A Brief History of Piracy: Piracy did not end when Blackbeard's head was severed at Ocracoke Inlet in 1717. Year by year the number of reported pirate attacks on shipping increases. Lloyd's insurance underwriters repeatedly warn the captains of great container ships to be on alert for small, swift pirate boats in the Malacca Straits and much of the South China Sea. Owners of luxury pleasure craft in the Caribbean are aware of the danger of their vessels being taken by drug-runners. Once the owners and crew are disposed of, the innocent-looking vessels are ideal for the smuggling of narcotics. Currently Albanian brigands are cutting-out useful vessels from marinas and harbours on the Greek Isle of Corfu and along the mainland coast. These instances fall well within my own definition of the word 'piracy'. Neither did piracy begin on the eastern United States seaboard nor the Caribbean.

The Greek and Roman empires, spreading from the Mediterranean shores, were bothered by these sea-borne thieves. Julius Caesar himself wrote unkind words about them. The maritime kingdoms of Northern Europe were harried and tormented by Viking pirates. Eventually many countries were ruled by the descendants of these nautical vagabonds. William the Norman, congueror of much of northern France and Britain, was the son of a viking raider.The book contains biographical details of over 1150 pirates, buccaneers and privateers. Most are factual characters, a few mythological or legendary. The lives of these sea-dogs are compelling, dastardly, heroic, desperate, bloodthirsty and often humourous This book supercedes Philip Goss's excellent "who's Who of Pirates" which was published in 1924 and has been the standard work on the subject.

A serious study and an entertaining read, this book will be of value to all who study maritime history, the colonial era or the Caribbean, It will be of interest to many who dwell near, or visit, the eastern United States or the Caribbean Islands. Genealigists will find it a most useful source.