cover image The Short and Bloody History of Pirates

The Short and Bloody History of Pirates

John Farman. Lerner Publishing Group, $5.95 (96pp) ISBN 978-0-8225-0844-1

The Short and Bloody History of... series by John Farman kicks off with five titles that present digestible chunks of information alongside comic illustrations. The Short and Bloody History of Ghosts begins by asking ""What are ghosts?"" before exploring such subjects as ""Ghosts Around the World"" and Animal Ghosts (""The most common four-legged phantoms are usually known as hellhounds and take the form of huge black dogs""). A glossary of ghostly lingo, suggestions for further reading and recommended Web sites round out the offering. Highwaymen; Knights; Pirates; and Spies follow the same format, with short bios of some infamous examples.