Pirate book recommendations

[TheManicMonocle]

Hey, can anyone suggest any good historical, non-fiction books about pirates? I want to learn about them; specifically the golden age of piracy

[comicshorse]

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Pirates of the Levant' by Arturo Perez Reverte. Its well written, seemed historically accurate ( sadly I'm no expert) and is written from the point of view of the Spanish who normally just get to be the victims/enemies
Ir#ts one of a series by the author following the main character Captain Alatriste a spanish soldier and sword-for-hire in the 17th Century

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Alatriste

You might also consider 'The Pyrates' by George Macdonald Fraser which is absolutely NOT historically accurate but a loving parody of every pirate cliche peddled by Hollywood

EDIT
And I completely missed you asked for Non-Fiction. Sorry

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by comicshorse
I thoroughly enjoyed 'Pirates of the Levant' by Arturo Perez Reverte.

The OP specifically requested nonfiction.


Originally Posted by comicshorse
…which is absolutely NOT historically accurate….

…and historical accuracy.


Originally Posted by TheManicMonocle
…specifically the golden age of piracy.

For an overview, you might look at Pirate: The Golden Age by Osprey Publishing. Their quality varies from title to title, but Angus Konstam is one of their better authors. Osprey has a number of other pirate-themed titles, including The Pirate Ship 1660-1730, Privateers & Pirates 1730-1830, and Blackbeard's Last Fight, which is a detailed look at his final action. These are slim books and fairly expensive, but any public library should be able to order them for you through interlibrary loan for just a couple of dollars.

For more a more in-depth nonfiction account, you might try Pirates on the Chesapeake by Donald Shomette. It's focused on the Mid-Atlantic and covers roughly 1600-1800, which broadly straddles the period you're interested in. Shomette's book is a classic, relying heavily on primary source documents, and he goes into as much detail as possible about pirate tactics, the ships they used, and the trials and executions of captured pirates.

He also devotes a lot of time to the attempts of various colonial administrators to control piracy on the Atlantic Seaboard--usually complicated by the long delay of receiving orders from England, as well as the perennial lack of funds from colonial councils and the incredibly shoddy work of local contractors. Defending the Chesapeake was especially difficult because the waterways are too wide for shore batteries to effectively control the entrances of the Bay, and shoreline defenses were persistently underbuilt and undermanned. This led to attempts to create an anti-pirate patrol on the Chesapeake, which was never very effective, and Shomette explains the reasons why. I should add that this book, while exhaustively researched and meticulously written, is also a rather clunky and academic read, so be aware that while the accounts are authentic, they tend to lack a certain zing.

For a more readable and very popular nonfiction account, I would suggest Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly. I haven't read this one, but it's a fixture on the shelves of my local Barnes & Noble, and it's fairly well-rated on Amazon. David Cordlingly has also written Seafaring Women, which includes chapters on female pirates. And another broad-based pirate book is Pirates in the Age of Sail by Robert J. Antony, which is a collection of primary documents intended to shed a more personal light on pirates and their circumstances. These should help get you started.

[TheManicMonocle]

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Pirates of the Levant' by Arturo Perez Reverte. Its well written, seemed historically accurate ( sadly I'm no expert) and is written from the point of view of the Spanish who normally just get to be the victims/enemies
Ir#ts one of a series by the author following the main character Captain Alatriste a spanish soldier and sword-for-hire in the 17th Century

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Alatriste

You might also consider 'The Pyrates' by George Macdonald Fraser which is absolutely NOT historically accurate but a loving parody of every pirate cliche peddled by Hollywood

EDIT
And I completely missed you asked for Non-Fiction. Sorry

Oh hey no worries I might like those too

[2D8HP]

It's been years since I read them but;

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41FnoAXGwAL._SY300_.jpg
"Under the Black Flag" was a good history.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51K4xVUrfKL._SY300_.jpg
"GURPS Swashbucklers", was a treasure trove of interesting anecdotes

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/619cf2cgTAL._SY300_.jpg
"The Pirate Handbook", was fun and had some information.