MORE SALTY READS
PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
he tale of how the U.S. Navy was founded and its exploits during the Revolutionary War is well-documented. A less frequently told story is the fleet of privately owned vessels—everything from by historian Eric Jay Dolin lays down the argument that while privateers were seen as profiteers and sometimes pirates, they were critical players in the victorious American outcome of the Revolutionary War. The book is filled with stories of the privateers’ torment against the British as well as detailed accounts of the successes and failures they found on the high seas. ($33, Liveright)
