"A Global History of Piracy: From Vikings to Somali Pirates" is the book of Peter Lage, a lecturer at the Center for Political Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. As a research expert on maritime history and piracy, Peter Lage analyzes the following core questions in detail in this book: Why do pirates appear? And why do you keep being banned? What are the similarities and differences between the three major pirate groups—the pirates on the Atlantic coast, the Mediterranean coast, and the East China Sea coast? From the Vikings in the Middle Ages to the modern Somali pirates, the author deeply explores the motives and development process of pirates' plundering; explaining that pirates are not only private gangs that run rampant across the world, but they are also tools and chess pieces for mutual games and confrontations between maritime empires in various eras. Behind the repeated bans on pirates is the huge influence of regional geopolitics.
Reader comments
The content of this book is really fascinating! It interpreted pirates from a new perspective and made me understand that pirates are not only evil men who burn, kill and loot, but their existence and development are also closely related to geopolitics. Moreover, the author's writing style is also very vivid. For example, the description of the "Changsheng" tragedy feels like watching a movie, which is very graphic. This reminded me of some real events in history, and also gave me a better understanding of the lives and experiences of people of that era. All in all, this is a great book worth reading!
The content of this book is really fascinating! It interpreted pirates from a new perspective and made me understand that pirates are not only evil men who burn, kill and loot, but their existence and development are also closely related to geopolitics. Moreover, the author's writing style is also very vivid. For example, the description of the "Changsheng" tragedy feels like watching a movie, which is very graphic. This reminded me of some real events in history, and also gave me a better understanding of the lives and experiences of people of that era. All in all, this is a great book worth reading!