LOST TREASURES OF THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

In a seamless blend of fact and fancy, the author delivers a quick, name-dropping history of piracy’s golden age in the Caribbean, along with the enticing news that many of those buccaneers commissioned treasure maps from a family of Charleston mapmakers. Thirteen of these purported maps are reproduced in lurid red and black—and though they appear to be standard large-scale depictions of entire islands or major swathes of Africa, readers are assured that clues to the location of buried treasure are there to be found. Further enhanced by leering portraits of John Rackham, George Lowther and three other pirate captains, plus a closing riddle that, combined with earlier hints, promises to lead to a 14th map, this is too sketchy to keep fans of historical pirates engrossed for long, but should find a ready audience among budding code-breakers. (Nonfiction. 10-12)