Kingfisher Knowledge is a groundbreaking series for readers hungry for information on today's hot topics.

Lively, engaging text, packed with information, accompanies stunning photographs that enhance each chapter.

Amazing, state-of-the-art digital artwork guides readers into the fascinating heart of the subject.

This learning adventure does not stop there - information panels throughout lead the reader to further discovery.

Each chapter offers website links, book lists, places to visit and career information.

Pirates and Smugglers is a swashbuckling introduction to the highwaymen and women of the seas - from the cruel Cilician pirates who terrorized the Mediterranean more than 2,000 years ago to the well-organized and ruthless modern-day buccaneers who target supertankers in the South China Sea - and the loot that they plunder and smuggle.

The book examines the terror tactics of pirates through the ages, and also uncovers the secretive schemes of today's smugglers who traffic in an astonishing variety of goods, including alcohol, drugs, weapons, luxury cars, wildlife - and even people.