The Pirate Code: From Honorable Thieves to Modern-Day Villains    by Brenda Ralph Lewis Order:  USA  Can Lyons Press, 2008 (2008) Hardcover, Softcover     Reviewed by Bob Walch Since they are back in the news raiding ships off the coast of Africa, interest in pirates is on the rise. In this entertaining overview of the history of buccaneering that is subtitled From Honorable Thieves to Modern-Day Villains, the author explores the beliefs, actions and organization of pirates from the ancient Greeks to the youths taking to small power boats to waylay tankers, cargo ships and even an occasional passenger vessel. Over 100 illustrations and photos are used in this account of piracy that ranges from 9th century Chinese and 14th century Japanese sea-going thieves to English, French, Spanish, Arab and American marauders that followed at a later time. Besides hearing about the more famous practitioners of the trade, individuals like Captain William Kidd, Henry Morgan and Edward Teach (Blackbeard), you'll be introduced to lesser entities such as Calico Jack Rackham, Stede Bonnet,Christopher Myngs and Francois de l'Olonnais. Highly informative and fun to read, you'll discover this inexpensive volume hard to set aside once you've taken a cursory glance at what it has to offer. It won't take many pages before you are totally captivated by this topic. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews