In Smithsonian, a newly-discovered account of Blackbeard's final days

The newsstand edition cover.

Subscribers of Smithsonian Magazine should be receiving their February 2014 issue right about now and -- unlike the newsstand edition -- it has Blackbeard on the cover.

Inside of either edition, you'll find my story on Blackbeard's final days, including an exclusive, newly-revealed eyewitness account of his final ship captures. These documents were discovered by underwater explorer Mike Daniel, the man who found the wreck of Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, back in 1996. There's also a suite of other recent discoveries, some of which post-date the 2007 publication of my book, The Republic of Pirates, which by coincidence was released in the United Kingdom a few days ago.

So enjoy, and give Republic of Pirates a read if you find you're wanting to know more.

For those following along, my last piece for Smithsonian Magazine was on the "Great Pyramids of Bosnia" and the dangers of pseudo-science in the December 2009 issue.