Adam Decker, three former officers, and several members of their previous crew are reunited in this privateer’s sequel. The crew is once again offered ownership of a retired US Navy warship if they accept and complete the task of hunting down and capturing an old friend and their former weapons officer Cyrus Ko. Cy, now an international criminal, has organized and is leading a group of Somali pirates in raiding merchant freighters throughout the Gulf of Aden. Their adventures take the crew and their new ship around the world where they experience the glories and dangers of real-world marauding.

When Adam Decker and three fellow former US Navy officers set out to start a unique cruise-line business by purchasing and reconditioning a mothballed US Navy warship, they soon learn that they have vastly underestimated the costs. Enter Mr. Pratt, a mysterious gentleman who offers to help resolve the company's financial troubles-if they agree to sail into the Arabian Gulf and perform a "service" for his client, the country of Kuwait. The officers and crew are ill prepared for the challenges that they face as they transit to the Arabian Gulf where the operation escalates to a powerful climax.

Named a "Notable Naval Book of 2012" by Proceedings magazine, Pirate Alley is now available in paperback. The book provides an in-depth look at every aspect of Somali piracy, from how the pirates operate to how the actions of a relative handful of youthful criminals and their bosses have impacted the world economy. It explores the debate over the recently adopted practice of putting armed guards aboard merchant ships, and focuses on the best management practices that are changing the ways that ships are outfitted for travel through what’s known as the High-Risk Area. Readers will learn that the consequence of protecting high quality targets such as container ships and crude oil carriers may be that pirates turn to crime on land, such as the kidnapping of foreigners.

For thousands of years pirates, privateers, and seafaring raiders have terrorized the ocean voyager and coastal inhabitant, plundering ship and shore with impunity. From the victim's point of view, these attackers were not the rebellious, romantic rulers of Neptune's realm, but savage beasts to be eradicated, and those who went to sea to stop them were heroes. Engaging and meticulously detailed, Pirate Hunting chronicles the fight against these plunderers from ancient times to the present and illustrates the array of tactics and strategies that individuals and governments have employed to secure the seas. Benerson Little lends further dimension to this unending battle by including the history of piracy and privateering, ranging from the Mycenaean rovers to the modern pirates of Somalia. He also introduces associated naval warfare; maritime commerce and transportation; the development of speed under oar, sail, and steam; and the evolution of weaponry. More than just a vivid account of the war that seafarers and pirates have waged, Pirate Hunting is invaluable reading in a world where acts of piracy are once more a significant threat to maritime commerce and voyagers. It will appeal to readers interested in the history of piracy, anti-piracy operations, and maritime, naval, and military history worldwide.

For centuries, stories of pirates have captured the imagination of people everywhere. But the recent gangs of daring, ragtag pirates off the coast of Somalia, hijacking huge ships owned by international conglomerates, have brought the scourge of piracy into the modern era. While the world sees nothing but opportunistic bands of local bandits running riot, Jay Bahadur, the only Western journalist to venture so deeply into this world, truly sees how it operates.In Deadly Waters, Bahadur ventures to Puntland, a region in north-eastern Somalia, and tells of the pirates' lives beyond the attack skiffs: how they spend their money, how they think, and why they risk their lives in often suicidal missions. In the remote pirate havens of Somalia, Bahadur sits down and talks with some of the pirates, their cheeks bulging with khat (the local drug of choice), their mobile phones ringing as the men conduct their business. Bahadur also talks to some of the security personnel tasked with combating piracy, as well as with former pirate hostages who lived on their ships for months while awaiting news of a ransom.Deadly Waters is a major first book by a young freelance journalist who managed to embed himself in one of the world's most dangerous places.

“In his lively, vivid history of pirates, Lehr finds some striking continuities from ancient to modern times.” —Foreign Affairs A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year In the twenty-first century, pirates have regained a central place in Western culture, thanks to an odd combination of a blockbuster film franchise and a dramatic rise in piracy around the Horn of Africa. In this global history of the phenomenon, maritime terrorism and piracy expert Peter Lehr casts fresh light on pirates. Ranging from the Vikings and Wako pirates in the Middle Ages to modern-day Somali pirates, Lehr delves deep into what motivates pirates and how they operate. He also illuminates the state’s role in the development of piracy throughout history: from privateers sanctioned by Queen Elizabeth to pirates operating off the coast of Africa taking the law into their own hands. After exploring the structural failures that create fertile ground for pirate activities, Lehr evaluates the success of counter-piracy efforts—and the reasons behind its failures. “Informative and often entertaining . . . Lehr traces the global history of piracy, quoting judiciously from an array of historians and sources to make his case” —The Times “Groundbreaking . . . provides a detailed analysis of the causes of piracy [and] reveals the operations of pirates ignored in most previous histories.” —David Cordingly, author of Under the Black Flag “Policymakers would do well to read it, as would aspiring pirates in search of career advice.” —Financial Times

On 2 August 1708 Captain Woodes Rogers set sail from Bristol with two ships, the Duke and Duchess, on an epic voyage of circumnavigation that was to make him famous. His mission was to attack, plunder and pillage Spanish ships wherever he could. And, as Graham Thomas shows in this tense and exciting narrative, after a series of pursuits and sea battles he returned laden with booty and with a reputation as one of the most audacious and shrewd fighting captains of the age. He was then appointed governor of the Bahamas by George I with the task of suppressing the pirates who roamed this corner of the Caribbean and preyed on its shipping. He was equally successful as a privateer and pirate-hunter in an age when brutality and ruthlessness were the law of the sea.