Zacks, Richard

Examines President Thomas Jefferson's covert operation against the country of Tripoli in 1805 to attempt the rescue of three hundred U.S. sailors and marines by Barbary pirates and the political ramifications as a result.

Looks at turn-of-the-century New York with its prostitutes, casinos, all night bars, and how police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt attempted to clean up the city.

Traces the career of buccaneer William Kidd, a New York sea captain hired to chase pirates, from his early voyages through his death on the gallows, and discusses the role played by Robert Culliford, a mutineer, in Kidd's downfall.

Tells the story of Captain William Kidd, a reputed pirate who, the author claims, was in fact a respectable New York sea captain who was hired by England's King William III to hunt pirates, confiscate their wealth, and divide the spoils among investors; and examines Kidd's dealings with his nemesis Robert Culliford, a true pirate in every sense of the word.