Best Pirate & Buccaneer Books
The cornerstone book on pirates is The General History of the Pyrates by Capt. Charles Johnson (1724). Who was “Capt. Charles Johnson?” Probably Daniel Defoe, although that has yet to be proven. There are endless editions, versions, copies, pirated editions, etc. of this basic work. I recommend the scholarly edition published in trade paperback by Dover (originally in hardcover, edited by Prof. Manuel - that’s rather pricy today).
The cornerstone book on the buccaneers (and there is an important difference between the pirates of the Caribbean and the Brethren of the Coast) is The Buccaneers of America by Alexander-Olivier Exquemelin (1678). The author sailed with Sir Henry Morgan, and this is the only first-hand account written by a buccaneer. Again, there are a vast number of translations and versions. It was first written in Dutch, then translated in Spanish and greatly changed in the process, and then translated again into English. The modern Alex Brown translation directly from the original into English is the only reliable version. Again, Dover has done a great service by making it readily available in paperback. Penguin published it first, and there is a hardcover Folio Society edition.
I am very partial to The Pirates of the New England Coast, 1630-1730, by G.F. Dow and J.H. Edmonds (1923). This book covers a great many Caribbean corsairs, despite the title. Also recommended is The History of Piracy by Philip Goose (1930) - Robert Louis Stevenson was his babysitter! Piracy in the West Indies and its Suppression, Francis B.C. Bradlee (1923) covers the pirates in the early 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century – well after “The Golden Age.”
Dig for Pirate Treasure, Robert I. Nesmith (1958) remains a classic – not only for pirate treasure, but many buried and sunken treasures, as well.
Good luck to all,
The Old Bookaroo
