The Spanish called him El Draco, the English called him "The Master Thief of the Unknown World." and Queen Elizabeth I called him "my dear pirate." Drake had earned these names by burning Spanish towns in the Caribbean and capturing their vessels and treasure, but he always had the queen's protection. She refused to have her pirate hanged and later gave him permission to try his dream of sailing around the world.

In 1577 Drake started out with five ships on this hazardous voyage, but four of them were soon lost. Before he entered the icy Magellan Strait, there were threats of mutiny, but still he managed to reach the gold-filled ports of Spanish Peru. And when, in 1580, the Golden Hind returned home alone, it was laden down with enough Spanish gold to make Drake one of the wealthiest men in England.

An exciting period of English history, from Drake's boyhood in Plymouth harbor to the crushing defeat of the great Spanish Armada in 1588, comes alive again in this colorful and absorbing biography.

From the dust jacket