A look at pirates in the early C18th, and especially at the life and times of Bartholomew Roberts, alleged to be the inspiration for the film Pirates of the Caribbean. Largely using contemporary sources and accounts the author details the exploits - and endings - of a whole selection of pirates who terrorised the African and American coasts as well as the Caribbean in the first quarter of the 18th Century. Although using the accounts in a largely uncritical way, we get an excellent feel for the life of a sailor, and thus the attractions of an often short career as a pirate. The inability of naval captains to effectively track down and destroy pirate ships - they were usually feathering their own nests instead - is also explored, and the trial at the climax of Black Barty's career is covered in some detail. All in all a good read, looking at the topic in an unemotional way. An interesting way to explore an often largely ignored topic.