Pirates & Smugglers (Kingfisher Knowledge)

From School Library Journal Grade 5-7–Through stunning illustrations and engaging text, this book makes remarkably clear the fact that pirates have always been and continue to be vicious, greedy, and scary dudes (and dudettes). From the first section, dealing with ancient pirates who terrorized the Mediterranean, through today's outlaws, this book is fascinating. Photographs from the movies mix with drawings and reproductions to clarify the text. Many illustrations are graphic, which should appeal to students already enthralled with the smugglers' bloodthirsty ways. Captain Kidd, a Scottish pirate, is shown as a rotting corpse, chained and hanging as a reminder to all not to succumb to such crimes. Al Capone, not really a pirate in the classic sense of the word, nevertheless gets a mention because he smuggled illegal alcohol. The author explains that while the old-timers dealt in slavery and gold and the like, modern outlaws are drawn to exotic wildlife, illicit drugs, and arms. Like Milton Meltzer's fine