The Penguin Book of Pirates is a well curated collection of historical accounts, reminiscences, studies, and essays on pirates edited by Katherine Howe. Released 30th April 2024 by Penguin on their Classics imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook fomats.
Pirates have fascinated the public and been romanticized for centuries. Many were businessmen or women (more or less), some were ruthless psychopaths, but nearly all were larger than life leaving behind legacies of lost treasure, adventures, and legends. This book collects stories and historical accounts from the extant records in more or less chronological order from the 17th-19th centuries.
Records include letters, contemporary accounts, historical records, and some few excerpts from literature (fictional or based loosely on actual history). The editor has done a good job with the annotations throughout and the chapter notes will provide readers with many hours of further reading. The publisher/author have also included a cross referenced index and suggested reading lists.
Four and a half stars. Precisely fulfills the stated purpose efficiently and very well. It's a solid reference, and would be a great choice for public or school library acquisition, home reference, and possibly gift-giving to fans of nautical history.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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