The Bloody Black Flag

Agatha Christie meets Patrick O'Brian in the first book in a new series of swashbuckling historical mysteries featuring Spider John Rush, a most reluctant pirate. 1722--aboard a pirate ship off the American Colonial Coast. Spider John Rush never wanted to be a pirate, but it had happened and he'd learned to survive in the world of cut and thrust, fight or die. He and his friend Ezra knew that death could come at any moment, from grapeshot or storm winds or the end of a noose. But when Ezra is murdered in cold blood by a shipmate, Spider vows revenge. On a ship where every man is a killer many times over, how can Spider find the man who killed his friend? There is no law here, so if justice is to be done, he must do it. He will have to solve the crime and exact revenge himself. One wrong step will lead to certain death, but Spider is determined to look into the dying eyes of the man who killed his friend, even if it means his own death.

From 1861 to 1865, the region along the Missouri-Kansas border was the scene of unbelievable death and destruction. Thousands died, millions of dollars in property was lost, entire populations were violently uprooted. It was here also that some of the greatest atrocities in American history occurred. Yet in the great national tragedy of the Civil War, this savage warfare has seemed a minor episode. Drawing from a wide array of contemporary documents - including diaries, letters, and firsthand newspaper accounts - Thomas Goodrich presents a hair-raising report of life in this merciless guerrilla war. Filled with dramatic detail, Black Flag reveals war at its very worst, told in the words of the participants themselves. Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, soldiers and civilians, scouts, spies, runaway slaves, the generals and the guerrillas - all step forward to tell of their terrifying ordeals.

"[A] thorough and comprehensive study of this tragic, almost forgotten episode of American history." —History "What Sherman did in Georgia and Sheridan in the Valley pales in comparison. This study truly shows the horrible cost inherent in any civil war." —Civil War Courier "[A] well written and compelling account of an aspect of the Civil War which has not received sufficient attention." —Southern Historian "Compelling . . ." —Publishers Weekly "[A] fast-paced . . .absorbing discourse . . . Black Flag is a highly recommended book that transports the reader to the towns and dusty highways of Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War." —Kansas History From 1861 to 1865, the region along the Missouri-Kansas border was the scene of unbelievable death and destruction. Thousands died, millions of dollars of property was lost, entire populations were violently uprooted. It was here also that some of the greatest atrocities in American history occurred. Yet in the great national tragedy of the Civil War, this savage warfare has seemed a minor episode. Drawing from a wide array of contemporary documents—including diaries, letters, and first-hand newspaper accounts—Thomas Goodrich presents a hair-raising report of life in this merciless guerrilla war. Filled with dramatic detail, Black Flag reveals war at its very worst, told in the words of the participants themselves. Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, soldiers and civilians, scouts, spies, runaway slaves, the generals and the guerrillas—all step forward to tell of their terrifying ordeals. From the shocking, sensational massacres at Lawrence, Baxter Springs, and Centralia to the silent terror of a woman at home alone in the Aburnt district, Black Flag is a horrifying day-by-day account of life, death and war, told with unforgettable immediacy.

“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 Journal This 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 spellbinding truth behind the legends of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Sir Francis Drake, the fierce female brigands Mary Read and Anne Bonny, and others who rode and robbed upon the world's most dangerous waters. Here, in thrilling detail, are the weapons they used, the ships they sailed, and the ways they fought—and were defeated. Under the Black Flag also charts the paths of fictional pirates such as Captain Hook and Long John Silver. The definitive resource on the subject, this book is as captivating as it is supremely entertaining. Praise for Under the Black Flag “[A] lively history . . . If you've ever been seduced by the myth of the cutlass-wielding pirate, consider David Cordingly's Under the Black Flag.”—USA Today, “Best Bets” “Engagingly told . . . a tale of the power of imaginative literature to re-create the past.”—Los Angeles Times “Entirely engaging and informative . . . a witty and spirited book.”—The Washington Post Book World “Plenty of thrills and adventure to satisfy any reader.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Many peoples throughout history have fought pirates, writes Alfred Bradford in Flying the Black Flag. Some have lost and some have won. We should learn from their experience. From Odysseus—the original pirate of literature and lore—through Blackbeard and the feared pirates of the Spanish Main, his book reveals the strategies and methods pirates used to cheat, lie, kill, and rob their way into the historical record, wreaking terror in their bloody wakes. The story begins with a discussion of Piracy and the Suppression of Piracy in the Ancient World. It details, for example, how the Illyrians used pirate vessels to try to wrest control of the Adriatic Coast from the mighty Romans, as well as how the intrepid Vikings went from pirate raids to the conquest of parts of Western Europe. Moving into the 17th century and to the New World, Bradford depicts the golden age of the pirates. Here are the Spanish Buccaneers and the fabled Caribbean stronghold of Tortuga. Here are Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, and their fearsome counterparts. But piracy was hardly just a Western phenomenon. The Barbary Pirates looks East to examine the struggle between Christian and Muslim in the Mediterranean, while To the Shores of Tripoli details the American conflict with the Barbary Pirates. It reveals the lessons of a war conducted across a great distance against a nebulous enemy, a war in which victory was achieved only by going after the pirates' sponsor. On the South China Coast, we meet the first Dragon Lady, leader of Chinese pirates. As intriguing as these tales of the past are in and of themselves, the stories and their swashbuckling villains hold lessons for us even today. In Conclusions and Reflections, Bradford gathers all of the chords together, discussing the conditions under which piracy arises, the conditions under which pirates organize and become more powerful, and the methods used to suppress piracy. Finally, he examines similarities between pirates and terrorists—and whether the lessons learned from the wars against pirates of the past might also apply to modern day terrorists.

e-artnow presents to you this unique collection of pirate tales, sea adventure novels and true stories of the most notorious pirates:_x000D_ True Pirates of the Caribbean:_x000D_ The King of Pirates: Of Captain Avery, And his Crew_x000D_ Captain Martel_x000D_ Captain Teach, alias Blackbeard_x000D_ Edward England_x000D_ Charles Vane_x000D_ Rackam_x000D_ Mary Read_x000D_ Anne Bonny_x000D_ John Bowen..._x000D_ The Trial of the Pirates at Providence_x000D_ The Pirate Gow _x000D_ The Pirates of Panama…_x000D_ Novels & Stories:_x000D_ Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)_x000D_ The Pirate (Walter Scott)_x000D_ Blackbeard: Buccaneer (Ralph D. Paine)_x000D_ Pieces of Eight (Richard Le Gallienne)_x000D_ The Gold-Bug (Edgar Allan Poe)_x000D_ Jack London:_x000D_ Hearts of Three_x000D_ Tales of the Fish Patrol_x000D_ Daniel Defoe:_x000D_ Robinson Crusoe_x000D_ Captain Singleton_x000D_ Jules Verne:_x000D_ The Mysterious Island_x000D_ Facing the Flag_x000D_ The Dark Frigate (Charles Boardman Hawes)_x000D_ Peter Pan and Wendy (J. M. Barrie)_x000D_ The Dealings of Captain Sharkey (Arthur Conan Doyle)_x000D_ The Pirate (Frederick Marryat)_x000D_ The Madman and the Pirate (R. M. Ballantyne)_x000D_ The Pirate City (R. M. Ballantyne)_x000D_ Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader (R. M. Ballantyne)_x000D_ Captain Boldheart& the Latin-Grammar Master (Charles Dickens)_x000D_ The Master Key (L. Frank Baum)_x000D_ A Man to His Mate (J. Allan Dunn)_x000D_ The Isle of Pirate's Doom (Robert E. Howard)_x000D_ Queen of the Black Coast (Robert E. Howard)_x000D_ James Fenimore Cooper:_x000D_ Afloat and Ashore_x000D_ Homeward Bound_x000D_ The Red Rover_x000D_ The Rose of Paradise (Howard Pyle)_x000D_ The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)_x000D_ The Ghost Pirates (William Hope Hodgson)_x000D_ The Offshore Pirate (F. Scott Fitzgerald)_x000D_ Harry Collingwood:_x000D_ A Pirate of the Caribbees_x000D_ The Pirate Island_x000D_ Among Malay Pirates (G. A. Henty)_x000D_ Great Pirate Stories (Joseph L. French)_x000D_ Fanny Campbell, the Female Pirate Captain (Maturin Murray Ballou)_x000D_ The Dark Frigate (Charles B. Hawes)_x000D_ Kidd the Pirate (Washington Irving) _x000D_ The Death Ship (William Clark Russell)_x000D_ The Iron Pirate (Max Pemberton)…

DigiCat presents to you this unique and meticulously edited collection of pirate tales, the novels, stories, biographies and the history of piracy: Treasure Island (R. L. Stevenson) Blackbeard: Buccaneer (R. D. Paine) Pieces of Eight (Le Gallienne) Gold-Bug (Edgar A. Poe) The Dark Frigate (C. B. Hawes) Hearts of Three (Jack London) Captain Singleton (Defoe) Swords of Red Brotherhood (Howard) Queen of Black Coast (Howard) Afloat and Ashore (James F. Cooper) Pirate Gow (Defoe) The King of Pirates (Defoe) Barbarossa—King of the Corsairs (E. H. Currey) Homeward Bound (James F. Cooper) Red Rover (Cooper) The Pirate (Walter Scott) Book of Pirates (Howard Pyle) Under the Waves (R. M. Ballantyne) Rose of Paradise (Howard Pyle) Tales of the Fish Patrol (Jack London) Peter Pan and Wendy (J. M. Barrie) Captain Sharkey (Arthur Conan Doyle) The Pirate (Frederick Marryat) Three Cutters (Marryat) Madman and the Pirate (R. M. Ballantyne) Coral Island (Ballantyne) Pirate City (Ballantyne) Gascoyne (Ballantyne) Facing the Flag (Jules Verne) Captain Boldheart (Dickens) Mysterious Island (Jules Verne) Master Key (L. Frank Baum) A Man to His Mate (J. Allan Dunn) Isle of Pirate's Doom (Robert E. Howard) Black Vulmea (Howard) Robinson Crusoe (Defoe) Count of Monte Cristo (A. Dumas) Ghost Pirates (W. H. Hodgson) Offshore Pirate (F. Scott Fitzgerald) The Piccaroon (Michael Scott) The Capture of Panama, 1671 (John Esquemeling) The Malay Proas (James Fenimore Cooper) The Wonderful Fight of the Exchange of Bristol With the Pirates of Algiers (Samuel Purchas) The Daughter of the Great Mogul (Defoe) Morgan at Puerto Bello Among Malay Pirates: A Tale of Adventure and Peril The Ways of the Buccaneers A True Account of Three Notorious Pirates Narrative of the Capture of the Ship Derby, 1735 (Captain Anselm) Francis Lolonois The Fight Between the Dorrill and the Moca Jaddi the Malay Pirate The Terrible Ladrones The Female Captive The Passing of Mogul Mackenzie The Last of the Sea-Rovers Pagan Madonna ...

A captivating and original prequel to "Treasure Island" that will delight fans of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic as well as fans of those "other" pirates of the Caribbean.