I take my two boys to Judo on Friday afternoons after work. This gives me the opportunity to nip into town and back again for thirty minutes or so, whilst they chuck each other around and roll on the floor for a couple of hours. In this brief interlude, I always make a passing visit to the local Oxfam second hand bookshop, so invariably return home with something to add to the library.
Today, I picked up this hardback for a fiver and have had a quick flick through. I have several piratical books on the shelves already but this one is interesting in that it covers not only the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries but also piracy in a broader perspective. I'm particularly interested in the chapter detailing the anti-piracy role of the Royal Navy in China in the early 1900's, in which my great grandfather played a very small but not insignificant role.
A good read over the holidays methinks?
PS The boys passed their grading too!
Well done boys! "anti-piracy role of the Royal Navy in China in the early 1900's, in which my great grandfather played a very small but not insignificant role." Now that's piqued my curiosity!
ReplyDeleteMine too - the RN took up a mighty yet unsung task in the 19th Century after they become the dominant seapower in the world, aiming to destroy Piracy and Slavery. Some fantastic stories there I would love to know more about
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