If you are even remotely interested in pirates then you absolutely must read this book.
It was written back in the 1720s, during the heyday of the pirates. The text is written by Captain Charles Johnson about whom very little is known. he was clearly a seamen as he gives a lot of details about ships and the sea. He may have been a pirate himself, and Charles Johnson may not be his real name. Some of the accounts are obviously based on the trials of the men who were hanged, but he also draws on first hand accounts of battles, robberies and adventures. The writing style is lively and gripping.
Blackbeard and Captain Kidd are here, as are Henry Avery - perhaps the most successful pirate ever - and the female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonney. Plus several characters that I had never heard of.
There are anecdotes aplenty, lots of action and some astonishing incidents. some of these pirates seem to have been relatively honorable chaps who kept promises and spared the lives of those who surrendered without a fight. Others were absolutely terrible - indulging in sadistic killings and tortures merely for the fun of it.
As so often with contemporary accounts, it is the throw away lines that can be as interesting as the main subject. The number of native Americans found among crews surprised me, as did the sheer scale of some of these pirate voyages - ranging from the West Indies to the Arctic Circle to India and the Malay Peninsula. The seamanship of the pirates must be admired.
A great read.
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