The best-selling author of Black Flags, Blue Waters (ISBN 978 1 63149 622 6) reclaims the daring freelance sailors who proved essential to the winning of the Revolutionary War
The heroic story of the founding of the US Navy during the American Revolution has been told before, yet missing from most maritime histories of the country’s first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels, from 20-foot whaleboats to 40-cannon men-of-war, that truly revealed the new nation’s character—above all, its ambition and entrepreneurial ethos.
In Rebels at Sea, best-selling historian Eric Jay Dolin corrects that significant omission and contends that privateers, though often seen as profiteers at best and pirates at worst, were in fact critical to the American Revolution’s outcome. Armed with cannons, swivel guns, muskets and pikes—as well as government documents granting them the right to seize enemy ships—thousands of privateers tormented the British on the broad Atlantic and in bays and harbours on both sides of the ocean. Abounding with tales of daring manoeuvers and deadly encounters, Rebels at Sea presents the American Revolution as we have rarely seen it before.
About the Author
Eric Jay Dolin is the author of fourteen books. His most recent is A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred-Year History of America's Hurricanes, which received a number of accolades, including being chosen by the Washington Post as one of 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2020, by Kirkus Reviews as one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2020 (in addition to being a Kirkus Prize finalist), by the Library Journal and Booklist as one of the Best Science & Technology Books of 2020, and by the New York Times Book Review as an "Editor's Choice."
Other books include Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America, which was chosen as one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2007 by the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe, and also won the 2007 John Lyman Award for U.S. Maritime History; and Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates, which was chosen as a "Must-Read" book for 2019 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, and was a finalist for the 2019 Julia Ward Howe Award given by the Boston Author's Club.
A graduate of Brown, Yale, and MIT, where he received his Ph.D. in environmental policy, Dolin lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts, with his family.
Industry Reviews
Eric Dolin majestically rectifies the oversight that the official canon of naval history in Britain and the United States virtually ignores privateers. . . . Eric Dolin's Rebels At Sea is original, meticulously researched and connects one of the USA's great missing links in understanding how the land of the free earned its liberty. Rebels At Sea is rich in stories, historical explanation and tales of derring-do - a new and refreshing take on how the West was won.--Sean Kingsley "Wreckwatch Magazine"
Most naval history focuses on battles between national fleets, and so the swaggering history of the Revolution's American privateers may have sailed past some readers. Eric Jay Dolin's comprehensive effort helps correct that oversight. . . . [Rebels at Sea is] fascinating.--Tim Queeney "American History"
Eric Jay Dolin, the author of several books on early American seafaring, believes that these privateers have received short shrift in other histories of the Revolution. His thoroughly researched, engagingly written Rebels at Sea gives them their due . . . when a ship couldn't outsail its foes, or when a potential prize resisted, a bloody action could ensue, and Rebels at Sea vividly recounts some of these battles, as vessels with evocative names such as Vengeance, Eagle and Defiance face off against the enemy . . . Dolin convincingly contends that the underappreciated 'militia of the sea' played a critical role in the colonies winning their independence, despite Britain's 'peculiar and sovereign authority upon the ocean.--Gerard Helferich "Wall Street Journal"
Rebels at Sea gives readers not only an insight into the nature of privateering and all it involved, but it provides a good picture of the heroism, suffering, and sacrifices necessary in creating the United States.--Stan Grayson "WoodenBoat"
Rebels at Sea is a worthwhile addition to Eric Jay Dolin's superb scholarly library of maritime works. . . . [it] is a broad and well-researched examination of the role of letter-of-marque vessels during the American Revolution. This new work is a very much welcome addition to Revolutionary War maritime history.--Louis Arthur Norton "Sea History"
Rebels at Sea is captivating reading for those drawn to American and British history or armchair sailors seeking high seas adventure. It is also an important contribution to American Revolution literature.--George Jepson "Quarterdeck Magazine"
A compelling tale of patriots whose bravery was integral to America's victory in the War of Independence, Rebels at Sea is highly recommended.--Chris Szepessy "WindCheck Magazine, Sailing the Northeast"
Eric Jay Dolin is an excellent writer, straightforward with a style that keeps the book moving while thoroughly engaging the reader. Rebels at Sea is destined to become the starting place to understand the privateer war during the American Revolution.--Eric Sterner "Emerging Revolutionary War Era Blog"
There may be no better read for an American Revolution history lover this summer than Eric Jay Dolin's latest Rebels at Sea, a look at the forgotten role of the privateer during America's battle for independence. . . . [It] presents a great introduction to this hidden corner of American history.--Greg Young "The Bowery Boys Podcast Bookshelf"
Rebels at Sea is sure to be another successful addition to Dolin's catalog. The narrative is fast-paced and exciting. . . . The work also has some stunning and colorful pictures, including paintings, maps and portraits. This ranks as one of the best books the Journal of the American Revolution has reviewed.--Timothy Symington "Journal of the American Revolution"
The bestselling maritime historian returns with a study of privateering activity during the Revolutionary War and its role in bolstering the Colonial cause . . . In this exciting narrative, Dolin, a 2020 Kirkus Prize finalist for A Furious Sky, demonstrates how privateering was a key element in America's ability to secure independence . . . The author digs deep into the whole enterprise . . . In this characteristically well-researched history, Dolin describes the vital activities of two main types of privateers . . . The author also explores in fascinating detail the desperate circumstances of captured Americans aboard British prison ships . . . A thrilling, unique contribution to the literature on the American Revolution.-- "Kirkus Reviews"
