Angus Konstam Angus Konstam ( born 2 January 1960 ) is a Scottish author and historian . Born in Aberdeen , Scotland and raised on the Orkney Islands , he now resides in Edinburgh . He has written more than 60 books on Maritime History , Naval History , Historical Atlases , and other historical non - fiction . Early life . Although born in Aberdeen , Scotland , he was raised on the Orkney Islands . In 1978 at the age of 18 he left to join the Royal Navy . He received a scholarship to the Royal Navy College in Dartmouth , and went on to study history at Aberdeen University . After receiving a degree , he returned to the Royal Navy and spent a year at sea , during which , he visited many places that would later be written about in his naval books including the Caribbean . He also gained important knowledge of military service , customs , seamanship and navigation during this time . He then studied for a Master ' s Degree at the University of St . Andrews . During this time he explored the new field of maritime archaeology and wrote his thesis on early naval artillery . Two decades later this formed the basis for " Sovereigns of the Sea " , his history of Renaissance warships . Career . England . He left the navy in 1983 , and the following year he began a Master of Letters in Maritime Studies at St . Andrews University , a course which combined history with maritime archaeology . After completing his Masters thesis on Renaissance Naval Artillery , he found a job in 1985 as a supervisor on an excavation in the River Thames near the Tower of London , paid for by the Royal Armouries . While he was working in the Royal Armouries , The Tower and the Kremlin decided to swap exhibits – a " Treasures of the Tower " being shown in Moscow while " Treasures of the Kremlin " came to London . At the same time the curators of both museums were encouraged to exchange information , and to examine each other ' s collections . This ended up with Konstam studying the 18th century Russian military . A mutual colleague introduced him to a historian working for Osprey Publishing , who turned out to want someone to write a book about Peter the Great ’ s Army . The result was two small ( 15 , 000 word ) books which first appeared in 1993 – the first easily - accessible account of the foundation of the Russian army to appear in English . United States . Konstam moved to Key West , Florida in 1995 and became the Chief Curator in the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum . Mel Fisher was a treasure hunter who found the wreck of the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha off the Florida Keys . One of his jobs during this time was to create traveling exhibits which toured the United States . During the research for a pirate exhibition , he gained an increasing interest in the subject of 18th century piracy . He spent six years in Key West and wrote several more books , including " The History of Pirates ( 2002 ) " , which went on to sell over 70 , 000 copies . As he gained more information through his research , he produced " Piracy : The Complete History ( 2008 ) " , and then , to reach a wider audience , " The World Atlas of Pirates ( 2009 ) " . Present . He returned to Britain in early 2001 , and now resides in Edinburgh , Scotland . He continues to write about naval and general history subjects . His favorite subject is the historical period of the 16th and 17th centuries . He currently has over 60 books in print and is on the board of The Society of Authors in Scotland and board of Publishing Scotland . Konstam has also been a " talking head " on many cable TV shows .