Ever since people started venturing onto the sea, others have been waiting to waylay them. The word "Pirate" is synonymous with images of Jack Sparrow, Long John Silver or Captain Hook. Of course the reality of piracy is that it was (and still is) a vicious, deadly business where shipwreck, starvation and death lurk around the corner.

In his latest book, pirate expert Angus Konstam sails through the brutal history of piracy, from the raiders who plagued the Ancient Mediterranean, through the Vikings, Medieval Pirates, Elizabethan Sea Dogs, Buccaneers, and on to the "Golden Age of Piracy" around the turn of the 18th century. This section is the core of the book, and the author follows the exploits of such notorious pirate figures as Blackbeard, "Black Bart" Roberts, "Black Sam" Bellamy, "Calico Jack" Rackam, and of course Anne Bonny & Mary Read.

Konstam then examines the era of the privateers who flourished during two centuries of European warfare. Next, he turns to the Chinese pirates whose confederations had become big business, and the rise of pirate "kingdoms" around the Indian Ocean and the Far East. Finally Konstam then looks at the phenomenon of the modern pirate, preying on modern super tankers with all the advantages of modern technology - speedboats, radar, satellite navigation and AK-47's. The book concludes with a fascinating chapter on the Pirates of Fiction.

By separating the realities of piracy from Hollywood-inspired fiction, and by tracing the development of piracy through the centuries, this book gives a realistic vision of what piracy actually involves and tells a detailed story of some of the most famous pirates in history.

If you only buy one pirate book in your life, this is the one - the most comprehensive and thoroughly-researched book on piracy you'll ever find.
Most pirate books are aimed at children - this exposé is definitely for adult's only!

Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Osprey Publishing ISBN-10: 1846032407 ISBN-13: 978-1846032400