Read any good books lately?

[JoshuaRed]

Cool. I've got a nifty book of GURPS rules called Swashbucklers that covers the Golden Age....mayhap we'll play over a good rum this winter!

[blackjohn]

Haha! If that is the most recent edition (with the Don Maitz cover) then you'll find my name on the title page under the playtest credits. And also, somewhere nere the very end, you'll find our group's old url listed!

(mental note, send errata to SJGames)

Blackjohn

[Lady Seahawke]

Piracy, Slavery and Redemption - Barbary Captivity Narratives from Early Modern England

Selected and edited by Daniel J. Vitkus

Introduced by Nabil Matar.

Excellent on case histories...

Letters from captives to families...etc.

highly recommend it.

[Knots]

I know its an old topic, but have to add to it anyway.

"Tracks in the sea" by Chester G Hearn Non Fiction

Its about Matthew F Maury and his mapping of the oceans. Its not about Pirates or Plunder, in fact if it wasn't a gift I prob wouldn't have read it, but it is really a good story on how sea charts came to be and gives a good insight on the military of the era.

Pirates on the Chesapeake is another good read, but I loaned it out and I can't remember who wrote it.

[Capt. Flint]

Just picked up... The Pirate Hunter... the true story of Capt. Kidd.... by Richard Zacks... I hope it isn't a yawn, but, we'll see. I also picked up the latest edition of Renaissance magazine. This issue is one of the better ones I've seen in a while. Lots of info. on chainmail and armor care.

[Indigojack]

I be finishing up "VILLAINS OF ALL NATIONS" by Marcus Rediker.

It contains lots of tid-bits about why sailers became pyrates, and accounts of their tryals. Very readable.

" He that's born to hang need fear no drowning"

INDIGOJACK

[King's Pyrate]

I done asked me lady fer Gasparilla, Pirate Geniusfer me upcoming berfday. I will share me thoughts about after it be read. :)

I have the book. The story was not too bad but it was so historically inaccurate that it drove me nuts.

If you are not into nautical history too much, you may find it a good read.

Let me know how you like it.

KP

[HarborMaster]

Under the Black flag was good., but Terror on The High Seas has been even better.., I have 2 more chapters to go. If you read terror on the High Seas ., You wont need to read Under the Black Flag. Because TOTHS is basically a more complete and revamped UTBF ..,the same author and same stories of certain pirates. The latter (terror) goes into the middle eastern corsairs..,and shipping all across the barbary coast., southern Africa and Madagascar...,as well as the whole slave trade., Whites as well as blacks .,christians and muslims., A vicious and terrorizing read to be sure !!! and also a much better book..,It brings Piracy from the middle ages thru to modern times., lots of pictures of paintings.,and litho's also. Probably the best book I have ever read concerning Piracy.

HarborMaster

[Capt. Z]

....not a piratical book but good, any of ye read "The Cobra Event" ???

[piratelassie]

I just saw another pirate book by Barry Clifford in the store. The Lost Fleet. Any good?

[Captain Tito]

I have the book. The story was not too bad but it was so historically inaccurate that it drove me nuts.

Yeah having been through half of it so far, it is a good story, but it even says at the beginning that its fiction based.

Tell me, and I know that theres a big debate as to whether Gasparilla was real or not, but is there a better, more "factual" book on the man??

[Toe Cutter]

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's learnin things never taught me nuthin. And books is the worst!"

Sorry I just watched Yellowbeard again

[Capt. Flint]

Just to let you all know.. I'm about a third of the way into the book.. The Pirate Hunter.. Capt. Kidd.... it's really good so far. It's a n enjoyable read with a good bit of background and captivating stories....

[Captain Goodwench]

I've just started "Pyrates" by George MacDonald Fraser. It's fiction and not new, c1983. ANyone read it? It's hilarious!!

[Maraudin Sparky]

Well, I'll add to this, and say that

Long John Silver by Bjorn Larssen is a brilliant book (translated by Tom Geddes).. It's well researched and fleshes out one of the most enduring, villainous characters of fiction till you can almost reach out and touch him. (Oh, and you'll find out the real reason why & how he became one-legged)

Secondly, I would advise anyone to read The Bounty by Caroline Alexander, as a very interesting portrait of the unfairly maligned Capt Bligh. An utterly brilliant navigator, and a brave and forward-thinking Captain.

[piratelassie]

I've just started "Pyrates" by George MacDonald Fraser. It's fiction and not new, c1983. ANyone read it? It's hilarious!!

Probably one of my favorite books!!!!! It's completely hysterical! Especially the whole bit about page 115. Y'know, I think it would make a good movie, sort of along the lines of Robin Hood: Men in Tights

[Patrick Hand]

I just finished reading Hinting Pirate Heaven In Search of the Lost Pirate Utopias of the Indain Ocean it containes very little about pirates... but was a fun travelog .... Don't get it expecting much on pirates.... but it is a fun read.

I'm also reading Master and Commander (just don't tell Capt. Gary.... he might not understand why I haven't already read it...)

AND

I'm reading The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy it covers the English Navy durring the Seven Year Wars... and contains many interesting details of the Royal Naval.

AND

The Great Age of Sail but this is more of a picture book, so I'm just reading the first part that covers ships from the pirate time period....

I usually read about three different books at any time.... but I'm so cheap, that I have to find them in used bookstores....

A book I realy want to find is another copy of .... Love stories of famous Pirates I can't figure out the "love story" part in the title...... but from what I remember.... It was a great pyrate book......

I also just finished Wake of the Perdido Star by Gene Hackman and Daniel Lenihan....and it was a very fun read........

[Zath Chauvert]

I recently read a silly little novel called The Pirates! in an Adventure With Scientists, by Gideon Defoe, whose name I may have misspelled. It's about a bunch of pirates (none of them have any real names; it's always things like the Pirate Captain, the pirate with the scarf, the albino pirate, the pirate in green, the pirate with the accordion, etc.) who attack The Beagle and end up helping Charles Darwin save his brother from an evil bishop. It's very light, fast reading. I probably could have finished it in under two hours if I hadn't been reading it at work, being interrupted by customers every five minutes. It's a fun way to waste a little time, but I would recommend finding it at the library or waiting for it to come out in paperback rather than spending the $15 or whatever it was that they are asking for the hardcover.

[Lady Seahawke]

Read the "Floating Brothel" Very good read.

Just got one (more a pamplet then book) entitled..."Artillery Through the Ages - A Short Illustrated History of Cannon, Emphasizing Types Used in America" By Albert Manucy...Historian Southeastern National Monuments.

Very good read, great information and great pics. and although it states it emphasizes American Cannon, it has lots of stuff on European countries too. It gives information on the types of firepower a pirate would have faced in ports and garrisons...etc. again, great information. smile.

"The Age of Fighting Sail" by C.S. Forrester is another one I would recommend.

ok, I have several others, but will hold on those till another day.

smile.

[Nigel]

I just finished Memoirs of a Buccaneer (pilfered from Captain Hurricane's treasure chest, of course!). What a delightful book. My current favorite.

[Captain Goodwench]

Well, it's not about pirates but it's very interesting. It's called "God's secretaries" and it's about the making of the King James Bible. Author isAdam Nicolson. ANd another along the same theme is "William Tyndale: If God spare my life" fascinating look at a time when the RC church controlled what you read. I find it astounding that they would ban the reading of the bible!? Interesting times indeed.

[piratelassie]

Adam Nicolson's first book is really good too. Not on the same lines as God's Secretaries though. It's called Sea Room, and it's about him inheriting and living on the Shiant Islands in the outer Hebrides. Really interesting, and evocative of the place and the myths and stuff surrounding it. And, it's now in print in the US!

[Cap'n Pete Straw]

I recently read a silly little novel called The Pirates! in an Adventure With Scientists, by Gideon Defoe...

This topic has been asleep for awhile, but today I just finished the previously & afore-mentioned book (Gideon Defoe's "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists") and I have to bring it back into the light.

Steer clear, all who read only serious historical pirate accounts, but I STRONGLY encourage anyone with a funnybone to pick up this delightful book. It is a quick read (as mentioned before) but I cannot recall immediately to mind a more enjoyable and silly, silly read -- and it's pirate-themed! Although it is quite short, I found it reminiscent of the humor found in Douglas Adams' books. I laughed out loud in spite of myself sevearl times.

The book is chock-full of humor, ridiculous situations, and silly adventure. Totally enjoyable, IMHO.

Zath Chauvert accurately questioned the price tag (marked a whopping $15.95 in my copy), but I will read this one a couple more times before I put it away, and then will dig it out again later to re-enjoy. I will get my money's worth out of it. If you can borrow a copy (or get from the library) -- it is well worth your time.

[Black Hearted Pearl]

I recently read "The Angel's Commnad" by Brian Jacques. It's a bit of magic and ghost story with a pirate theme. My oldest son bought it for me at his school's book fair. That's me boy!

[Nelson Cooke]

I read the Zacks book Pirate Hunter. The details and the writing are so good, it brings you back in time as good as any book, let alone one about pirates. As pirate books go, it's about as compelling a story--how Kidd got screwed over by Limey aristocrats--that's been out in a while.