Konstam, Angus 1960-

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Konstam, Angus 1960-

PERSONAL:

Born January, 1960, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Education: Attended Royal Naval College; Aberdeen University, graduated; St. Andrews University, M.Litt.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Edinburgh, Scotland. Agent—Mark Stanton, Jenny Brown Associates, 33 Argyle Pl., Edinburgh EH9 1JT, Scotland.

CAREER:

Writer, historian, and maritime archaeologist. Royal Armouries in the Tower of London, London, England, curator of weapons for ten years; Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, Key West, FL, chief curator, 1995-2001. Military service: Served in the Royal Navy.

WRITINGS:

Peter the Great's Army, illustrated by David Rickman, Osprey Publishing (London, England), 1993.

Poltava, 1709: Russia Comes of Age, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 1994, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2005.

Russian Army of the Seven Years War, two volumes, illustrated by Bill Younghusband, Osprey Publishing (London, England), 1996.

Pavia, 1525: The Climax of the Italian Wars, Osprey Publishing (London, England), 1996.

Pirates, 1660-1730, illustrated by Angus McBride, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 1998.

The History of Pirates, Lyons Press (New York, NY), 1999.

The History of Shipwrecks, Lyons Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Atlas of Medieval Europe, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Elizabethan Sea Dogs, 1560-1605, illustrated by Angus McBride, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2000.

Buccaneers, 1620-1700, illustrations by Angus McBride, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2000.

Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2001.

British Napoleonic Ship-of-the-Line, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2001.

Privateers & Pirates, 1730-1830, illustrated by Angus McBride, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2001.

Pirates: Terror on the High Seas, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2001.

Confederate Ironclad, 1861-65, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2001.

The Armada Campaign, 1588: The Great Enterprise against England, illustrated by Howard Gerrard, Osprey Military (London, England), 2001, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2005.

(With others) Warships: From the Galley to the Present Day, PRC Publishing (London, England, 2001.

Historical Atlas of the Viking World, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Historical Atlas of the Crusades, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With others) Lock & Load: Weapons of the U.S. Military, Salamander (London, England), 2002.

Mississippi River Gunboats of the American Civil War, 1861-65, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2002.

Guilford Courthouse, 1781: Lord Cornwallis's Ruinous Victory, illustrated by Adam Hook, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2002, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2004.

Renaissance War Galley, 1470-1590, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2002.

Union Monitor, 1861-65, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2002.

7th U-Boat Flotilla: Dönitz's Atlantic Wolves, Ian Allan (Hersham, Surrey, England), 2002.

Union River Ironclad, 1861-65, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2002.

Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Hunt the Bismarck, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 2003.

British Motor Torpedo Boat, 1939-45, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003.

British Battlecruisers, 1939-45, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003.

Duel of the Ironclads: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads, 1862, illustrated by Tony Bryan and Adam Hook, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003.

Confederate Raider, 1861-65, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003.

The Pirate Ship, 1660-1730, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003.

American Civil War Fortifications: Coastal Brick and Stone Forts, illustrated by D. Spedaliere and S.S. Spedaliere, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003.

Fair Oaks, 1862: McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2003, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2004.

Historical Atlas of the Renaissance, Checkmark Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Hampton Roads, 1862: First Clash of the Ironclads, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2004.

Seven Days Battles, 1862: Lee's Defense of Richmond, illustrated by Stephen Walsh, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2004.

San Juan Hill, 1898: America's Emergence as a World Power, illustrated by David Rickman, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2004.

Confederate Blockade Runner, 1861-65, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2004.

The Pocket Book of Civil War Battle Sites: From Manassas to Atlanta, Book Sales Publishing (London, England), 2004.

The Pocket Book of Civil War Weapons, Book Sales Publishing (London, England), 2004.

Confederate Submarines and Torpedo Vessels, 1861-65, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2004.

Spanish Galleon, 1530-1690, illustrated by Tony Bryan, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2004.

PT Boat Squadrons: US Navy Torpedo Boats, Ian Allan (Hersham, Surrey, England), 2005.

Lepanto, 1571: The Greatest Naval Battle of the Renaissance, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2005.

Civil War Ghost Stories, Thunder Bay Press (San Diego, CA), 2005.

Ghost Ships: Tales of Abandoned, Doomed, and Haunted Vessels, Lyon's Press (Guilford, CT), 2005.

America Speaks: The Birth of the Nation, Grolier (Danbury, CT), 2005.

Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2006.

The Forts of Celtic Britain, illustrated by Peter Bull, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2006.

Scourge of the Seas: Buccaneers, Pirates, and Privateers, Osprey Publishing (Oxford, England), 2007.

General editor and contributor, The Great War: A Visual Encyclopedia, 2002, and The Civil War: A Visual Encyclopedia, 2002.

SIDELIGHTS:

Historian and maritime scholar Angus Konstam is the author of more than fifty works of nonfiction. A native of Scotland, he served in the Royal Navy and later studied underwater archaeology at St. Andrews University. After completing his master's thesis, Konstam landed a temporary job on an archaeological site in the River Thames, paid for by the Royal Armouries, part of the National Museum of Arms and Armour. He eventually spent ten years working for the museum, which was then located in the Tower of London, and rose to the position of curator of weapons. When the museum relocated, Konstam moved to Florida, where he became the chief curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, which is named after the celebrated treasure hunter. In 2001 he returned to Britain and began his career as a full-time writer.

Konstam specializes in military and naval history, though he has published a number of general history books. In Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, for instance, Konstam examines the "Age of Discovery," offering profiles of forty-one explorers, including John Cabot, Juan Ponce de León, and Vasco de Balboa, and describing their voyages, their ships, and their navigational techniques. The work also contains maps, timelines, charts, and other reproductions. According to Library Journal contributor Stanley Itkin, Konstam "has produced a masterly account of exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries." In Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, the author surveys the development, expansion, and decline of Celtic culture in Europe. A critic for the Wisconsin Bookwatch described the work as a "captivating and absorbing study of an ancient civilization," and in the Reference & User Services Quarterly, Peter T. Nardin called Historical Atlas of the Celtic World "a useful tool to accompany required readings of students."

Konstam looks at the religious wars waged by Christian forces between the years 1095 and 1291 in Historical Atlas of the Crusades. He provides an overview of the military campaigns that pitted European armies against Muslim forces, accompanying his text with photographs, color illustrations, and maps. According to Robert Burnham in School Library Journal, the specially commissioned maps "are well drawn, easy to read, appropriately placed with the text, and detailed enough to provide relevant information." A contributor to Library Bookwatch remarked that the volume "is as much a history primer as it is a geographic display." In Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era, Konstam explores the life of French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte, who conquered most of Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century. The work is "an exciting and detailed chronicle of a turbulent era," observed a contributor to the Wisconsin Bookwatch.

Konstam drew on his training as a maritime archaeologist for The History of Shipwrecks and The History of Pirates. In the former, he discusses the reasons shipwrecks occur, describes salvage efforts, and presents biographical sketches of such well-known marine archaeologists as Jacques Cousteau, Bob Ballard, and Fisher. In the latter, the author traces piracy from ancient times to the contemporary era, and the book features profiles of individual pirates, including Captain Kidd and Bartholomew Roberts, and their ships. The two volumes "are remarkably well done," asserted Kliatt reviewer Raymond L. Puffer, while Booklist critic Margaret Flanagan reported that they "provide a treasure trove of seafaring history, lore, and legend."

Konstam focuses on the savage career of Edward Teach in Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate. Operating during the "Golden Age of Piracy," Teach commanded the Queen Anne's Revenge and led a force of several hundred men, striking terror up and down the coast of colonial America, as well the West Indies, Cuba, and Honduras. A former privateer with a reputation for violence, Teach began pirating in 1713, arming himself with numerous swords, knives, and pistols and reportedly weaving lighted wicks into his thick black beard during combat. His reign of terror was relatively short, lasting only until his death in 1718, but his reputation has lasted for centuries. The author "convincingly maintains that Blackbeard was a compelling figure with great seamanship skills and an audacious temperament," Jay Freeman concluded in Booklist.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1999, Margaret Flanagan, review of The History of Pirates and The History of Shipwrecks, p. 681; April 1, 2002, Mary Ellen Quinn, review of Atlas of the Celts, p. 1353; June 1, 2006, Jay Freeman, review of Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate, p. 27.

Bookwatch, March 1, 2006, review of Civil War Ghost Stories.

Choice, June 1, 2003, R. Stuhr, review of Historical Atlas of the Viking World, p. 1715; January 1, 2004, G.J. Reece, review of Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece, p. 889.

History Today, November 1, 2002, review of Historical Atlas of the Viking World, p. 66; November 1, 2003, review of Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece, p. 66.

Kliatt, May 1, 2003, Raymond L. Puffer, review of The History of Pirates and The History of Shipwrecks, p. 37.

Library Bookwatch, August 1, 2005, review of Historical Atlas of the Crusades.

Library Journal, May 15, 2000, Stanley Itkin, review of Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, p. 107.

Library Media Connection, January 1, 2003, review of Historical Atlas of the Crusades, p. 107.

Publishers Weekly, April 24, 2000, review of Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, p. 80.

Reference & Research Book News, November 1, 2000, review of Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, p. 47; May 1, 2001, review of Atlas of Medieval Europe, p. 70; February 1, 2002, review of Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, p. 21; November 1, 2002, review of Historical Atlas of the Crusades, p. 25; February 1, 2003, review of Historical Atlas of the Viking World, p. 38; August 1, 2003, review of Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece, p. 40; February 1, 2004, review of Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era, p. 36; November 1, 2004, reviews of Guilford Courthouse, 1781: Lord Cornwallis's Ruinous Victory, p. 60, Fair Oaks, 1862: McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, p. 61, Hampton Roads, 1862: First Clash of the Ironclads, and Seven Days Battles, 1862: Lee's Defense of Richmond, p. 61; February 1, 2005, review of San Juan Hill, 1898: America's Emergence as a World Power, p. 70; May 1, 2006, review of Lepanto, 1571: The Greatest Naval Battle of the Renaissance; November 1, 2006, review of Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece.

Reference & User Services Quarterly, summer, 2002, Peter T. Nardin, review of Historical Atlas of the Celtic World.

Reference Reviews, January 1, 2002, review of Historical Atlas of the Celtic World; September 1, 2002, review of Historical Atlas of the Crusades.

Sail, October 1, 2005, Rebecca Waters, review of Ghost Ships, p. 130.

School Library Journal, November 1, 2000, Ann W. Moore, review of Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, p. 92; May 1, 2001, Ann W. Moore, review of Atlas of Medieval Europe, p. 88; December 1, 2002, Robert Burnham, review of Historical Atlas of the Crusades, p. 175; April 1, 2003, David Pauli, review of Historical Atlas of the Viking World, p. 98; February 1, 2006, Mary Mueller, review of America Speaks: The Birth of the Nation, p. 84.

Sea Power, August 1, 2003, Sherry L. Gardner, review of Lock & Load: Weapons of the U.S. Military, p. 46; December 1, 2003, David W. Munns, review of Confederate Raider, 1861-65, p. 46.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June 1, 2001, review of Historical Atlas of Exploration, 1492-1600, p. 151.

Wisconsin Bookwatch, March 1, 2005, review of Historical Atlas of the Celtic World; April 1, 2005, review of Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era.