Emily B. (LibraryEm42) reviewed She Captains, Heroines and Hellions of the Sea on + 26 more book reviews
The topic is interesting, but the book is not as well written or organized as it could have been. I think the author was trying to tell some stories in parallel to show their similarities and maybe increase tension, but the transitions were so weak that it just came across as disjointed. Other stories barely seemed to fit the theme, like the ones which mention female captives who were enslaved and women who kept the family financially solvent while their husbands were away in passing while focusing on the male relatives' adventures at sea. They hardly sound like the she-captains we were promised. Especially the random, soon-forgotten slaves.
The author also torpedoed her credibility in matters of historical research right in the beginning when she said that the Amazons were probably real because the Greeks depicted them so often. By that logic, so were centaurs and nymphs and the Olympian gods! So for the rest of the book, I never knew when I could trust the stories she told. If this were just a book of neat stories, that would be fine, but it was supposed to be history.
The author also torpedoed her credibility in matters of historical research right in the beginning when she said that the Amazons were probably real because the Greeks depicted them so often. By that logic, so were centaurs and nymphs and the Olympian gods! So for the rest of the book, I never knew when I could trust the stories she told. If this were just a book of neat stories, that would be fine, but it was supposed to be history.
Mary D. (readstoclem) reviewed She Captains, Heroines and Hellions of the Sea on + 118 more book reviews
Very readable history of women on the sea with a scholarly bibliography. A book for both pleasure and serious research.
