Forthcoming, Potomac Books, February 2010.
To catch a predator—on the high seas.
Describes how merchant vessels, international organizations, and governments have retaliated against pirate attacks over the course of more than four millennia.
Explains the strategies and tactics used by pirate hunters, from the ancient Minoans to modern maritime professionals.
Examines modern piracy and its relationship to terrorism.
For thousands of years pirates, privateers, and sea raiding peoples have terrorized the ocean voyager and coastal inhabitant, plundering ship and shore with impunity. From the victim’s point of view, these attackers were not the rebellious, romantic rulers of Neptune’s Realm, but savage beasts to be excoriated, and those who went to sea to stop them were heroes.
Engaging and meticulously detailed, Pirate Hunting chronicles the fight against these plunderers from antiquity to the present and illustrates the array of tactics and strategies people and governments have employed to secure the seas. Benerson Little lends further dimension to this unending battle by including the history of piracy and privateering, ranging from the Mycenaean rovers to the modern pirates of Somalia. Associated naval warfare, maritime commerce and transportation, the development of speed under oar, sail, and steam, and the evolution of weaponry are also described.
More than just a vivid account of the war seafarers and pirates have waged, Pirate Hunting is invaluable reading in a world where acts of piracy are once more a significant threat to maritime commerce and voyagers. It will appeal to readers interested in the history of piracy, anti-piracy operations, and in maritime, naval, and military history worldwide.
