New Vanguard #279: Ameican Privateers of the Revolutionary War
Book Title: New Vanguard #279: American Privateers of the Revolutionary War
Author: Angus Konstam
ISBN: 9781472836328 (pdf)
Category: History
Format: Multiple
Summary: BLUF: At 48 pages disappointingly short for this series, only sparsely illustrated by Osprey standards and none of the data tables that usually are highlights of these volumes. Paul Wright's artwork is qualitatively very good, but Angus Konstam's works are usually much more informative than this.
Konstam begins with a brief explanation of how the privateer system worked, then moves on to discuss the types of ship refitted into privateer service and vessels purpose-built for the role. From that he moves on to business details, both the relationships between captains and ship owners, and the governing articles and prize courts. The remaining two sections discuss life aboard ship including shares of prizes and fates if captured, and typical engagement strategies against various types of target.
The one big thing I would have really liked to see is a chart of ships (not even all, just the important ones would suffice) with dates, dimensions, armaments and prizes. At eight bucks on 45%-off sale right now it's fair value for the money, but I wouldn't ever pay the full-boat $15 (e-book) or $20 (hardcopy) for it--a painful thing to say, as Konstam runs a close second to Mark Lardas in Osprey's stable of sailing-history authors.
