Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates
This excellent volume explores the lives of pirates and probes deeply into the social, economic, and political forces that shaped those lives. Ritchie offers a compelling account, focusing on the legendary Captain Kidd, whose rise and fall more reflected the changing needs of landlocked merchants and princes than conditions at sea. He traces the golden age of piracy and places this in the historical context of seafaring through the millenia. This far-ranging book chronicles the daily life of the pirates, even as it helps us understand the appeal of pirate stories. A well-written and well-conceived volume; important reading for pirate fans and history buffs alike. Jay R. Kaufman, Massachusetts Bay Marine Studies Consortium, BostonCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.