Pirates - Predators of the Seas: An Illustrated History
Ignited by Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow inPirates of the Caribbean, interest in pirates is burgeoning, as Konstam and Kean note in the preface to this colorful reality check about piracy through the ages. Captain Jack owes many of his mannerisms to Rolling Stone Keith Richards, and though no real pirate limned here possesses Richards', or Depp's, star power, many exhibited real charisma, and that, Konstam and Kean show, has kept them alive in historical memory. Pirates having flourished elsewhere than in the Caribbean, the book offers round-the-world coverage but acknowledges that the sea thieves reached their acme with the likes of Hawkins, Blackbeard, and Kidd in . . . the Caribbean! Konstam and Kean also relate what little is known for sure of the famous female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny. With colorful maps and illustrations aplenty, the book constitutes a wonderful starting point for acquainting oneself with the freebooters and buccaneers who were alternately heroes (privateers) and villains (pirates), even in their own day.Mike TribbyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved