Pirate

Swashbuckling heroes or brutal thieves, brave adventurers or lawless sea raiders – pirates remain an ever-popular subject for debate. This new title in the ‘Eye Wonder’ series dispels many of the myths created by films and fiction, explaining instead the historical background to piracy, from raids on Phoenician merchant ships and Barbary Corsairs in the Mediterranean to Privateers and Buccaneers in the Caribbean. DK has drawn on its rich photographic archive to create a highly visual introduction to the topic, with reconstructions of ships at sea and in battle, Jolly Rogers flying, treasure chests overflowing and photographs of artefacts recovered from wrecks such as The Whydah. Information is presented in bite-size chunks, but apart from a few irritatingly brief and mysterious captions, there is a wealth of detail about famous pirates like Blackbeard and William Kidd, facts about life on board ship, arms and punishments, as well as modern-day piracy. Just the book to have to hand when pirate-fever breaks out again next year with the film sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean.