Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson is a very highly recommended account of Henry Every, the 17th 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 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.
“Bringing to life the story of a notorious pirate to a modern audience isn’t an easy task,” said a review on Goodreads.com.
Johnson is the bestselling author of several books, including Farsighted, Wonderland, How We Got to Now, Where Good Ideas Come From, The Invention of Air, The Ghost Map, and Everything Bad Is Good for You.
He weaves in elements from science, economics as well as history and other disciplines to set the stage for his stories.
