Under the Black Flag | |||||||||||||||
David Cordingly | |||||||||||||||
Harvest/Harcourt Brace Books, 320 pages | |||||||||||||||
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A review by Neil Walsh
OK, hell yes, we love pirates! And this is a book that takes a look
at why that is. The subtitle of Under the Black Flag is "The
Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates." After all, that's
what our love of pirates boils down to: the mixture of the romance
and the reality.
In his introduction, Cordingly reminds us of the ugly truth:
Cordingly is the man who should know, having been the organizer of the
world-acclaimed exhibition, Pirates, Fact and Fiction, with the National
Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England. As might be expected of such an
individual, his book is extremely well documented, with detailed notes,
bibliography, glossary of nautical terms, and a few appendices with some
fascinating facts and figures about pirate attacks, trials and executions.
But this is no dry and dusty scholar's thesis. It's an enjoyable,
easy read. The 16 pages of black and white glossy plates in the centre
of the book, and the several maps scattered throughout, add to the appeal
of this edition. And the cover is much more dramatic than that of the hard
cover Random House American edition which was released a couple of years ago.
Under the Black Flag is not just an historical analysis of piracy
in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; it's a foray into the
world of history and fiction as they coalesce into myth within our own
minds. As promised, Cordingly looks at the romance, as well as the
reality. He discusses the pirates we know and love in fiction, film and legend.
If you'll permit me just one more quotation from this book:
So really, now. Why did this book get reviewed on the
SF Site? Partly because there is a fantastical element
to our notion of pirates that Cordingly addresses, and
partly, well, there's no denying that most of us love a
good mutiny. But this mutiny is over. You can have your
science fiction and fantasy back now.
Neil Walsh is the Reviews Editor for the SF Site. He lives in contentment, surrounded by books, in Ottawa, Canada. |
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