"Indeed, the story is aimed at kids, but it isn't a story that stays there. It's a story about youth venturing into the world of adults. It's the tale of a boy seeking adventure in the frighteningly treacherous world of gentlemen and scoundrels, of loyalty and mutinous betrayal. The boy, Jim Hawkins, learns swiftly that if he is to survive in such a world, he will need to provide for himself, and to do this, he'll need a plentiful supply of courage... Will Jim become an honorable gent like Dr. Livesey? Will his last days be as the drunken fool, Billy Bones? Will his finale prove he's cut from Long John Silver's cloth, ultimately becoming a man twisted by greed for gold, a man willing to betray even those he'd call 'friends'? Silver thinks so, and there are times throughout when the reader will think so, too. However, even as these questions hover in the background, another maintains its place at the forefront: Who will get to the treasure first--Long John Silver or Jim Hawkins?" -- From the Introduction