Eyewitness Pirate

Here is a spectacular and informative guide to the dangerous and adventurous life of piracy, privateering, and buccaneering. Superb, full color photographs of weapons, ships, flags, maps, and treasure offer a unique and revealing "eyewitness" view of pirate life on the high seas. See a pirate's cutlass and pistols, a letter of marquee - the pirate's license, a hoard of pirate treasure, a real pirate costume and the many different kinds of Jolly Roger. Learn how pirates attacked a Spanish treasure ship, why European kings and queens encouraged piracy, which Caribbean islands were pirate hideouts, what pirate ate at sea and why women pirates disguised themselves as men. Discover what kinds of ship the pirates sailed in, how governments tried to stamp out piracy and why skillful navigation was so important to pirates, and much, much more!

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8While stunning, full-color photographs and illustrations continue to be the hallmark of this series, one shouldn't overlook the accompanying texts. Platt looks at the subject of piracy from the time of ancient Greece to the 19th century in double-page topic treatments. Readers are introduced to privateers, buccaneers, and corsairs, and told how they differ. Illustrations of various types of pirate ships, and the merchant vessels that were most often their targets, are particularly effective. Unfortunately, maps are few and far between and those included are too small and poorly labeled to be of much use. Building contains all of the virtues of other ``Eyewitness'' books, but is hampered by trying to cover too much territory. The history of building techniques, materials, and philosophy from earth-and-thatch houses to cathedrals and skyscrapers is crammed into the 64-page format. Some of the technical terms introduced, e.g., ``plinth,'' are not adequately explained, and there is no glossary. Despite their drawbacks, both books are suitable additions to libraries.David N. Pauli, Missoula Public Library, MT