Reviews for Fact or Fiction

The average rating for Fact or Fiction based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-09-30 00:00:00 John Monahan A great resource for young readers who are interested in the life of pirates. Filled with great illustrations and photographs, readers will learn the history, lifestyle, and people that made pirating so famous. A great book to add to your non fiction collection.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-07-16 00:00:00 Abdul Bari I like that the author set out to distinguish fact from fiction and said in the introduction there is some truth to all of the ideas of pirates: the hooks for a hand, parrots and handsome buccaneers, but they're only half the story. At least they didn't squash those notions. I also thought it was cool how he said they're arranged by area, because every seafaring nation had pirates, that were both men and women. I wasn't interested in hearing about modern day pirates because it's not exciting and they're just dangerous, murdering criminals. Crazy how what was "romantic"--or can be--in the past is so awful in modern times. But it is. Pirates would go after anything of value, not just cargoes of treasure, such as barrels of pepper. How interesting! It was so cool that they showed the regions where piracy took place. The Mediterranean, Northern Europe, Indian Ocean, Far East seas, and the Caribbean is the most famous of all. Pirate hunting grounds had narrow, busy shipping channels, hiding places, able to go ashore for repairs and unload booty, and waters that were rarely patrolled by the navies. It was so cool learning that the oldest pirate stories come from the Mediterranean. Vikings were the most feared pirates in medieval times. They had ferocious carvings on their boats which scared people. They would go far upriver, land at places like monasteries, steal all they could and then quickly leave before defenses could be gathered. The sarcasm of the author was really evident when talking of The Pirates of Penzance, which I couldn't believe came out in 1879. I know it from A Cinderella Story. He said they are sherry-drinking softies who never attacked orphans bcuz they were orphans themselves, and "to their surprise (they were dumb as well as soft)" every ship they capture was manned by orphans. "They turned out to be wayward nobleman who needed only to be loved." That sounds terrible! Learning that Spain considered the "New World" territories the Spanish Main was neat.  I liked learning about the galleon. Pirates wouldn't risk an attack if this ship was part of a convoy or under sail; they only attacked if it was alone or at anchor which were some great details. Galleons had the advantage of their tall height and guns, so pirates attacked from the stern which only had a few cannons. All pirates carried a knife. They could use them to cut ropes or stab people. Dirks were made to stab someone between the ribs and pierce the heart. It was crazy how buccaneers were Europeans who illegally moved to the Caribbean who turned to piracy. They were forced out by the Spanish and moved to Jamaica, where the governors ignored their piracy as long as they accepted commissions to attack the Spanish vessels. They called themselves "Brethren of the Coast," and were considered navy for hire. The picture of Captain Morgan's "cunning stunt" was so cute because it showed a big moon over the water and a fake pirate, a red jacket thrown over a post and cloth tied over a pile of rope on top to make a head. I didn't really get it, but somehow he tricked the Spanish into thinking his was a man-of-war. It needed a lot more detail. I was surprised to learn that even Anne Bonny and Mary Read had to disguise themselves as men because there was no place for women on board shop. And that cabin boys might do the domestic work on ship. That they were either captured or pressed into service and had to fetch and carry things for the crew. It was surprising that many pirates had wives. I wouldn't have guessed. But they left them ashore. It was interesting that pirates led 2 or 3 lives. When they returned from piracy and lived on shore they were ordinary citizens, many with wives and children. When they went to see they looked for ships to plunder. And when they stole riches they could spend all of it in a night. It really put it into perspective that a captain was considered successful if his crew deserted and went home with their loot. If he wasn't successful they mutinied.  I was so shocked that the British Navy keel hauled people more often than pirates. I wouldn't have expected something so barbaric from them. I liked hearing about the tactics pirates had. They depended on surprise, speed and terror. They would surprise their victims by hiding in a creek or bay and then suddenly appear, or to find a ship at anchor and attack at dawn. They could disguise their ship and free and only reveal their identity when it was too late. For speed they had to catch their victims as fast as they could, attack and then escape before help could arrive. For terror they had to rely on a reputation and appearance, so they had to appear as scary as they could. Pirates did terrible things just to build up a fearsome reputation, not out of bloodthirstiness.  Ships were the most vulnerable when they were attacked from the bow or stern, because their cannons couldn't attack the enemy. Pirates would come at the stern and shoot the men on deck. Those with skill would shoot through the ropes so the ship couldn't sail away. They also jammed the rudder and climbed aboard to steal. I had never heard that pirates dragged ropes to slow their ship down to make it look like they were Merchant's weighed down by cargo. It was so sad that some pirates might have dressed as women and their victims would relax seeing a woman on board because they thought they were safe from attack. That's a mean trick! Britain and its colonies preferred to hang those convicted of piracy. They usually took place in Wapping, London. Pirates were read a sermon, addressed the crowds and then were executed. I had never heard that their bodies were left swinging until they were washed by the tide three times, to show that the world had been cleansed of evil. And that the head was probably stuck on a pole as a warning. Crews were rare to be hanged, which is something I hadn't thought about. Many crewman claimed they had been forced into it. The rules on board ship were interesting. Anyone that was lazy and didn't clean his gun would lose his share of the booty. Anyone that stole from another crew member had their nose and ears slit open. They didn't allow gambling with money and cards. Those who brought a woman on board ship disguised were killed. I didn't even know there were musicians, but they got to have one day off. They couldn't leave the crew until they'd made 1,000 pounds. If someone lost a limb they were compensated 800 silver dollars. It was a good point that he made that pirates wanted to avoid gunfights. They all wanted to strike and escape as fast as they could. It was interesting that the gunners would shoot cannonballs at the sea so they would skim and hit the other ship at the waterline. And they would shoot out shrapnel and double balls (two cannonballs attached by chains) at the rigging to do the most damage. This just felt a little incomplete. There was only a little information on each topic, so nothing was delved into as much as I would have liked. It was just little tidbits of information. Most of the book was about areas that I didn't know and wasn't really interested in, like Far East. I was more interested in pirates of the Caribbean and more local areas like between the U.S. and England. Some of the information was too technical, about the politics and economies and I didn't understand what was being said. The good thing about the book is that it isn't your typical kid's book. It was free of those simple, short sentences and was written for adults really so I didn't feel bad reading it.