Captain's Book Details How He Foiled and Infuriated Somali Pirates

When pirates attacked Capt. Richard Phillips' ship last April, he tried to fend them off by firing warning flares at them, popping up between bursts of fire from AK-47s to zing a fiery flare at them.

Phillips was hoping for a lucky shot that would ignite something in their skiff, but he kept aiming flares at the four pirates even after they were aboard the Maersk Alabama and were spraying the captain's bridge with gunfire.

He says that was his first mistake -- taking too long to retreat to a safe room where he could lock himself in and the pirates would be unable to maneuver the ship and would have no bargaining chips.

In his new book "A Captain's Duty" Phillips recounts the harrowing ordeal at the hands four Somali pirates last April, and details for the first time what happened aboard the cargo ship and how he and his crew frustrated and fooled the pirates.

Phillips' account comes as pirate activity in the Indian Ocean appears to be escalating along with more attempts to fight off the pirates. Just this week, a South Korean warship is pursuing a supertanker grabbed by pirates that is loaded with $160 million worth of crude oil.