Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Eyewitness: Pirate
Photographer: Tina Chambers
Nonfiction Series
For ages 10 and up
DK CHILDREN, 2007 ISBN: 978-0756630058
Who were pirates and why did they take up their highly dangerous way of life? These questions and many others are answered in this fascinating book. Pirating is certainly a way of life which has been around since ancient times and which is even found in certain parts of the world today. Not only was it a means for men to acquire wealth but pirating also provided men with a way to get away from being a sailor on a regular ship. As a pirate a man had more control over his own destiny and was able to protest if he thought he was being treated unfairly. A common seaman on a man of war in the in the time of Queen Elizabeth, for example, had no rights and to him pirating must have had a very definite attraction.
Richard Platt tells us all about the different kinds of pirates who ruled the seas at different times in world history. There were the buccaneers, the corsairs, women pirates, privateers who were semi-legitimate, and many others. We also get to see from the heavily annotated photographs and reproduced illustrations what tools the pirates used, what they wore, what they stole, what their ships looked like and much more.
Packed with information and presented in a way that is easy on the eye, this is the perfect book for a reader who has an interest in pirate history and lore.
