Piracy: The Complete History Hardback - 2008

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

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.