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Pirates: Predators of the Sea
Pirate culture has occupied our imaginations for generations. But what were pirates really like? Here, take a tour of piracy from the ancient world through modern times, discovering the truth behind the myths. Perfect for a coffee table and substantial enough for any student of history, Pirates is the total package for anyone with a taste for adventure.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 2011
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149 people want to read
About the author
Angus Konstam
220 books62 followersAngus Konstam is a Scottish writer of popular history. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised on the Orkney Islands, he has written more than a hundred books on maritime history, naval history, historical atlases, with a special focus on the history of piracy.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 17, 2014
This is the most wide-ranging study of piracy I've read, starting in the 13th century BC and ending in modern times, and the illustrations and maps are beautiful. I especially liked the reproductions of contemporary woodcuts and the inclusion of paintings by Howard Pyle. It's a mostly chronological study and very readable, with the exception of the section on the Golden Age of piracy, which is mostly just a string of mini-biographies with little context for how those men interacted. The first chapter is all about the history of the pirate ship, from the earliest galleys to the speedboats of the modern day, and that was particularly interesting. It's a great overview, I think, very interesting, but not as useful for my purposes because there are neither endnotes nor bibliography. I'm not going to mark it down for lack of endnotes, because it's not that sort of book, but I always like to see a list of suggestions for further reading, and I see no reason why that shouldn't have been included, especially given the author's vast list of qualifications to write this.
May 14, 2021
Nowadays, the words ‘pirate’ and ‘piracy’ will resonate differently with people worldwide. I would venture to say that for the second of these, the response would be negative (the stealing of one’s “personal property” is a definite no-no), whereas ‘pirate’ might involve experiencing a rather delightful mix of colourfulness, wildly adventurous tales in exotic places, romantically dashing swashbuckling heroes, with lots of exciting action and derring-do, and all of this peppered with the allure of secret island locations containing hidden treasure troves of gold and jewellery.
The latter response is very much the product of our Western media’s admiration and glorification of individualistic endeavour, whether righteous or misdirected, wherever it might be found. In this regard, the narratives about the pirates of the Spanish Main in the Caribbean take pride of place.
This book acknowledges this bias, and also devotes much to these pirates and their activities, but the real intent of its authors is to place pirates and piracy within the larger context of global activity in this regard. We are provided with details of the various types of ships used and the weapons employed, the various titles used for them (e.g. corsairs; Sea Rovers/Dogs; privateers; etc.), types of dress adopted, and illustrations of the flags they used, their more or less communal style of living, and even their moral codes.
Basic information on all these matters are dealt with in this book, stemming from the Ancient World, through the Middle Ages and the Barbary Coast, the Far East, and, of course, the Spanish Main, and even reaches to the 20th-c and modern forms of sea piracy. It thus presents a much larger picture of this cruel human penchant for piracy on the high seas, and also links this activity often as consequences to the relevant social, political and even religious concerns of their respective times; nor does it shy away from the less salubrious by-products (hypocrisies, suspicions, avariciousness, double-standards, back-stabbing, etc.) which accompany power-grabs and military incursions by the controlling states and governments involved.
The book is illuminating, fun, but also sobering and corrective of false populist impressions. It is lavishly illustrated, not only with colourful drawings and pictures, but also has clearly drawn and impressively detailed colour maps of the various areas it deals with (something I personally found perhaps the most instructive and fascinating of all). It should serve as a useful and tantalising introduction to an engaging subject that appears to be unappreciated or at best understated in most histories of humanity.
The latter response is very much the product of our Western media’s admiration and glorification of individualistic endeavour, whether righteous or misdirected, wherever it might be found. In this regard, the narratives about the pirates of the Spanish Main in the Caribbean take pride of place.
This book acknowledges this bias, and also devotes much to these pirates and their activities, but the real intent of its authors is to place pirates and piracy within the larger context of global activity in this regard. We are provided with details of the various types of ships used and the weapons employed, the various titles used for them (e.g. corsairs; Sea Rovers/Dogs; privateers; etc.), types of dress adopted, and illustrations of the flags they used, their more or less communal style of living, and even their moral codes.
Basic information on all these matters are dealt with in this book, stemming from the Ancient World, through the Middle Ages and the Barbary Coast, the Far East, and, of course, the Spanish Main, and even reaches to the 20th-c and modern forms of sea piracy. It thus presents a much larger picture of this cruel human penchant for piracy on the high seas, and also links this activity often as consequences to the relevant social, political and even religious concerns of their respective times; nor does it shy away from the less salubrious by-products (hypocrisies, suspicions, avariciousness, double-standards, back-stabbing, etc.) which accompany power-grabs and military incursions by the controlling states and governments involved.
The book is illuminating, fun, but also sobering and corrective of false populist impressions. It is lavishly illustrated, not only with colourful drawings and pictures, but also has clearly drawn and impressively detailed colour maps of the various areas it deals with (something I personally found perhaps the most instructive and fascinating of all). It should serve as a useful and tantalising introduction to an engaging subject that appears to be unappreciated or at best understated in most histories of humanity.
May 15, 2017
Actual Rating: 4.7 Stars
April 9, 2012
Pirates: Predators of the Seas: An Illustrated History
by Angus Konstam is an excellent survey of piracy from the earliest historical records to modern times. Konstam is faithful to the historical sources without editorializing. This is a good read that provides an excellent historical survey from classical to modern times. The usual suspects are addressed but in a way that provides new details to old retellings by other authors.
His summaries are succinct, though their are times when I wanted him to provide more detail. I realize providing too much detail would run counter to the intention of a writing a survey work. Overall, I think Konstam's book will encourage others to delve deeper into pirate lore.
The book is amply illustrated with gorgeous color art. The illustrations are not only pertinent to the work, but also help to amplfy the written material with yet another layer of relevant information.
I would recommend this book to teenagers though adults, who want to learn more about the problem of piracy.
His summaries are succinct, though their are times when I wanted him to provide more detail. I realize providing too much detail would run counter to the intention of a writing a survey work. Overall, I think Konstam's book will encourage others to delve deeper into pirate lore.
The book is amply illustrated with gorgeous color art. The illustrations are not only pertinent to the work, but also help to amplfy the written material with yet another layer of relevant information.
I would recommend this book to teenagers though adults, who want to learn more about the problem of piracy.
April 28, 2009
very fun book to peruse!
July 9, 2022
Konstam is up to his usual standard, with solid text and great illustrations and maps.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews