Book excerpt: C.S. Forester, creator of the beloved Horatio Hornblower series, takes young readers on an exciting adventure to the shores of Tripoli in North Africa. That’s where, more than 200 years ago, the United States was threatened by “pirates” who snatched American merchant ships and imprisoned sailors—and the country’s young, untested navy took on the task of fighting the pirates in their home waters. This true tale features thrilling ocean battles, hand-to-hand combat, and the first landing on foreign soil by the U.S. Marines, and it’s as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published (1953).