Enemy of All Mankind cover art

Enemy of All Mankind

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

Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Enemy of All Mankind

By: Steven Johnson
Narrated by: Jason Culp
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £12.96

Buy Now for £12.96

About this listen

“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.
Historical Maritime History & Piracy Political Science Politics & Government World Pirate Imperialism Africa British Empire War Middle Ages Maritime Law
All stars
Most relevant
It would have benefited having Steven Johnson (an avid podcaster) to narrate the book yo.

Johnson ought to have narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I’m fascinated by the subject and this period of history. However, the production value of this audiobook was such a turn off. It was poorly cast and the edit is awful - the voice is tinny, disjointed and there are at least four points where there is a sudden drop out mid sentence and clearly missing text. A cheap and rushed job for a major publisher.

A good book ruined by shoddy production

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a rather typical tale. Men mutiny, seize a ship, go piratical, get caught, get hung.

Differences here? A big score from a non-enemy and ultimate disappearance of the leader.

So full of "we don't knows", could haves" and "will never knows", that i come away wondering wheres the beef?

This is a single event tale with 3/4 of the book as historical filler.

Ultimately, unsatisfying.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

it was an overall boring title with little substance and would flip from different century's just as one was getting interesting I liked the descriptive elements but if you're going In with the intention of getting anything more than a couple of minutes of entertainment I'd recommend something else

nothing in particular

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.