Murder, mutiny, and mayhem were the order of the day in the seas off the East Coast during the golden age of sailing. Pillagers and opportunists plied the seas in search of riches in the holds of American ships. And they invariably found what they were looking for...

The modern image of the pirate is derived from Captain Charles Johnson's accounts of the cut-throats who sailed under the Jolly Roger. It was he who gave mythical status to the likes of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd. Using contemporary sources, Nigel Cawthorne now turns the spotlight on the reality of pirate life, revealing the truth behind the legends. It gives us an insight into the men - and women - their weapons, their ships, their unhappy victims and their hide-outs, including the capit...

A biography of unprecedented expedition under sailThe role of the sailor through history should never be underestimated. Over centuries battles were won and new lands discovered and settled by their skills and nerve. Rob Mundle is back on the ocean to tell one of the great stories of an expedition under sail: the extraordinary eight-month, 17-000-nautical mile voyage of the First Fleet. With customary sweep and swell, Mundle puts you alongside 48-year-old Captain Arthur Phillip on ...

Heres the true story of the British Royal Navys struggle with the greatest pirate gang of all time. Drawing on archives in Great Britain and the United States, award-winning journalist and author Colin Woodard separates fact from fiction, revealing the real motivations and struggles of Blackbeard, Black Sam Bellamy, Calico Jack Rackham, and more.

For thousands of years, pirates have terrorized the ocean voyager and the coastal inhabitant, plundered ship and shore, and wrought havoc on the lives and livelihoods of rich and poor alike. Around these desperate men has grown a body of myths and legends-fascinating tales that today strongly influence our notions of pirates and piracy. Most of these myths derive from the pirates of the Golden Age,” from roughly 1655 to 1725. This was the age of the Spanish Main, of Henry Morgan and Black...

Autumn 1803, and Britain remains under the threat of invasion. HMS Prometheus is needed to reinforce Nelson's squadron blockading the French off Toulon, but a major action has left her severely damaged and the British Fleet outnumbered. Prometheus must be brought back to fighting order without delay, and the work proves more than a simple refit.Barbary pirates, shore batteries and the powerful French Navy are conventional foes, although the men of Prometheus

“This is the most authoritative and highly literate account of these pernicious people that I have ever read.”—Patrick O'Brian“[A] wonderfully entertaining history of pirates and piracy . . . a rip-roaring read . . . fascinating and unexpected.”—Men's JournalThis rollicking account of the golden age of piracy is packed with vivid history and high seas adventure. David Cordingly, an acclaimed expert on pirates, reveals the spellbind...

According to the Preface: "I have in the following pages endeavoured to resist the temptation to weave a web of pleasant but unreliable fiction round actual occurrences. That which is here set forth has been derived from facts, and in almost every case from manuscript records. It aims at telling the story of an eventful and exciting period according to historical and not imaginative occurrence. There are extant many novels and short stories which have for their heroes the old-time smuggler...

A vivid account of the Irish slave trade: the previously untold story of over 50,000 Irish men, women and children who were transported to Barbados and Virginia.

“[Perrett] argues that Gordon, who went from a humble boy seaman to an admiral during a remarkable career, was the real inspiration for Hornblower.” —The ScotsmanEver since C.S. Forester’s fictional hero Horatio Hornblower began to delight and enthrall readers, there has been speculation as to whether his adventures were based on the career of a real naval officer. Several names were suggested; the general conclusion was that Hornblower was a composite cha...

The international bestselling true story of an eighteenth-century sailor's extraordinary voyages, compiled by the celebrated scientist and historian.In his many voyages, the Scottish-born sailor John Nicol twice circumnavigated the globe, visiting every inhabited continent while witnessing and participating in many of the greatest events of exploration and adventure in the eighteenth century. He traded with Native Americans on the St. Lawrence River and hunted whal...