Enemy of All Mankind

A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt

By: Steven Johnson

Narrated by: Jason Culp

“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.

Mildly interesting

This is the story of the pirate Henry Avery, one of the few successful pirate captains to escape trial or capture, his fate a mystery to this day. The book is mildly interesting, not a page turner, but easy to read and informative.
It discusses Avery's life history, substantial evidence limited, and based to some degree on hearsay and some romanticized tales spread through the press and communities of the time.
The author covers in detail how Avery's exploits were a menace to late 1600's India, particularly the Grand Mughal, its trading merchants and other royal ships making the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and by extension the East India Company which suffered through its British association with Avery and his men.
Following his capture of the ultra wealthy and treasure laden fortress ship, the Ganji Sawai, Avery escapes to the West Indies, and then presumably back to Europe to retire peacefully as a lifelong fugitive. Yet the men who accompanied him were not so lucky.
The author is good but seems to fall into the trap of conjecture and judging Avery from a modern moral perspective. One does not know that Avery burned that mosque because he was anti-Muslim or xenophobic as the author concludes. It's also foolish to assume Avery extracted information from captives through torture just because another English pirate did so a century later. Nor would I judge Avery for engaging in the slave trade. The trade in human currency was an evil that was commonplace and accepted of the time.

Engrossing tale

Steven Johnson provides an interesting take on the history of one of the most infamous pirate tales ever. Jason Culp brings an affable voice to relate Johnson’s words. Overall, this is a terrific nonfiction book to pass the time.

Pretty solid

Intro is solid make you think you’re getting a deeep dive on the east India company but you get a history of why pirates are deemed outlaws. It tells the story of henery Avery and the first world wide man hunt. Wish there was more detail but Avery’s life was shrouded in mystery so it’s a hard story to tell. Thief did a good job solid read.

Great tale from history

This is an excellent historical event for study. There is plenty of drama and intrigue around the people and event itself. Then there are all the interconnected strands that are woven into the larger perspective of this time in history. How empires were made and the people trying to make fortunes in between huge fortunes being shipped around the world.

Great book bringing history to life

My husband loves to sail so this book helped to make sense all of the nautical terms and traditions. It was also very interesting to learn the history of pirates and their shocking ties to modern day capitalism. This could ever be a good book for a kids research paper.