Terror on the Seas: True Tales of Modern-Day Pirates

By Daniel Sekulich

Pirates. To many, the word conjures up images of swashbucklers in the eighteenth century. The very idea that pirates might still ply the seas today seems preposterous and far-fetched. But pirates most definitely still exist. And as Terror On the Seas shows, their violent activities on the other side of the glove can have wide-reaching effects-- whether on our economy or the war on terror. Daniel Sekulich takes readers on an eye-opening voyage into the world of high seas piracy, a multinational, multibillion-dollar enterprise controlled by organized crime syndicates and local warlords. Sekulich sails through some of the most dangerous waters on the planet to chronicle this threat to national and international security. He meets with victims of attacks, those fighting the perils, and even pirates themselves. Terror on the Seas tells an explosive story of modern piracy, one that's costing over $25 billion a year to battle and that poses the risks of environmental disaster, economic chaos, and holy war.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312375824
• ISBN13: 9780312375829
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

21st CENTURY PIRATES: TERROR AND PLUNDERING BEYOND BELIEF

Four and a half INFORMATIVE Stars! "Terror on the Seas" is a penetrating, up-to-date look at modern piracy and terrorism on the high seas and in coastal waters around the world, which Daniel Sekulich says has "..reemerged as one of the most serious threats..." It is also an eye-opening look at historical piracy (Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Sir Francis Drake the privateer, and even the Red Fleet's true-life female pirate leader), terrorism, and robbery on the seas. Recent events have pushed this topic onto the network and cable news, making this book very timely as ships and crews are highjacked in increasing numbers for enormous sums of money, sometimes over extended periods of time, with their crews in extreme danger. The author states there are thousands of merchant vessels on the seas at any one time, which are sometimes easy prey. The author gives one case where one vessel was swarmed by over a hundred pirates and in another where there was only one determined pirate. Beyond this, the pirate horror unleashed on the boat people fleeing Vietnam in terms of rape, robbery, kidnapping, and murder was appalling. The book reveals the backgrounds, techniques, deadly weapons, well-run organizations, and sophisticated communications used by the 21st Century pirate criminal subculture around the world. The harrowing ordeals of the crews and demands on the companies are sometimes presented in first person accounts to the author. The scope and variety of the piracy is mindboggling and the difficulty in controlling it troubling. The author also gives background on the United Nations laws and international non-governmental organizations, such as the International Maritime Bureau and the secretive Piracy Reporting Centre. The author himself goes into harm's way to get accurate information, but a few times it becomes too personally discursive. This is a penetrating look at on-the-seas and coastal waterway crimes and threats, fueled by poverty and greed. Highly Recommended! Four and a half Stars! (This review is based on a Kindle download.)