Pirates of the Spanish Main by Hamilton Cochran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book that covers many aspects of the industry known as piracy. It views them from both the good and bad and does a great job mapping out motivation, action and results. I also like the follow through as to the closing of the careers of these mostly bad guys. The interesting focus near the end of two of the best known of pirates and another about a few female peers were excellent in closing out the volume. The illustrations are outstanding and further underline the world in which the pirate world lived. In that it is an overview, it does what it should in enticing a reader to want to learn much more. So I shall.

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Pirates and Buried Treasure on Florida Islands by Jack Beater

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very good collection of supposedly true pirate stories that took place along the Florida coast. Jack Beater is a good writer who helps make the stories seem true, though there may be more legend than accurate history in the tales. He bases much on the legend of Jose Gaspar and tethers further tales to the legend. There are no footnotes, which doesn’t help the question of what is real and not. Much is based on hear say. Not that I think Beater is trying to pull the wool over one’s eyes. I believe he truly believed the stories he penned. It’s just that over time, many pirate tales have come into question. One assurance is that he does know the geography of Florida and accurately describes the various locations mentioned, thus if the stories may be suspect, locating where the nefarious pirates may have plundered and lived can easily be understood.

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