Pirates

by Collins

An entertaining and authoritative introduction to the world of piracy – history comes to life through a compelling factual narrative and enlightening illustrations. Why did seamen become pirates? What was life like on board a pirate ship? How did they go about plundering the enemy’s ship? What sort of treasure did they capture? ‘Collins Gem Pirates’ vividly explains and illustrates the development of piracy from ancient times to the modern day. It addresses why piracy started and disappeared, but focuses on the so-called 'Golden Age' of piracy in the seventeenth century, debunking the myths that surround this period, and bringing it to life through an exploration of the personalities, vessels and places involved. They were a disciplined bunch, on the whole, with strict codes of conduct to adhere to and severe punishments for those who broke the rules. There is no evidence to suggest that pirates ever made their victims walk the plank; instead, they were more likely to be marooned on an island. Did you know that following his execution, Captain Kidd's body was dipped in tar and hung by chains along the River Thames, as a warning for would-be pirates? Or that the fearsome Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard) plundered over 40 ships, but probably never killed a man until his final battle? Or that captains Anne Bonny and Mary Read spent most of their careers disguised as men, because women on ship were thought to bring bad luck? The mysteries and myths surrounding piracy continue to fascinate children and adults alike. This gripping book provides a real and lively insight into this stimulating bygone era.

Genres: History, Pirates

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tiny volume has a surprising amount of information packed into its 3.25x4.625 inch pages. It starts with a chronology covering the various periods of pirates over the years, starting with The Sea Peoples of c. 1200 b.c. and ends with pirates from the Indonesian area. Between those you'll find Medieval pirates, Caribbean pirates, French corsairs and many, many more.

Moving on to part two we have little snippets of infamous pirates like Mary Read and the Barbarossa Brothers.

Part Three involves ships: types, flags, equipment, maps, weapons and more.

Part Four describes the pirate life: a dose of reality (what life was really like for them, not what the movies potray) the code, dress, treasure, the reasons behind the term "scurvey knave" and much more.

Part Five tells of the era of pirate hunters and the end of the vast pirate pillaging section of history, including trials and executions.

Part Six is an overview of pirates in literature and film and even a little on modern day piracy and wrecked pirate ships found over the years.

The information is presented in a very factual textbook-like way and could potentially be a great little starting resource for those looking for information on piracy. There's even a glossary of nautical terms in the back. Beware of the size I mentioned above. This be it's only drawback, gaarrr...Other than that, I felt the price was a little steep for something so small, but when you crack open its minute pages, you too will probably be surprised at much info there is to be had here. It does make for an easily transportable book. Being so small too, there is not much room for pictures, so don't expect every detail to have an image to go along with it. Now, just don't lose it on the shelf with all your giant books and you have an easy, quick guide on hand.

[Andreas Michaelides · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome little book, anything you want to know about pirates is compacted nicely in this little source of knowledge, I really enjoyed reading it even if I had to keep it really close to my eyes (smile).