Cordingly’s foray into the world of pirates is vast and action-packed. This book focuses on the “Golden Age” of piracy (1650-1725) and tries to deliver as accurate a picture as possible. While his accuracy is spot-on, his style leaves one jarred. Cordingly has trouble with transitioning between piratic episodes and sometimes goes into great detail in places and little in others. This is also one book where it pays to read both the introduction and the glossary in order to tell the difference between privateers, pirates, buccaneers, and corsairs, as well as to navigate through all the hefty nautical jargon. Entertaining but dense. ( )

Student Review:
The book, Under the Black Flag, is a non-fiction work of literature that breaks down the behavior and culture of pirates. The goal of this book is to separate fact from fiction from what has been displayed in the media and related films. The author, David Cordingly, refers to many other non-fiction books about pirates and uses countless examples of documented accounts of real pirates. He also dismantles the historical aspect of famous films and plays, such as Peter Pan and Treasure Island. Under the Black Flag contains scores of interesting facts about pirates. In addition, the adventure is also a great way to learn more about piracy in the 17th century. This work of non-fiction also replays many of the trials that pirates were involved with, looking at their charges like piracy and stealth, and also various hangings and executions of pirates. This book is very informative source of piracy and the history behind it.

Cordingly does good research into the stories and experiences of pirates, concentrating his efforts on the most documented and verifiable, those frequenting the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and along the US East coast. The first half of the book is a four-star review of those tales, especially good for someone who is just learning about famous pirates. There is discussion of Drake, Morgan, and Teach, as well as many other pirates. However, the second half of the book loses the narrative and gets bogged down in dry and disconnected bits of piracy, such as a long discussion on types of pirate vessels (which is fine, until...) that devolves into a discussion of movie versions of said ships (as pointed out in another review). Some of the later chapters cover material that was already alluded to (such as hunting pirates) and which could have been better incorporated into the narrative of the first half.

That all said, three stars. Good intro to West Indies pirates and their exploits, but generally lacking a central narrative and voice (in the latter half) to carry out all the concepts covered in the book. ( )

Not much new here. I found the organization to be odd. The book is broken into sections which don't seem to follow a logical progression in the section. There are lots of references but the book just didn't flow well. Empire of the Blue Water was better. Of course, I read Empire of the Blue water at the beach with a drink in my hand so that could contribute to it. ( )

Loved this book! Interesting & informative, yet an easy read ( )