Product Description

Sir Francis Drake: pirate, explorer and Protestant zealot, a man princely in his bearing, heroic if sometimes foolhardy in his enterprise, a genius at once awe-inspiring and riddled with faults. He is the archetypal Elizabethan sea-dog, and Stephen Coote's brilliant new book rescues him from the dusty pages of history to breathe new life into one of the great maritime adventure stories. Focusing on the episodes that made Drake's reputation -- and exploring not just the nature of that reputation but how it also, for better or worse, came to epitomise a sense of nationhood -- Stephen Coote re-creates all the excitement and terror of the raids on Spanish Caribbean ports during Drake's privateering days; the extraordinary feat of the circumnavigation aboard the 'Golden Hind'; and Drake's role in the famous defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Told with novelistic verve, DRAKE is a thoroughly modern re-assessment of a man who embodied all the ebullient courage and personal shortcomings of the great age of Elizabethan expansion. Was Drake just a rabid anti-papist, a state-sponsored terrorist and slaver? Or was he the embodiment of English sang-froid, an empire-builder and hero? This gripping and entertaining biography gives us a picture of the man altogether richer and more interesting than we could have imagined.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #699433 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Stephen Coote was educated at Magdelene College, Cambridge and at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of several acclaimed biographies including lives of Charles II, W. B. Yeats, John Keats and, most recently, Samuel Pepys: according to the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, 'A subtle and intelligent portrait, not just of the man, but of the volatile political milieu in which he moved.'

Customer Reviews

Revisionism for the sake of it
Very disappointing. There is room for a good new history of Drake - this is not it. The author shows little or no empathy for his subject or the times (always a hindrance to a biographer)and the frequent exhibitions of his own left-wing prejudice are extremely jarring.

Actually you should definitly read it.
I personally feel the author has taken an objective few, this is what historical books can often fail to do. This read goes a long way to avoiding that same dull formula of names, dates, events, this happened that happened etc, yes that's history I know, but here the same details are covered - I just found it was more refreshing to read somehow, even dare I say fun! History and a glass of tonic!! I've only read five different titles on this subject to date but to me its definitly the best one so far just for the way its written. I found myself more intrigued as the tale progressed and always wanting more. I think that as a historical narrative that is just superb. I will recommend it for anyone with a penchant for 16th century maritime history without a doubt.