History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas

Rating:
Summary: A bit disorganized but not as dry as some history I've read.
Review: History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas focuses on piracy in the Caribbean sea, from the 1500s to the early 1800s.

The biggest problem with the book is that it is not particularly well organized. The chapters are relatively well ordered but internal to the chapter, the author will introduce one topic, then drift away from it, before returning to his reported topic. This led me to need to reread some passages, to determine exactly who or what he was writing about. This is particulary evident as he starts to discuss an individual pirate, begins discussing an associated pirate or two, and then returns to the first one.

The information seems accurate enough, but much f it appears to be drawn from the writings of other authors. Fortunately, it is not written from a standard academic (Self-important and wordy) approach and is relatively easy to read. In many places it even seems to draw the reader on.

I would have preferred a more organized approach, and possibly an appendix of famous pirates, but overall I found the book an adequate diversion.