"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me," might echoes in the readers mind as they peruse this tome of most famous pirates. Part of Capstone's "Blazer" series (high interest, low vocabulary), Jenson-Elliott gives a brief introduction from the 1500s to 1730s. Sidebars feature highlighted vocabulary and facts for each chapter. The Barbarossa brothers often sold the crew and passengers of captured ships into slavery. Sir Francis Drake may have been the first to sail around the world, but he was also an English privateer_he was paid by his country to steal other ships and goods. Black Bart liked to dress in fancy clothing. One of Ireland's most known pirates was a woman_Grace O'Malley. She owned at least five castles and all the land around them.

Cheng Shih took her husband's place on the sea and commanded more than 1,500 ships and 80,000 pirates. Nonfiction support material concludes the text.