Piracy is a global threat to international sea-borne trade - the life-blood of modern industrial economies. This volume provides the historical background to the new piracy, its impact on the shipping and insurance industries and also considers the role of international bodies like the UN, and the development of naval measures.

'A bead was discovered in a Viking warrior?s grave, and that discovery led Cat Jarman on an amazing journey which is described in this extraordinary story. That bead, in Cat Jarman?s hands, taught me more about the Vikings than a score of history books. River Kings is an astonishing and compelling triumph' Bernard Cornwell Follow bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman - and the cutting-edge forensic techniques central to her research - as she uncovers epic stories...

These roving pillagers spent the next few hundred years raiding and trading a path across Northern and Western Europe.Except, that?s not quite true. It?s just a convenient place to start the story - a story that has seen radical new discoveries over the past few years.Dr Cat Jarman works on the cutting edge of bioarchaeology, using forensic techniques to research the paths of Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now...

Today most of our knowledge about pirates comes from classics like 'Treasure Island' and the films starring Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley. But who were the real pirates of the Caribbean and where did they come from? And how were they tamed? David Cordingly's book reveals that the true story is at least as gripping as the legends.

August 1897: The Belgica set sail, eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. But the ship soon became stuck fast in the ice of the Bellinghausen sea, condemning the ship's crew to overwintering in Antarctica and months of endless polar night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness, their minds ravaged by the sound of dozens of rats teeming in the hold, they descended into madness. In...

This is an epic, intimate account of one of the greatest naval dramas of World War II. Operation Pedestal was a crucial relief mission that became an epic, bloody naval battle and a pivotal moment in the Second World War. In 1942, the Luftwaffe had a stranglehold on Malta. In the months of April and May, they dropped more bombs on the island than on London in the entire Blitz. British attempts to bring in supplies and reinforcements were failing with...