This book was easy to read and packed with information. If you have an interest in pirates, this book will give you a fantastic overview.

If you are looking for specific, down-and-dirty details about Henry Morgan, however, this book might not be your best pick.

In essence, the author does an admirable job of showing what life, and especially life as a pirate, would have been like during the 1600s. In addition, there are detailed notes and a wonderful section of additional sources at the end of the book.

If you already have a good basic understanding of pirate life and want to know everything about Henry Morgan, however, consider yourself forewarned: I kept waiting for the specifics about Henry Morgan to show up. When they finally did begin to show up half-way through the book I found them to be of the "We don't really know for sure but this is a good guess of what he might have experienced" variety.

To be fair, for such a prominent historical figure, Morgan left few records, especially of his early years. I did find the information about his Uncles new, interesting and thought-provoking but felt the title suggested a more thorough treatment of the man himself.

Change the title and it would be a GREAT pirate book or pack it with EVERY detail you can find about Morgan and this would be the perfect pirate book. However, with Morgan figuring so prominently in the title I was a little disappointed to find the book contained so little new information about him.

I had heard of Henry Morgan and the buccaneers, but did not know much about them before I read this book. "Terror of the Spanish Main" presents a wealth of information in an entertaining and understanding way. Some of the parts that I found most interesting include the following:

1. What was London really like in the 17th century? (Marrin pulls no punches in describing the sights and odors that more sterile histories omit.
2. The democratic way in which the buccaneers and pirates organized their expeditions. The pirates were a "floating democracy."
3. The horrific tortures...described vividly in the book...that were "acceptable" more than 300 years ago.
4. How Morgan's life ended.

Numerous illustrations accompany the well-documented text. The book far exceeded my expectations, and I will read other books by this author.

This is a great book about one of the most famous buccaneers of all time. This is a great book, I couldn't put it down. If you like good books, buccaneers, ineresting information, or all of the above, you will love this book.

The book Stalin, by Albert Marrin, told every part of Stalin's life. Overall, the book was full of information. Throughout the book, ranging from the bringing up of Joseph Stalin, to his turning Russia into a superpower, and eventually his death and how Russia changed afterward. For a biography this book was very good. It was interesting because of the fact that there were so many important historical World War II facts told. The beginning of the book gives detail on his origin and birth.
Stalin was born on December 21, 1879, in The Causcaus Mountains. Stalin's caring mother is brought into the story, and small detail is given about her. Once he becomes older, Marrin goes into description of how Stalin rose to power and killed many people. It was amazing to learn that this man killed so many, and yet it is overshadowed still by Hitler's similar acts. Toward the end of his life, the Russian Red Army built by Stalin invades Berlin and the German army is defeated. Barrin the author makes you want to keep learning about this man of great power and influence. After his death, the story continues telling how the superpower Stalin built had faded away. After de-Stalinization in the 1960's, the city, Stalingrad is renamed and all monuments of The Man of Steel are removed. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a very vivid historical/biography.

This book talks about everything you need too know about Joseph Stalin. It speaks about his first wife, and his caring mother-Ekaterina. It also says about the negative events that transformed Joseph Djugashvili into a cold individual who went on to eliminate many people just because he wanted to have all the power, and see no one above him in the ranks. The book also has black and white pictures of his children, his Beautiful wife Ekaterina, his Mom, and the people who helped him in his Revolutionary party-Lenin, Zinoviev,and others. I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing about Joseph Stalin-his teen years at the Tiflis Theological school, his quest to expand Communism, and have Atheist Museums. Albert Marrin does a good job as an author-everything is real clear, and direct(the reading).

I learned about the politics of war for the people in Vietnam, and the price paid for actions taken by those in power. It also explained the reactions of all those involved.

Overlord is a great book for anyone, young or old, to learn about the event of D-Day. Albert Marrin does a good job at keeping Overlord interesting and up-beat. A must-read for WWII buffs

If you have a child or young teen who wants to explore the fascinating and misunderstood General Grant, then this is the premiere offering. Marrin has done an excellent job in illuminating Grant's complex life, but he does it in an interesting and understated way. The text is basically error-free and is enlivened with numerous photographs of Grant throughout his life. The choice of photographs is excellent.

The book is also conducive to reading out loud and that is an option if your child is still struggling with learning to read. Adults can also read and enjoy the text which is never condescending or hokey. Though the words are simple, the ultimate effect is highly competent.

This is the best juvenile biography on Ulysses S. Grant by a wide margin. Marrin has done an excellent job in introducing Grant to a young audience. I highly recommend it.

Victory In The Pacific is the exciting story of a dreadful war, that only a handful of books have captured and have done justice to. It is not the story of a make believe world, but a real and imperfect world. It is the story of two prideful and very different nations with different ideals. On December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor, these two nations crashed together and the world was forever changed.
Victory In The Pacific is about the events from Pearl Harbor to the surrender of Japan. Although a complex subject and hard to follow, Albert Marrin, a renowned author on World War II, followed all events in a easily understandable chronological manner that parallels American Strategy. Simply stated, the United States had a three-phase plan to the war in the pacific. 1. Fend off Japan long enough to muster a fleet significant enough to push the Japanese back. 2. Capture main Islands in the pacific that are suitable for air assaults that can keep the smaller islands in check. 3. The forced surrender of Japan, or the invasion of. Victory In Pacific follows the war with Japan through the surrender of the Philippines, The Doolittle raid on Tokyo, Attack & Surrender of Corregidor Island, Naval battle of Midway, American landing on Guadalcanal, Naval battle of Savo Island, The Capture of the Solomon Islands, Tarawa, The Recapture of the Philippines, Iwo Jima and finally the atomic bombs. Explained in especially good detail, in which a whole chapter was devoted to, was the capture of Guadalcanal, one of the first major offensives that drove the Japanese back to their home soil.
However, many smaller battles of moderate importance were not described well. Neither did the book report on why the Japanese went to war with America and what provoked them. Another serious defect was that the war with Japan was depicted as a purely an American war, rather then telling us of the major influences of other countries at war with Japan, such as India, Australia, China, and the USSR.
Although biased toward to America, Victory in the Pacific is a fantastic book for those learning about America's involvement in the War in the Pacific. I would recommend that it be read in conjunction with a book that tells more of the Japanese war with China, India and their interests in Malaya and the Philippines. Overall though, Albert Marrin provides an excellent view of the American war in the Pacific. I would defidently recommend this book to those whose understanding of the war in the Pacific is limited, but not to those who are looking for an in depth view of the war as it only follows the war from the American side. Of perfect score of 10, I would rate it an 8.5.

I believe that Albert Marrin did a wonderful job in presenting the American Revolution. This book creates a vivid picture of the war and the struggles of the individuals involved in the war.

This biography is a somewhat dark biography in that it focuses on the problems and not the incredible things that George Washington did. It also contains an inaccurate quote on page 54. The source of the quote is a letter to his brother John, where Washington is describing his incredible escape from an ambush near French-held Fort Duquesne. Every officer was killed and George Washington has 4 bullet holes in his cloak and 2 horses shot out from under him. In "The Writings of George Washington," George states: "But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation; for I had..." and he describes the situation to his brother. Albert Marrin changed this quote in his book to read: "I luckily escaped without a wound though I had..."
Many other books that have been written about George Washington have reduced Washington's quote or left it out altogether since it is a little long for children. But no one has changed it before...that is revisionistic, and unacceptable.

I had to write this review because this is a fantastic book and it deserves a better rating than it has. I have read just about all of Marrin's books. He is my favorite author of history books for young adults. The reading style is always appropriate for younger readers (age 12 and up), but usually Marrin's books are too long for this target audience, who often struggle at reading anything that takes more than hour. I've seen kids I tried to get to read this book get turned-off after raising and lowering it a few times to assess its weight. In my view every page of Marrin's "George Washington" is worth reading. Marrin often finds choice excerpts from the primary literature that give you the feeling that you're really getting to know Washington and his times. Disregard the last customer review about inaccuracy. Marrin is a true historian and even if one quote wasn't verbatim, he didn't change its meaning.

I also disagree with the School Library Journal review saying that Milton Meltzer's "George Washington and the Birth of Our Nation" and Mary Pope Osborne's "George Washington: Leader of a New Nation" are equally fine biographies. Marrin has them both beat by miles. The writing is faster paced, the illustrations are better, and the book takes the subject to a greater depth.

I'm using this book, among many others, in a homeschooling course on the American Revolution. There are many good illustrations, the language is simple and unpretentious, and the story is engaging my 13 year old -- in fact, it is often quite gory and graphic in its descriptions of wartime events! Beware if you're squeamish about war. But young lads will love it.

...to Jennings' Aztec. After reading the latter, I sought to learn more about this civilization. Marrin's writing level was below adult, but for that reason, it was a simple one-day read. I enjoyed reading the details not covered in Jennings' tome, as well as expansion on what he did cover.

This book gives some fascinating information about the daily life of the Aztecs and their neighbors before the Spanish conquest. Marrin succeeds at writing in an unbiased manner, even when it comes to describing horrifying events such as Aztec ritual human sacrifice. The narrative moves along quickly and every sentence is interesting. I often felt I was reading a gripping novel instead of a history book. There are also quite a few photos, maps and drawings.