Hitching rides on a motley assortment of freighters, dhows, yachts, and fishing smacks, Kevin Rushby sailed up the east coast of Africa in search of the lost pirate settlements that, in the sixteenth century, were established on the islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean. He turned east to the islands of Comoros and Madagascar, his ultimate objective being to locate the descendants of the infamous sixteenth-century pirates-such as Captain Misson, the legendary French pirate who may have been dreamed up by Daniel Defoe; English sailor-turned-buccaneer Thomas White; and Rhode Islander Thomas Tew-who carved kingdoms for themselves in the remote jungles of northeast Madagascar. As he traveled, Rushby met up with the crackpot dreamers, tough settlers, fighters and failures who live on the coasts and islands now-where forgotten Portuguese forts lie covered in jungle, where some have tried to shoot their way to paradise, and where the ocean can destroy lives and dreams as quickly as men and women create them.

Dr. Christopher Lemuel escapes England on a privateer after he has the misfortune of winning a duel. With his life in jeopardy, he signs on as ship's doctor only to face further dangers on the high seas. The good doctor is wounded in a sea battle, captured by pirates, and reluctantly becomes a buccaneer. Then matters become stranger still when Dr. Lemuel is marooned on an island populated by enormous beasts unknown in natural history.

“Thoroughly engrossing . . . a spirited, suspenseful, economically told tale whose significance is manifest and whose pace never flags.” —The Wall Street Journal From The New York Times–bestselling author of The Ghost Map and Extra Life, the story of a pirate who changed the world Henry Every was the seventeenth century’s most notorious pirate. The press published wildly popular—and wildly inaccurate—reports of his nefarious adventures. The British government offered enormous bounties for his capture, alive or (preferably) dead. But Steven Johnson argues that Every’s most lasting legacy was his inadvertent triggering of a major shift in the global economy. Enemy of All Mankind focuses on one key event—the attack on an Indian treasure ship by Every and his crew—and its surprising repercussions across time and space. It’s the gripping tale of one of the most lucrative crimes in history, the first international manhunt, and the trial of the seventeenth century. Johnson uses the extraordinary story of Henry Every and his crimes to explore the emergence of the East India Company, the British Empire, and the modern global marketplace: a densely interconnected planet ruled by nations and corporations. How did this unlikely pirate and his notorious crime end up playing a key role in the birth of multinational capitalism? In the same mode as Johnson’s classic nonfiction historical thriller The Ghost Map, Enemy of All Mankind deftly traces the path from a single struck match to a global conflagration.

A National Bestseller! "A beautiful, generous, fun collaboration of story and illustration and pirate tattoos. Seriously wise pirate advice for everyone." - Jon Scieszka, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature CeCe dreams of being a pirate. When the neighborhood boys tell her that she can't, she wonders where to begin. Luckily, she suspects her grandpa must know something about being a pirate--why else would he have all those tattoos? As he shares each tattoo, Grandpa and CeCe are transported from adventure to adventure, and CeCe discovers that there are all kinds of ways to be a pirate--Be BRAVE! Be QUICK! Be INDEPENDENT! And FUN!--and most of all, whether you're a pirate or not, the most important thing you can do is to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. This heartwarming and imaginative story from Isaac Fitzgerald and bestselling illustrator Brigette Barrager is a vibrant, joyful expression of what it means to be all kinds of wonderful things . . . including a pirate.

After the death of his father and two sisters and the unlawful arrest of his mother, twelve year- old Peter Barons joins a band of orphans known as the Black Dragons, a young pirate crew who scavenges ships in their country of Kirkston. These so-called pirates use the stolen goods to help feed, clothe, and protect the innocent townsfolk against the kings harsh rule. In the Black Dragon tradition, Peter adopts the nickname Smith, and at age seventeen, Smith, an expert swordsman, becomes captain of the Black Dragons. He and his crew handily defeat their foes, but their greatest battle rests within the palace walls as the general, John Stevenson, threatens the livelihood of the country. Smiths crew concocts a bold plan to rid the country of the wicked Stevensona plan that involves the kidnapping of Princess Kathleen, the kings only daughter. Any mistakes could turn the entire country against the Black Dragons, whose only goal is to help the people of Kirkston survive. Battle-ready, the Black Dragons forge some unusual alliances in order to foil Stevenson, reclaim Kirkston, and save a crew member from the hangmans rope.

In his critically acclaimed bestseller Rain of Gold, Victor Villase-or brought his mother's family vividly to life. In Wild Steps Of Heaven, he turns to his father's family, the Villase-ors. Against a vivid backdrop of love and war, magic and heroism, the author breathes life into his father's people--and in particular, the Villase-or women*Margarita, the indomitable matriarch who was swept away by Don Juan Jesus Villase-or on the eve of the Mexican revolution*their beautiful daughters, who find strength and endurance in their mother's faith, and searing passion amidst the turmoil of war. But it is little Juan, the youngest son, through whose eyes this tumultuous saga unfolds. Juan would learn from his brother Jose, a hero of the revolution, how to be a man; and from his beloved mother, how to live and love con gusto y amor. A story of madness and miracles, rage and redemption, In Wild Steps Of Heaven creates a riveting portrait of an extraordinary family and the country whose earth gave them roots.