Buccaneers and Pirates: Book Review

Fourth Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Pirates and Buccaneers by Frank R. Stockton, Dover Publications, 2007.

Genre: Non-fiction

Pirates and Buccaneers is a collection of true stories about some famous and some not so famous pirates and buccaneers.  The pirates and buccaneers in this book range from Captain Morgan, Captain Kidd, and Blackbeard to L’Olonnois, Richard Worley, and Major Stede Bonnet (not to be confused with Anne Bonny one of the few female in the history of pirates).  For each and every one of the spotlighted pirates in the book there is a sort of mini biography which teaches the reader important things about the cutthroats.   In this collection of stories a reader will learn how pirates and buccaneers originated, the difference between a pirate and a buccaneer, and some of the biggest pirate and buccaneer sea battles and pillages ever.

The book jacket reads “Stockton writes of a grim subject in a spirit both comic and romantic.”

The author of this book, Frank R. Stockton, does a great job keeping the stories of these pirates interesting instead of just droning on with facts he injects so of his own opinions throughout.  In the beginning of the book Stockton tells the reader what his view of a pirate of was when he was a kid.  I found it very interesting to find out another person’s feelings and views towards pirates when they were very young. This book is very different from the other books I have read this year because it is not Fantasy.  In the end I was surprised that I would enjoy a non fiction so much.

“Among all the pirates who have figured in history, legend, or song, there is one whose name stands preëminent as the typical hero of the dreaded black flag.  The name of this man will instantly rise in the mind of almost every reader, for when we speak of pirates we always think of Captain Kidd.” (291)

  When I was younger I used to be obsessed with pirates as almost any little boy is.  My obsession with pirates has since ceased to be but my interest in pirates is still present.  I still enjoy learning about pirates and if they had a course that was about pirates in school I would probably take it.  To me there is something about pirates that draws me to them, maybe it’s their heartlessness, ferocity, or their recklessness all I know is that I will always be intrigued by them.