About the Author

Eric Jay Dolin is the best-selling and award-winning author of numerous works in maritime history, including Leviathan, Rebels at Sea, and Black Flags, Blue Waters. A graduate of Brown, Yale, and MIT, he lives in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Rebels at Sea gives readers not only an insight into the nature of privateering and all it involved, but it provides a good picture of the heroism, suffering, and sacrifices necessary in creating the United States.--Stan Grayson "WoodenBoat"

Rebels at Sea is a worthwhile addition to Eric Jay Dolin's superb scholarly library of maritime works. . . . [it] is a broad and well-researched examination of the role of letter-of-marque vessels during the American Revolution. This new work is a very much welcome addition to Revolutionary War maritime history.--Louis Arthur Norton "Sea History"

Rebels at Sea is captivating reading for those drawn to American and British history or armchair sailors seeking high seas adventure. It is also an important contribution to American Revolution literature.--George Jepson "Quarterdeck Magazine"

Rebels at Sea is sure to be another successful addition to Dolin's catalog. The narrative is fast-paced and exciting. . . . The work also has some stunning and colorful pictures, including paintings, maps and portraits. This ranks as one of the best books the Journal of the American Revolution has reviewed.--Timothy Symington "Journal of the American Revolution"

A compelling tale of patriots whose bravery was integral to America's victory in the War of Independence, Rebels at Sea is highly recommended.--Chris Szepessy "WindCheck Magazine, Sailing the Northeast"

Eric Dolin majestically rectifies the oversight that the official canon of naval history in Britain and the United States virtually ignores privateers. . . . Eric Dolin's Rebels At Sea is original, meticulously researched and connects one of the USA's great missing links in understanding how the land of the free earned its liberty. Rebels At Sea is rich in stories, historical explanation and tales of derring-do - a new and refreshing take on how the West was won.--Sean Kingsley "Wreckwatch Magazine"

Eric Jay Dolin is an excellent writer, straightforward with a style that keeps the book moving while thoroughly engaging the reader. Rebels at Sea is destined to become the starting place to understand the privateer war during the American Revolution.--Eric Sterner "Emerging Revolutionary War Era Blog"

Eric Jay Dolin, the author of several books on early American seafaring, believes that these privateers have received short shrift in other histories of the Revolution. His thoroughly researched, engagingly written Rebels at Sea gives them their due . . . when a ship couldn't outsail its foes, or when a potential prize resisted, a bloody action could ensue, and Rebels at Sea vividly recounts some of these battles, as vessels with evocative names such as Vengeance, Eagle and Defiance face off against the enemy . . . Dolin convincingly contends that the underappreciated 'militia of the sea' played a critical role in the colonies winning their independence, despite Britain's 'peculiar and sovereign authority upon the ocean.--Gerard Helferich "Wall Street Journal"

Most naval history focuses on battles between national fleets, and so the swaggering history of the Revolution's American privateers may have sailed past some readers. Eric Jay Dolin's comprehensive effort helps correct that oversight. . . . [Rebels at Sea is] fascinating.--Tim Queeney "American History"

The bestselling maritime historian returns with a study of privateering activity during the Revolutionary War and its role in bolstering the Colonial cause . . . In this exciting narrative, Dolin, a 2020 Kirkus Prize finalist for A Furious Sky, demonstrates how privateering was a key element in America's ability to secure independence . . . The author digs deep into the whole enterprise . . . In this characteristically well-researched history, Dolin describes the vital activities of two main types of privateers . . . The author also explores in fascinating detail the desperate circumstances of captured Americans aboard British prison ships . . . A thrilling, unique contribution to the literature on the American Revolution.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

There may be no better read for an American Revolution history lover this summer than Eric Jay Dolin's latest Rebels at Sea, a look at the forgotten role of the privateer during America's battle for independence. . . . [It] presents a great introduction to this hidden corner of American history.--Greg Young "The Bowery Boys Podcast Bookshelf"