Piracy: The Complete History (General Military) - Hardcover

Konstam, Angus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846032407 ISBN 13: 9781846032400

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, 2008

Synopsis

When we think of pirates we conjure up images of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd, or even fictional pirates such as Long John Silver, Captain Hook and Captain Jack Sparrow. These historical characters all hailed from one period. Known as "The Golden Age of Piracy", this period only lasted around a quarter of a century - from around 1700 until 1725. However, piracy has been around a lot longer than that. In fact ever since people started venturing onto the sea, others were waiting to waylay them.

Pirate expert Angus Konstam sails through the brutal history of piracy, from the pirates who plagued the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to the Viking raids on northern Europe through the golden age of piracy and on to the era of privateers who flourished during a period of constant warring on the European continent. He then examines the West's initial encounters with Eastern pirates off the Chinese coast whose confederations had sprung up in the 17th century and whose actions were severely hampering the West by the 19th century. Finally Konstam examines the phenomenon of the modern pirate, preying on modern super tankers. The reality of piracy is that it is a vicious, often deadly business. By separating the realities of piracy from the Hollywood-inspired fiction, and by tracing the development of piracy through the centuries, this book gives a realistic vision of what piracy actually involves.

The book includes approximately 100 color and black & white images, eight maps, a glossary of sea terms, notes on sources and a bibliography.

Contents
Chapter 1: Piracy in the Ancient World; Chapter 2: Medieval Pirates; Chapter 3: The Sea Dogs of the Renaissance; Chapter 4: Mediterranean Corsairs; Chapter 5: The Buccaneers of the Caribbean; Chapter 6: The Golden Age of Piracy; Chapter 7: The Pirate Round; Chapter 8: The Last of the Pirates; Chapter 9 The Chinese Pirates; Chapter 10: Modern Pirates; Chapter 11: Pirates in Fiction; Conclusion

About this title

About the Author:

Angus Konstam is a prolific author, with over 50 historical titles in print. Over 30 of these have been for Osprey. His piratical titles include The History of Pirates (Lyons Press, New York, 1999), Pirates! and Pirates, 1680-1730 (both Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2000) and The Pirate Ship (Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2003). Other publications include History of Shipwrecks, A Historical Atlas of Exploration, and The Spanish Galleon. He studied history and archaeology at the Scottish Universities of Aberdeen and St. Andrews, and is also a former naval officer, an underwater archaeologist and a museum curator. He has advised the archaeologists who excavated Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge, and has made several TV appearances as a piratical "talking head" for the History Channel. His latest work is Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate (Wiley, New York, 2006), which is publishing in early June. The author lives in Edinburgh, UK.

Review:

Piracy is "well-crafted, carefully-indexed, and smartly produced. Piracy's 320 pages includes maps, reproductions of engravings, and 16 color pages of period illustrations and modern photographs. As with many books on the subject, vivid characters often drive the story... The author clarifies his terms and identifies his sources and occasionally traces how original data were 'improved' over time... In sum, Piracy: The Complete History is a confident introduction to a vast subject from an expert author." -Joseph Gibbs, Naval History, Magazine of the US Naval Institute (February 2009)

"Without question, the strength of this book is its examination of a striking amount of global pirate history. Konstam begins in the ancient world, covers many chronological eras and geographical zones, including medieval pirates, the Renaissance sea dogs, the Mediterranean corsairs, the 'golden age' and it's decline, pirates in the Indian Ocean, Chinese pirates, modern piracy and fictional pirates... It features color plates and black and white illustrations... For those looking to study world pirates over the longue duree, this book is a worthwhile purchase." -Cherly Fury, The Northern Mariner/Le Marin du Nord (March 2009)

"Who doesn''t like hearing about pirates? And if my current retirement plan doesn't work out... maybe I could be a pirate ...? Kidding aside, recent events bring piracy to the forefront and it is a fascinating subject. If you want to read an in-depth history that provides the complex history -- you must read Piracy: the Complete History by Angus Konstam. This book is very detailed and contains [much] surprising information..." -Nancy Mehegan, www.vaboomer.com (May 2009)

Konstam "offers a thorough suvery of piracy from ancient to modern times. His survey offeres more of a military approach than the usual light history, probing strategy, separating fact from fiction, and tracing piracy's development through the centuries. Especially reconmmended for nautical and military history libraries, the depth of coverage and research exceeds most competing books popularizing the history of piracy." -The Bookwatch (December 2008)

"Angus Konstam is the pirate expert. He discusses the 'Golden Age of Piracy' & such fascinating characters as Captain Kidd & Blackbeard. He separates the Hollywood-inspired fiction with the realities of piracy."- Neopoprealsim Journal (July 2008)

Reviews of Author's Previous Works:

On Scourge of the Seas (Osprey, March 2007):

"Adult/High School--Although Jack Sparrow is not mentioned, teens interested in learning more about the real lives of the men and women who were maritime raiders should find this book most appealing." -School Library Journal

On Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate (Wiley, 2006):

"Konstam makes a thorough, exciting examination of 18th century pirate life, with wonderful details..." Publishers Weekly

"Konstam is a former naval officer and marine archaeologist who has written extensively on piracy. He has provided an interesting and exciting biography of an enigmatic figure..." Booklist

About this edition

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1846032407
• ISBN 13: 9781846032400
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368