A Thousand Years of Pirates

Beginning with Vikings and conquistadores, this account of pirate history chronicles swashbucklers up through the 19th century, accompanied by alluring illustrations. Gilkerson's paintings have exceptional detail, as moonlit seascapes evoke both danger and grandeur. The notorious Blackbeard, described in his own time as “altogether an idea of a fury, from hell,” is shown armed with multiple muskets and a menacing glare. Gilkerson's affection for the subject is clear, especially in an epilogue about a sailing trip with a few modern-day smugglers in the Caribbean: “the cast of characters had not changed, nor the moon, nor the dark seas sliding under us.” Readers should be entranced both by the art and the visceral descriptions of life at sea. Ages 10–up. (Nov.)