Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh and a leading historian of maritime labor, slavery, resistance, and social movements in the Atlantic world. Raised in Nashville and Richmond in a family with roots in the mines and factories of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, he earned his B.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of Pennsylvania. He has written, co-written, or edited numerous award-winning books that center the experiences and agency of ordinary people, including “The Slave Ship,” “The Amistad Rebellion,” “The Fearless Benjamin Lay,” “A Global History of Runaways,” and “Freedom Ship.”