This is a concise history of the life and times of ten of the most important pirates of the Caribbean region. The book sheds new light on old questions and popular notions of piracy. Who and what was a pirate? What were the origins of the buccaneers? And what of buried treasure and the fiendish custom of making prisoners walk the plank? After describing the historical context, Clinton Black provides fascinating accounts of the lives of some of the better-known figures of the Spanish Main, including that "prince of privateers," Henry Morgan; Captain William Sawkins, "a man whom nothing on earth could terrify"; Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard, the arch-pirate; handsome "Calico Jack" Rackman and his female crew members Anne Bonney and Mary Read. There are also accounts of some lesser-known figures whose careers--often brief--shed light on the subject of piracy.