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Title: Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life among the Pirates by David Cordingly ISBN: 0-15-600549-2 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 15 September, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (49 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Well done, and well told
Comment: It is difficult to find intelligent, well written, historically accurate accounts on such broad (yet obscure) topics as piracy on the high seas. It is even more difficult to find ones whose style doesn't dull the compelling nature of the institution. Cordingly however, is able to put forth to his readers a refined historical account, that is long on both drama and accuracy. This book fills a gap, on the study of pirates, that existed between the overly scholarly and the overly sensational, giving both the history buff and the mildly curious a window into an otherwise difficult subject to research and report on. But unlike most historical works, there is no loss of romance, proof that history doesn't need the added flare of a coffee table publication if the humanity of the subject is stressed over the plain, dry facts. The lives of these sea-roving vagabonds are enough to lure the reader further into Cordingly's pages, but his style is enough to keep you loving it. ! I recommend this book wholeheartedly, especially to those who have never read any such account on the true history of piracy.
Rating: 5
Summary: The most accurate and best researched book on pirates
Comment: David Cordingly's "Under the Black Flag, The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates" constitutes the best researhed book on pirate history I have ever read. The information provided about the lives of this notorious anti-heroes, the reality of the life among them and the world of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is amazingly accurate, and backed up with an extensive bibliography and footnotes. For those interested in pirate history throughout the ages, and specially the Golden Age of Piracy, this book constitutes a fundamental tool for understanding the pirate reality. When uncovering how the real people like Edward Teach and Calico Jack were, this book has no equal. Cordingly separates the myths from the real individuals behind them, proving that the reality is much more interesting than the romance, when uncovered. At the same time, the author discusses how the myths surrounding Blackbeard, the Women Pirates or Kidd's treasure, were formed and have survived through the years, becoming important elements of popular culture. Cordingly establishes why in our hearts, pirates were not sadistic villans, but rather "...romantic outlaws living far from civilization on some distant sunny shore," something most of us would dream to be.
Rating: 4
Summary: Aarrr! Good tale of pirates, if a little disorganized
Comment: Whenever historical figures such as pirates are so common in popular culture, I often wonder how accurate the representation is. This book engagingly answers these questions. Not surprisingly, there is some truth to the modern image of a pirate. For example, they often dressed with scarfs, lots of guns, and even kept parrots as pets. On the other hand, they were largely brutal criminals, not jovial, romantic figures usually portrayed in stories.
With such a fragmentary history, the big challenge is to present a coherent picture of pirate history. Cordingly doesn't always pull this off. I found the book disorganized in places, and some of the chapters have fairly loose threads holding the material together. A lot of the excursions into analyzing popular culture are not particularly insightful, and interfere with the strength of the book, telling the story of pirates.
Overall, a fun and interesting read on a criminal class that is well recognized, if not well known.
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Title: The History of Pirates by Angus Konstam ISBN: 1585745162 Publisher: Lyons Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Pirates Own Book: Authentic Narratives of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers by Charles Ellms ISBN: 0486276074 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 June, 1993 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Buccaneers of America by Alexander O. Exquemelin, Alexis Brown, Jack Beeching ISBN: 048640966X Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: A General History of Pyrates by Daniel Defoe, Manuel Schonhorn ISBN: 0486404889 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 February, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Pirate Hunter : The True Story of Captain Kidd by Richard Zacks ISBN: 0786884517 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 18 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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