Author, historian, and adventurer Edward Snow was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts. Descended from a long line of sea captains, he spent several years of his early life sailing around the world. A prolific writer, Snow wrote a number of books about New England and the sea, including such works as The Islands of Boston Harbor (1935), Ghost, Gales, and Gold (1972), and Pirates, Shipwrecks, and Historic Chronicles (1981). The New York Times called Snow "just about the best chronicler of the days of sail."