"Franco’s Pirates is an essential read for anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War, naval operations between the World Wars, and the concept of blockade." — The NYMAS Review The Spanish Civil War was won and lost upon the high seas. It was won because the Nationalists had an uninterrupted flow of men and materials while Republican sea lanes were attacked by Fascist warships, submarines, and aircraft—the pirates of the title. These attacks also involved dozens of foreign merchantmen and warships, including American, as well as hundreds of men, women, and boys. The worst affected was the British merchant marine, which dominated Spanish trade—some owners used rust buckets to maximise profits in a trade, which resulted in the loss of 66 British lives. The naval element of the Spanish Civil War began with a rebellion followed by a mutiny and a massacre. Both the German and Italian navies became involved in the naval war, attacking Spanish ships and then British warships and merchantmen. A blockade in the north led to confrontations between the Royal Navy and Nationalist Navy, the mining of a British liner and tales of daring among determined British master mariners. Later in the war there were attacks by Italian surface warships, submarines, and aircraft against foreign shipping in the Mediterranean and Aegean leading to the British and French threatening pirate submarines. This is a story of exploitation, heroism, chauvinism, piracy, international inaction, and espionage which has never been told. It includes details of such things as the first aerial campaign against shipping and the first operational use of sonar against a submarine.

For thousands of years, pirates have terrorized the ocean voyager and the coastal inhabitant, plundered ship and shore, and wrought havoc on the lives and livelihoods of rich and poor alike. Around these desperate men has grown a body of myths and legends—fascinating tales that today strongly influence our notions of pirates and piracy. Most of these myths derive from the pirates of the “Golden Age,” from roughly 1655 to 1725. This was the age of the Spanish Main, of Henry Morgan and Blackbeard, of Bartholomew Sharp and Bartholomew Roberts. The history of pirate myth is rich in action, at sea and ashore. However, the truth is far more interesting. In The Golden Age of Piracy, expert pirate historian Benerson Little debunks more than a dozen pirate myths that derive from this era—from the flying of the Jolly Roger to the burying of treasure, from walking the plank to the staging of epic sea battles—and shows that the truth is far more fascinating and disturbing than the romanticized legends. Among Little’s revelations are that pirates of the Golden Age never made their captives walk the plank and that they, instead, were subject to horrendous torture, such as being burned or hung by their arms. Likewise, epic sea battles involving pirates were fairly rare because most prey surrendered immediately. The stories are real and are drawn heavily from primary sources. Complementing them are colorful images of flags, ships, and buccaneers based on eyewitness accounts. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

"He used his camera like a doctor would use a stethoscope in order to diagnose the state of the heart. His own was vulnerable.", Cartier-Bresson wrote about David Seymour, who liked to be called Chim. Chim is best known as one of the cofounders of photojournalism’s famous cooperative Magnum Photos. Weaving Chim’s life and work, this book discovers this empathetic photographer who has been called "The First Human Rights Photographer". In 1947, Chim was one of the four cofounders of the Magnum Photos cooperative with Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson and George Rodger. He also wrote Magnum’s 1955 bylaws, which are still in effect today. But he is the only one of those famous photographers who does not have a full biography to his name. This book examines his life and work from Poland to France to the Spanish Civil War, his work for British intelligence during World War II, his reportage on Europe’s children after the war, his reportages on Italian actors, illiteracy and religious festivals in Southern Italy, his coverage of Israel’s beginnings before his 1956 death during the Suez war. His complex itinerary is emblematic of the displacements and passages of the XXth century.

The first full account of the naval aspects of the Spanish Civil War.

Junks, an evil alien scourge, are flooding Quad-Gal with terror. Combat K are sent on a mission to find an alien artefact which could win the war all at once.SLAM-dropped to Cloneworld – a planet ravaged by violent civil war – Combat K get caught in a global conflict between augmented mechanised war machines and genetically modified humans who have the ability to clone themselves. Combat K must fight their way to victory to save the Four Galaxies.But how can they possibly succeed, when their main foes are their own elite, deadly clones?

In this lively and engaging new biography, Harry Kelsey shatters the familiar image of Sir Francis Drake. The Drake of legend was a pious, brave, and just seaman who initiated the move to make England a great naval power. Kelsey paints a far more interesting picture of Drake as an amoral privateer who lined his pockets with Spanish booty. 98 illustrations.