Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly describes the truth of the pirate way of life. The book covers just about everything you might need or want to know about how pirates actually lived. It covers a wide variety of topics such as what might have led various people to becoming pirates and what became of them after they did so. Alongside that it also covers what their actual rules were about women on ships and why there were so few female pirates. It also tells the true stories of various well known pirates such as Henry Morgan, Blackbeard and Captain Kidd. Mixed in with that are stories of various actual pirate raids and attacks in various locations and time periods. There is also a section on what kinds of ships were used by different pirate groups and how the pirates frequently governed themselves as well as discussing how pirates appear in both film and literature.
I found this book intriguing because we all know that the way pirates are frequently depicted, regardless of the media used, is not even remotely accurate the vast majority of the time. Something I have to frequently remind my nephews when watching things like Pirates of the Caribbean. Because of that I enjoyed learning more about the reality of how pirates would have lived which honestly was different in many ways but still interesting overall. I feel like this book did a pretty good job of outlining how pirates actually lived and worked over time though there were a few things I would have liked more detail on. A big one is the weapons frequently used by pirates. It talks a lot about the different types of ships and how they were categorized but it doesn’t explain their other weapons such as the different types of guns or cannons on board or the types of pistols used. While this may not be hugely necessary or interesting to the overall picture it was still something I would have liked more of an explanation on. Perhaps the one that I actually didn’t like about the book was the structure. It was organized around topics or aspects of life among the pirates which does make sense if you think about it. However, it also meant that certain events were described and depicted several times from several different viewpoints or angles and you really have to pay attention to keep names and dates and ships correct in your head as you read. I feel like this slightly impeded and slowed down my reading and my enjoyment of the story though I still feel like I learned quite a bit by reading it as well. This book gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.
As you might have noticed this book is a non-fiction book focused exclusively on pirates. It will naturally hold the most appeal to readers who enjoy non-fiction or readers who like reading about pirates. Either way you should enjoy it just fine. Despite the topic being covered the book is surprisingly not all that graphic or gruesome when describing some of what the pirates actually did. It doesn’t flinch away from anything but it also doesn’t go out of its way to dwell on that either if that makes sense. Honestly, I would feel fine recommending this book to readers as young as thirteen if they happen to be interested in pirates. It can be a bit dry at times but it is non-fiction and highly academic so keep that in mind as well. Hope you try it and if you do consider sharing your thoughts in the comments.