Pirates

A facsimile edition of a classic source for the history of piracy, as used by Robert Louis Stevenson in the writing of Treasure Island. Captain Charles Johnson"™s General History of Pirates was one of the best-selling books of 1724, when it was first published. It provides a sweeping account of what has come to be called the Golden Age of Piracy. It went through four editions in two years, and without doubt owed a substantial part of its success to a dramatic writing style that vividly captures the realities of pirates"™ savage existence. The book contains documentary evidence of events during the lives of its subjects. In the 270 years since its original publication, Johnson"™s work has come to be regarded as the classic study of one of the most popular subjects in maritime history.