Rating: 
Summary: I have bought this book for four of my good friends, too.
Review: I really loved this book. It not only turned me on to the true lives of pirates, but it's given me renewed faith in the idea that history books don't have to be boring and pompous. Every chapter was great, and I am now a gazillion times smarter than I used to be on this topic. When I went to the National Geographic's Pirate exhibit on the artifacts from the ship "Wydah", I was able to appreciate it much more. This book really changed my reading habits, and I am thankful I found it.
Rating:
Summary: Popular history at its best
Review: Historians (of which I'm one) are forever telling each other that they need to write more books that will appeal to general audiences. The trouble is, a lot more of us talk about it than actually sit down and *do* it. David Cordingly did do it, and the result is a model of what history written for non-specialists should be. This is far and away the best introduction to the history of piracy ever produced. Cordingly writes clearly and smoothly, and covers an astonishing amount of historical ground very economically. The book hits the highlights of major historical disagreements about pirates without ever getting bogged down in them, and tells its tales of death and mayhem without losing sight of the fact that the victims are usually innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time. This book is well worth the time of anyone interested in the history of ships and seafaring. Patrick O'Brian fans, here's something to pass the time until Aubrey and Maturin get underway again!
Rating: 
Summary: Frustratingly lifeless
Review: It is amazing that someone with as little interest in pirates (or, at least, in what interests other people about pirates) as Cordingly has could ever become such an expert on them. Instead of the skull and cross-bones, this book should just have one of the plain blue covers that are on the booklets that students use for written exams. It's not that I would prefer an inaccurate account of piracy. The facts about pirate life are actually just as romantic and exciting as the fiction. The problem is in the way Cordingly presents them. He should open the book with, "I can even make PIRATES boring! Watch this:" If only Cordingly had found someone with a pulse to collaborate in the writing of this book. Someone like me or anyone else who finds pirates interesting enough to have purchased UNDER THE BLACK FLAG. The side of a cereal box is written with more energy than this book.
Rating:
Summary: The End-All Be-All of Pirate Books
Review: This is truly the one source for pirate information. Written by the worlds leading authority on the subject this leaves no myth standing and no stone unturned. It is a long book that takes you through a complete history of pirates and what they were really like. Like ships? Its in here. Like plundering? Its in here. Want to know what happened to them? Why some are corsairs and others are buccaneers? Its in here. Even if your interest in pirates is a moderate one, drop the money for this book. You won't put it down, matey.
Rating:
Summary: This was a very informative and interesting resource.
Review: I used this book for a research project about pirates. i came up with some amazing information. The writing style is very engaging, making it very exciting book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Well done, and well told
Review: 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:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: If you thought pirates lived glamorous lifestyles while hunting for loot and made their victims walk the plank, think again! And read this book! These are two of the myths about pirates the author dispells.
The truth alarming enough! Readers will learn that England encouraged its sailors
to plunder French and Spanish ships and to that end granted pirates letters of marque to legitimize their actions (eventually the government got out of the business of granting letters of marque).
The book also reveals that many pirates were indeed barbaric and took no quarter. As England began cracking down on pirates punishment was swift. Many were hanged at Execution Dock along the Thames River.
An excellent book!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time!
Review: To put it briefly, this book is a waste of money and more importantly, time!
Rating: 
Summary: I could be jaded...
Review: "Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates" is mis-titled; it should be "Romance versus Reality". David Cordingly's book doesn't stray from its mission for one page. It goes into the modern versions (i.e. movies, novels) of the pirate mythologies, looking for the actual or inspiring accounts in the past and then dispells at every turn the romantic notions that made these characters Characters. It's the same as seeing how the magician performs the illusion, you lose the magic. Of course, I could simply be jaded by the fact that Mr. Cordingly is described by his own book to be the most knowledgable person about pirates on the planet. C'mon, Dave, even Mel Gibson doesn't walk around wearing a tee-shirt that says "I look better than you".
Rating:
Summary: A Fairly Thorough Book on 17th and 18th Century Piracy
Review: This is a pretty thorough book on pirates and piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The risks of either being a pirate or serving as a sailor on a merchantman are discussed, as well as the types of ships that pirates normally sailed in. Accounts are also given of the most famous and most successful pirates. I've read many books on piracy, and this is one of the best. It's very well-written with some excellent illustrations. If you're interested in piracy in this time period, buy this book.
| 
