About the Author

David Lester illustrated the award-winning 1919: A Graphic History of the Winnipeg General Strike. His poster of anti-war protester Malachi Ritscher was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He is the guitarist in the rock duo Mecca Normal.

Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of The Fearless Benjamin Lay, and Villains of All Nations on which this book is based.

Paul Buhle, a retired senior lecturer at Brown University, is the authorized biographer of C. L. R. James. He has edited more than a dozen nonfiction graphic novels, including Ballad of an American: A Graphic Biography of Paul Robeson.

Marcus Rediker worked with David Lester and Paul Buhle to adapt his book The Fearless Benjamin Lay (2017) into Prophet against Slavery: Benjamin Lay. A Graphic Novel (Beacon, 2021).

Reviews

“A concise, sharp tale of a multiethnic crew of disgruntled sailors who mutiny against miserable conditions and transform their ship into a kind of floating socialist republic with elected officers and equal shares of plunder.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A swashbuckling high-seas adventure—with plenty of surprises.”
—Booklist

“A story which will have you yearning for freedom and rum like the hackneyed stereotypes of Jack Sparrow never could.”
—Freedom News (UK)

“Breaks new ground in our understanding of piracy and pirate culture, giving us more reasons to love the rebellious and stouthearted marauders of the high seas.”
—BoingBoing

“An engaging read.”
—Vancouver Sun

“...a real page-turner filled with sea battles, rescues, secret passion and unavoidable tragedy... all based in fact and Rediker’s historical research...Look out for this book: it’s a hidden treasure.”
—Toronto Star

“A fascinating history and a sociopolitical explication of the reasons sailors became pirates and how they organized themselves once the brigandry had begun.”
—CounterPunch