Publisher's blurb:
This version of The Pirates’ Who’s Who, presented in 4 volumes, was edited with the creative tabletop roleplayer in mind. It provides an overview of the topic of piracy, and discussed the way its history has been documented. There’s a lot of information, but not so much that it overwhelms, or leaves no space to unleash your own creativity.
This book is a great source of character names. That some people get only a line or two, while others get detailed biographies that go on for pages, has been inspirational and validating. My own notebooks are filled with non-player characters similarly documented. I’ve always given myself guilt for not fleshing all of them out equally. Like my supporting cast, many of the personages named here don’t even have full names. Some are simply a last name. That gives you the opportunity to “borrow” them, and mold them into the character you need them to be.
What I love most about this book, though, are the stories. Some are complete, but many beg other questions. As roleplaying fodder, those loose ends give me something to work with. Some of the information presented boils down to interesting worldbuilding details, which can be used to flesh out a piratical setting.