Privateers & Pirates 1730 1830

This is an Osprey book, so you need to think in terms of an adult version of the Eyewitness picture books. You shouldn't expect an exhaustively comprehensive treatment of the subject, after all they tend to be only 1/4 inch thick. So, with expectations aligned, this is a fairly well done treatment of the subject of privateers from the American Revolution through the War of 1812. There are quite a few pictures to compliment the text and the topics covered include their origins, methods, ports and ships. Konstam gives us some brief biographies of a few of the famous names like Haraden, Talbot, Jones, Surcouf, Boyle, Laffite, de Soto and Gibert. An excellent overview suitable for adolescents and adults, for more detail on John Paul Jones you can check Evan Thomas' John Paul Jones, for more of an overview of privateers look for David Starkey's Pirates and Privateers.