Engaging account of past piracy
The Pirate Menace, by Angus Konstam
Anyone looking for an enjoyable introduction to the golden age of piracy would do well to pick up this new book by expert researcher Angus Konstam.
Konstam puts piracy in context as a threat to the global world order, waged by disaffected seafarers – the 'enemies of mankind'. He then goes into the day-to-day lives of pirates and the safe havens they created at Port Royal and Nassau.
He also focuses in on the voyages of some especially famous/notorious buccaneers, including Blackbeard and Bartholomew Roberts, and how they (and eventually Caribbean piracy in general) were finally suppressed by government-sponsored pirate hunters.
Of interest to those with a bit more knowledge of pirate history, there is also the story of how Caribbean piracy blended into pirate activity off the African coast and in the Indian Ocean.
The Pirate Menace
By Angus Konstam
Osprey, £25
ISBN: 978 14728 57736
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Titanic connections: the other ships on the scene
The Titanic Fleet: the ships involved in the Titanic disaster By Richard M. JonesRichard Jones has explored another aspect of the sinking – the stories of 30 other vessels that were connected in some way to the famous liner.
A different perspective on Titanic's sinking
Titanic’s Lifeboats: Disaster and Survival During the Liner’s Sinking By James W. BancroftFor the true collector, Titanic’s Lifeboats presents the harrowing stories of each of the lifeboats launched on that fateful evening, drawn from the testimonies of the survivors.
Female MN war veterans brought to the fore
Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea, by Nina BakerThe people whose lives Baker explores in Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea are not relatives of hers, but they are part of the Merchant Navy family. They are the Scottish women who served and died in the crews of MN vessels in the First and Second World Wars.
How to 'make it' in the superyacht industry
Superyacht Success, by Brendan O'ShannassyBack in 2022, we reviewed Brendan O'Shannassy's memoir Superyacht Captain. Now Capt O'Shannassy has returned with a new book that focuses on how crew can navigate their careers.