Pirate Utopias

You always have to keep a watchful eye on Peter Lamborn Wilson. He is a trickster and a magician, and he is trying to sell you a beautiful dream. In exchange, he asks nothing more (or less) than that you take it into the core of your heart, make it your own dream, carry it with you while you build the future.

I'm not implying that he is just making shit up. He maybe embroiders here and there, highlights one thread of the tale over others - no more than any official historian does, really. Manifest Destiny. Survival of The Fittest. Better Living Through Chemistry. These are all myths, less artfully presented, that we've been told to accept as truth.

So when you are reading Pirate Utopias, bear all this in mind. It's well-researched, and show more clearly presented, and if he has an agenda, at least it's a gorgeous and tricky one. Here is a history of liberation, a legacy Wilson is telling us to embrace and reclaim. From his pirates we can learn how to build a future that actually works. show less

Things I liked about this book: Wilson counters traditional historical views of 17th century renegadoes (Christian Europeans who converted to Islam and became corsairs and pirates) which deny the renegadoes any agency of their own. In contrast, Wilson demonstrates that these men and women had intentions, and ideas of their own. Their conversion to Islam at a time when most of Europe was engaged in the Crusades can be seen as a revolutionary act, and also demonstrates that there may have been what Wilson calls "the positive shadow of Islam" in Europe--meaning that while mainstream European society vilified Islamic culture, there must have been a counter-current of positive associations of Islam that would have inspired people to Apostate show more by the hundreds.

Things I didn't like about this book: Wilson sets out on a fairly ambitious project, which he admits he cannot quite pull off: to prove the existence of coherent pirate cultures that were revolutionary, anarchistic, and intentionally Utopian. My favorite parts of the book are those sections where he goes into deep analysis to flesh out that idea. Unfortunately, the book is filled with detailed anecdotes of pirate activities (quoted at length from other texts) which are neither very interesting, nor very relevant to his argument. The extensive quotations which often run several pages long make it difficult to keep Wilson's voice separate from those he is quoting. show less

This was given to me by Wilson & I appreciate that, so I feel a little bad to only be rating it as "I liked it" instead of giving it a rave review. Nonetheless, while I found it educational & edifying, it seemed a little slim somehow. Mind you, I certainly cdn't do any better on the subject!