the American and French revolutions. The pirate ship was a floating democracy with the egalitarian principles of one man one vote to determine who were their leaders including captain, the course of action taken as well as how the spoils would be divided.Besides the historical context and information contained, the book is also a crime thriller. How do the pirates pull off their heist? How will they try to escape? Will the authorities manage to catch them and what kind of justice will be meted out? This is the narrative that ties the book together and makes it a not to be put down page turner.That said; “One of the most striking things about Every and his crew is the ability of such a small group of humans- working entirely outside the official institutions of power to trigger events that would be heard around the world. The mix of fear, admiration, and disproportionate influence that Every unleashed on the planet, represented a turning point in the evolution of the world system. It is a script we know by heart in the age of al-Qaeda and ISIS; rogue agents working outside the confines of traditional nation-states, using an act of violence to spark a geopolitical crisis and a global manhunt. But the first draft of that script was written by Every and his men more than three centuries ago.” Deja-Vue all over again. JACK

Reviewer: Walter
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Livro excelente contando a história de Avery, com a visão do governo inglês, do governo indiano e dos corsários e piratas se desenrolando em paralelo. A escrita é de fácil leitura e envolvente.

Reviewer: Walter
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great book, the writing is perfect on reporting in three different fronts at the same time (England, India and the Americas/Africa). This book makes the actual history be much more interesting than any fiction.

Reviewer: Mariano Sabatini
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Best storytelling ever!!!

Reviewer: guy who needed the book
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: The story is interesting but the author is not a good writer. He does not use words well. It reads a bit like a high school book report, tainted by a slightly desperate attempt to make it all seem really insightful and important. It’s neither.

Reviewer: Vishnu
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Nice read