Under the Black Flag

If you are looking for the ultimate pirate book look no further than "Under the Black Flag" by David Cordingly. Now this is not a new book but it can still be found on Amazon and other shops so search it out. I have read books on pirates since a lad, most of them are a chronicle of the exploits of the more famous pirates. Under the Black Flag goes well beyond that. This is a serious work of scholarship which delves deep into the question who where the pirates of the Golden Age and why did they take to piracy? Mr. Cordingly uses ships logs, pirate trial records and period journals to answer these very questions. Don't let the term "scholarly"  put you off Mr. Cordingly's prose is straight forward and his antidotes are engaging. He even delves into the contrasts between the real pirates and the most famous pirates of the western world Long John Silver and Captain Hook. If you are going to read only one book about the pirates of the Golden Age this is the book to read.


I'd also like to take a moment to welcome my newest followers, I know I've been remiss in this regard but I hope to make amends. So welcome Fran of the angry lurker, Alfons of miniaturas militares alfons canovas, Mike Reynolds, Austronaut of attempted gamer, TamsinP of wargaming girl and Brian Botzn. Thank you all for following Fiends in Waistcoats.