Product Description

The History of Pirates traces piracy from the seas of antiquity to the New World and beyond. It is a thorough, authoritative and memorable portrait of the fascinating world of pirates. Detailed maps bear vivid testimony to the far-ranging exploits of these capricious, sometimes charismatic, and frequently bloodthirsty sea-dogs and highwaymen of the oceans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #380401 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-22
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

From the Back Cover
Piracy flourished in the early 18th century, producing many of the buccaneers whose legendary names have gripped our imaginations: Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Bartholomew Roberts, to name a few. Yet piracy on the high seas existed long before Blackbeard's name struck terror in the hearts of merchant seamen - Julius Caesar was captured by pirates - and it remains a problem today. Modern pirates regularly attack vessels sailing through the South China Sea. The History of Pirates traces piracy from the seas of antiquity to the New World and beyond. It represents a thorough, authoritative, and memorable portrait of the fascinating world of pirates. Detailed maps bear vivid testimony to the far-ranging exploits of these capricious, often charismatic, and frequently bloodthirsty robbers of the high seas. (8 1/2 11, 192 pages, color photos, maps, illustrations) Angus Konstam was formerly Curator of Arms and Armour at the Tower of London, and was also Chief Curator at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West. Konstam's vast knowledge of maritime history, and his study of countless manuscripts and historic objects, have helped to make this book a truly exceptional study. David Cordingly is the editor of A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. He was on the staff of the National Maritime Museum in London for twelve years. He organized multiple exhibitions, including "Pirates: Fact & Fiction." Cordingly graduated from Oxford University, where he studied modern history, and received his doctorate from the University of Sussex.

About the Author
ANGUS KONSTAM has written over a dozen books on piracy, shipwrecks, and exploration for the Atlas series. He has made a lifelong study of maritime history and archaeology, and the history of early European development. He is a museum professional with experience in both Britain and the United States, and holds degrees in history and archaeology.

David Cordingly is the editor of A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. He was on the staff of the National Maritime Museum, London, for twelve years, and organized such exhibitions as ‘The Art of the Van de Veldes’ and the acclaimed and highly successful ‘Pirates: Fact & Fiction’. Cordingly graduated from Oxford University, where he read modern history, and received his doctorate from the University of Sussex.

Customer Reviews

The History of Pirates
The History of Pirates is a great book on pirates! A must have for all pirate buffs!

Good Introduction to Pirates
"History of Pirates" serves as an excellent introduction to pirates. The book contains several maps and brief biographies of several pirates, including Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, and others.

The narrative is easy to read and flows smoothly. If you are looking for a good introduction to pirates, then this book is the one. However, since the biographies are brief, I suggest you go to other pirate books for more detailed histories.

Recommended.

Good but not very indepth
This book isn't bad in that it gives a general overview of piracy throughout history with a large focus on the buccanneers and pirates of the Caribbean and Africa from the 16th to the 18th century.

Some of the chapters (which are only a couple of pages) just give an overview of the time and place while others do focus on individuals. The chapters that do focus on individuals are rather brief in my opinion. Some do go into detail, such as with Henry Morgan but others are given only a couple of pages.

There are plenty of maps and pictures that accompany the chapters but many of these don't really add much to the work itself. The antique maps that are presented are for the most part too small to be of any use.

I would have liked to have seen more diagrams of the ships of the time as well.

This is a good book if you just want some general information, though most of the information contained in here is somewhat common knowledge for anyone who's studied pirates before. That said, this is a good book if you just want a good overview and don't want to dig through the chapters of a more indepth book.