A Pirate's Life for Me

I love pirates. If you've ever met me, then you probably know this already -- I've got something of a reputation as a pirate fan. (Er. As in "historical, swashbuckling buccaneers," that is. Not the baseball team.) (Although, come to think of it, I'm a fan of the baseball team, too. They've got quite a cool name.)

Of course, as an obsessor of pirates, I'm quite aware that the happy-go-lucky swashbucklers of fiction and film are a far cry from the historical reality. Real pirates of the seventeenth and eighteenth century were rough, brutal men and women (yes, there were women pirates, too) who lived with constant violence and without regrets. But pirate crews were also notable for being made up of people escaping tyrannical naval captains, slavery, and impoverished living conditions. Pirate crews were also true democratic societies -- pirate ships would choose their own captain by election, and every major decision was first put to vote by the crew.

In history and in fantasy, the Golden Age pirates have captured the imagination of people the world over. As we approach the release of the new Disney film "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," check out these titles -- and find your inner swashbuckler!

Films

• The Curse of the Black Pearl [videorecording]
  Dead Man's Chest [videorecording]
  At World's End [videorecording]
  Be sure to catch up on the first three films before seeing the newest installment!
• The Black Swan [videorecording]
  Not a reference to the Natalie Portman movie! This classic film from 1942 stars Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, and Anthony Quinn in a tale about the real-life buccaneer Henry Morgan.
• Captain Blood [videorecording] Based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, this 1932 picture stars Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone (of Sherlock Holmes fame), and the irreplaceable Errol Flynn.
• Muppet Treasure Island [videorecording]
  You can't go wrong with a film adaptation of "Treasure Island" that stars both Tim Curry and Kermit the Frog! A great family film.

Books

• Under the Black Flag: The Romance And The Reality Of Life Among The Pirates, by David Cordingly. [non-fiction]
  The quintessential modern overview to what life was like during the "Golden Age of Piracy" -- the period of time during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when piracy in the Caribbean ran rampant.
• Pirate Hunter: The True Story Of Captain Kidd, by Richard Zacks. [non-fiction]
  Pop culture tells us that Captain Kidd was the epitome of a Golden Age pirate. But this account shows that Kidd was, instead, a licensed privateer who was set up by the East India Trading Company to take the fall after inadvertently pitting himself against them. A rip-roaring story, told in a fascinating style, Zacks's book is highly recommended.
• Chase the Morning, by Michael Scott Rohan. [novel]
  A fantasy adventure featuring an unlikely protagonist, an import/export agent who finds himself sucked into an alternate world of heroes, demigods ... and pirates.
• Pirate Latitudes: A Novel, by Michael Crichton. [novel]
  Published posthumously, this caper-style historical novel is notably different from Crichton's usual science thrillers.
• The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook: A Swashbuckler's Guide from Pirates of the Caribbean, by Jason Heller. [humor]
  A great book for anyone looking to encourage their inner swashbuckler. Contains such "vital nautical information" as how to break a curse, how to stay alive when your ship sinks, and the Top Ten Pirate Superstitions.
• Bloody Jack : Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy, by L.A. Meyer. [YA novel]
  The first in a series of young adult novels, Jacky Faber -- a young orphan girl struggling to survive on the streets of London -- decides to disguise herself as a boy and sign on to serve on a merchant ship. She's not looking for adventure, she's merely trying to survive -- but adventure has a way of finding Jacky Faber!

Music

• Rogue's Gallery [sound recording] : Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys [sound recording]
  This collection of rocked-out traditional sea songs and chanteys was produced by Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski. Be warned: these traditional chanteys were written for salty sailors, and have the salty language to match!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Swashbuckling Sea Songs [sound recording]
  Meanwhile, this family-friendly album is just the thing for the younger buccaneers looking for some piratical tunes to sing along to!
• Masters and Commanders [sound recording]
  Includes music from the best seafaring film classics, including "Mutiny on the Bounty," "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," and "Pirates of the Caribbean."
• Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, or, The Slave of Duty [sound recording]
  The soundtrack to Gilbert and Sullivan's famous comic opera, about the Pirate King and pirate crew who together raised a boy who was originally intended to be ... a pilot.