A history of piracy from the ancient world through the golden age, revealing techniques of terror and fear used by pirates against their victims.
Alfred S. Bradford is the John Saxon professor of ancient history at the University of Oklahoma. He earned his PhD in classical languages and literature from the University of Chicago. He served with the 1/27th infantry in Vietnam. He has been a research assistant and a member at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.
At the center of the book's jacket illustration, a bearded,
bloodthirsty pirate captain brandishes a cutlass with which he is
about to split an embattled naval officer's skull. Desperate men
shooting, slashing, stabbing, and throttling one another surround
the captain and the officer. The dead and dying litter the deck.
Prospective readers might assume that this scene, when considered
with the black flag that is part of the title, indicates the book
is about piracy from the early 1600s to about 1725. If so, they
would be dead wrong! . . . There is a good deal of material on
Greek and Roman piracy that will probably be new to all but the
most dedicated piracy buffs. Recommended. General collections and
public libraries.
*Choice*
In this accessible narrative, Bradford surveys more than 2,000
years of piracy around the world. He begins with a description of
the exploits of Odysseus. Other topics include the Vikings, the
Barbary pirates, and the notorious Dragon Lady, leader of the
pirates of the South China coast. Bradford concludes by examining
the similarities between pirates and terrorists.
*Reference & Research Book News*
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