A Thousand Years of Pirates

Arrrrrggh!  I love a good pirate yarn and so do my four children.  Over the years we've read everything from Pirateology and The Pirate's Handbook to  Pirate Mom and  Peter and the Starcatchers.  So when a book, black as night except for a mysterious, shimmering skull and crossbones, sailed across my desk, I was quick to commandeer it.  I wasn't disappointed--inside was a story more fascinating than the world of make-believe that often surrounds pirate tales.
A Thousand Years of Pirates by William Gilkerson shows readers just how intertwined the age of world exploration and the age of piracy were.  Short, captivating chapters introduce readers to some of the first pirates, the Vikings, and follow their legacy through to the pirates of the 19th century.  Stories of some of the most famous (and infamous) characters in piracy, along with hand-drawn illustrations, illuminate just who became pirates and why.

A lot of what I thought I knew about pirates was not quite right.  For instance, I thought all pirates were outlaws.  No ho!--many pirates were considered law-abiding citizens, asked by their governments to raid ships and steal treasure!  I thought those flying the Jolly Roger fought all the time.  Not so--one of the most famous pirates, Blackbeard, was known more for terrifying people than for fighting them.  I thought seadogs were all rum-drinking scallywags.  Many, but not all--Captain Bartholomew Roberts drank only tea and dressed up in his best for a fight.  And I definitely thought pirates were in it for the treasure.  Well, maybe they were, but there's more to it.  Learn the rest of the story by dropping by Children's Services and picking up a copy of A Thousand Years of Pirates to enjoy with your young buccaneers.

--Becky K.