“Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates”, by David Cordingly

336 pages, Random House, Inc., ISBN-13: 978-0812977226

Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly constitutes the best researched book on pirate history I have ever read. The information provided about the lives of these notorious anti-heroes and the reality of the life among them in the world of the 17^th-and-18^th Centuries is amazingly accurate and backed up with an extensive bibliography and footnotes. For those interested in pirate history throughout the ages, and especially the Golden Age of Piracy, this book constitutes a fundamental tool for understanding the pirate reality. When uncovering how real people like Edward Teach and Calico Jack were, this book has no equal. Cordingly separates the myths from the real individuals behind them, proving that the reality is much more interesting than the romance, when uncovered. At the same time, the author discusses how the myths surrounding Blackbeard, Women Pirates or Captain Kidd's treasure were birthed and have survived through the years, becoming important elements of popular culture. Cordingly establishes why in our hearts, pirates were not sadistic villains, but rather “romantic outlaws living far from civilization on some distant sunny shore”, something most of us would dream to be.

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.

“Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle To Determine A True And Accurate Year”, by David Ewing Duncan

328 pages, Harper Perennial, ISBN-13: 978-0380793242

Have you ever wondered why every four years an extra day is added to the calendar year? Do you know why ten days were missed forever in the middle ages? Why some years the Holy Week takes place on March and others it takes place on April? What did Julius Caesar, Roger Bacon, and Pope Gregory XIII have in common? Made of a mix of history, science, religion, astronomy, mathematics and politics, David Ewing Duncan's Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year is as entertaining as illustrating; in 15 easy-to-read chapters, David Ewing Duncan narrates to the lay public what an erudite from other times was ever able to discover. Although ostensibly about a very narrow subject, this book tells a much broader story, combining as it does both intellectual and social history with science, with the ultimate issue being “how do we define and measure a year”.

For this is not a simple a scientific question, and the input of religion makes it more difficult still. For example, the most holy of days for Christians is Easter, yet the formula used to determine Easter was based, in part, on the spring equinox. The calendar in use before Pope Gregory was not quite accurate, with the result that Easter in the 16^th Century was being celebrated, according to astronomers, ten days “off”. Science and religion have never been particularly comfortable bedfellows (one only needs to recall Galileo), so any reform was not as simple as it might seem. Duncan tells an excellent story, and what he does best is place in full context the seemingly narrow question of how we set the year. Although seemingly about a narrow subject, this is a wide-ranging and insightful work of history, ably written.

“The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian”, by Robin Lane Fox

672 pages, Basic Books, ISBN-13: 978-0465024964

Rome was not built in a day, and neither was Athens or Alexandria. The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian by Robin Lane Fox is a long book with small print which will give you a good working understanding of the classical world, covering everything from Homer in about the 8^th Century BC, to Hadrian the Roman ruler of the 2^nd Century AD.

Fox is an Oxford Scholar best known for his book on Alexander the Great used by Oliver Stone in his making of the movie Alexander. In being forced to cover over 900 years of history it is impossible for Fox to cover, in detail, all the political, social, literary and scientific advances made in that near millennium. Rather, Fox gives us a political survey of the times with some social history included. The chapters are short and digestible; we learn of what is what like to live in the Athens of Pericles or the Rome of Julius Caesar; Fox teaches us about blood sports, sexual morality, literature and the complicated politics of the distant past over 40 generations ago. We meet such seminal figures in Western culture as Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Caesar, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, along with Latin authors such as Tacitus, Virgil and Suetonius, as well as Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides. The philosophy of Plato and Aristotle is explored; we meet early Christians such as Paul and see the impact of Christianity on the Roman Empire; and we see empires rise and fall.

Robin Lane Fox has pulled off this unusual achievement in The Classical World. Taking three very ancient-world concepts – Liberty, Justice and Luxury (in its sense of extravagance and/or decadence) – Fox manages to walk confidently from Archaic Athens to the mid-point in the Roman Empire (the Emperor Hadrian, perhaps the most Greek-influenced of Roman Emperors, in the 2^nd Century AD) and brilliantly evokes both the changes within the Greek and Roman cultures as they rose to empire and then fell from that high point, and to compare and contrast the two great cultures in a way that makes sense to the reader. Perhaps more importantly, this is a deeply satisfying book both for the expert scholar and the interested reader who doesn't have his M.A. in classical studies. It's amazing to see how these three civilized needs or qualities are dealt with in differing ways by the various cultures of Greece and Rome, and how complaints of decadence always seem to follow the cultural richness of a developing civilization.

At heart, the question is: what constitutes a civilization? How do you reconcile the needs of Liberty and Justice, and what happens to both when the rich become richer and the poor become poorer? Is wealth in and of itself a clue that a civilization that has lost its earlier energy? How did the Greeks and Romans deal with wealth and poverty, and how did they view them as influencing both liberty and justice? How did the great warrior ideals Homer exemplified influence the cultures after them, for good – or ill? Did Athens fall, in part, because of its increasing wealth drawn from its increasingly-resentful allies? Did the largesse of the Caesars do more harm than good to the average Roman citizen? These and other questions are discussed (but not intrusively) as the reader time-travels through the rise and decline of the Athenian Greeks; Fox takes his leave with the Emperor Hadrian, for in his time Rome was still the greatest, most civilized nation on earth – but the hints of the decline to come were already visible with those who had eyes to see.

The Classical World feels, simply, like a labor of love from a man who finds much to love, to deprecate and to honor in both the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome.

“Watchmen”, by Alan Moore (Author) & Dave Gibbons (Illustrator)

416 pages, DC Comics, ISBN-13: 978-0930289232

Comic book superheroes are basically fascist vigilantes, with Superman and his dedication to truth, justice and the American way being the exception that proves the rule. Both Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, the two greatest examples of graphic storytelling, deal explicitly with the underlying fear the ordinary citizenry have of the demigods they worship. The one inherent advantage that Watchmen has over Frank Miller's classic tale is that it requires no knowledge of the existing mythos of its characters, because Dr. Manhattan, Ozymandias, Rorschach, Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, the Comedian and the rest of the former members of the Crimebusters were created out of whole cloth (welllll...let’s not get Charlton Comics involved).

The brainchild of writer Alan Moore (Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, From Hell) and artist Dave Gibbons (Rogue Trooper, Doctor Who, Green Lantern), Watchmen was originally published by DC Comics in twelve issues in 1986-87 (Moore and Gibbons would go on to win the Best Writer/Artist combination award at the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards ceremony). The central story in Watchmen is deceptively simple: apparently, someone is killing off or discrediting the former Crimebusters superhero team, and so the remaining members end up coming together to discover who and the why behind it all, with the payoff to the mystery is most satisfactory. But what makes Watchmen so special is the breadth and depth of both the characters and their respective subplots: Dr. Manhattan dealing with his responsibility to humanity given his god-like powers; Nite Owl having trouble leaving his secret identity behind; Rorschach being examined by a psychiatrist. Each chapter offers a specific focus on one of the characters, yet advances the overall narrative.

Beyond the intricate narrative, Moore and Gibbons offer two additional levels to the story. First, each chapter is followed by a “non-comic” section that develops more of the backstories, such as numerous excerpts from Hollis Mason's autobiography Under the Hood or Professor Milton Glass’ Dr. Manhattan: Super-Powers and the Superpowers, an interview with Adrian Veidt, or reports from the police files of Walter Joseph Kovacs. Second, almost every issue has scenes from Tales of the Black Freighter, a comic-book within a comic-book being read by a kid near a newsstand, which offers an allegorical perspective on the main plot line.

This book is so incredibly brilliant, my words alone can't do it even a fraction of the justice it deserves. A graphic novel that changed the way we think about comics, written by transcendent literary genius Alan Moore, Watchmen offers a look at superheroes as they would appear in real life. Driven only by enthusiasm and determination, without the benefit of superpowers (except for Dr. Manhattan, the science-born hero), these heroes live in the US of an alternate Earth, where they have fought through the 20^th Century, meeting with public support, distrust and sometimes hatred.

These heroes are more realistic versions of traditional superhero archetypes, bearing the faults and shortcomings of rational behavior and honest human nature. For instance, the crusading vigilante (Rorschach) is a mentally-disturbed murderer, the all-powerful science-born hero (the aforementioned Dr. Manhattan) is so all-powerful he lacks concern for the world around him, and the technological genius inventor (Nite Owl) is out of shape and overly dependent on his gadgets. This alternate world is equally different and unusual, history having been changed by the superheroes: Richard Nixon is still President in 1985, the US won the Vietnam War easily and World War III looms on the horizon.

These are the driving themes behind Watchmen, a graphic novel so stunningly well-written and well-drawn that I do not hesitate to recommend it to even the most ardent skeptics who look upon comics with disdain, never thinking to read anything remotely associated with them. Watchmen represents the perfect synergy between the use of pictures, the potency of the written word and the sublime power of symbolism that drives artists wielding either brush or pen to record their art permanently on canvas or paper. A worthy investment that stands tall amongst the great literary works of the latter part of the 20^th Century.

“The Samurai: A Military History”, by Stephen R. Turnbull

304 pages, Macmillan Publishers, ISBN-13: 978-0026205405

Stephen Turnbull, in my opinion, is one of the foremost historians of Japanese military history, and certainly one of the most prolific. His writings are well researched and represent the various strata of the eras he writes. In The Samurai: A Military History, he starts with the early history of Japan and extends his writings through the Edo Period; but he not only records the deeds of the samurai, but also of the political, religious and cultural influences that helped form this unique class of warriors, as well - influences, such as the Emperor, the establishment of Buddhism and, later, Christianity, as well as the numerous foreigners who entered Japan are all shown to have shaped them. Another aspect of this book which is very appealing is that, where other historians will focus only upon the much broader aspects of Japanese history, Turnbull provides insight into the samurai culture by giving excerpts from chronicles of individual families within this warrior society, thereby stirring the imagination of his readers to a greater extent. This book is truly a great resource for understanding this fascinating military order.

If you have ever had even a passing interest in the history of Japan from the perspective of the warrior class who played a major role in defining it, then this is probably the best choice of book on the subject. It approaches the topic from the earliest accounts of the samurai right through to the end of the samurai era, taking a fairly high level, big picture type view. The book looks more at the why something happened, than the how of events, which provides some fascinating insights into the history of Japan and allows the reader to grasp the overall history of feudal Japan with just the right balance of details and objectivity. That said, there is still quite a bit of detail of some of the more notable battles, but high level, campaign type information is not the purpose of this book. It is more interested in letting the reader understand what happened in Japanese history and why it unfolded as it did, without bogging down in micro detail. The book is superbly researched and is very well written, and despite the fact that it is a “history” book, it is a very enjoyable, extremely informative read. It is thoroughly recommended.

“Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time”, by Dava Sobel

208 pages, Walker & Company, ISBN-13: 978-0802715296

In the early 18^th Century, one of greatest scientific problems face by learned men was calculating longitude (that would be the geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position on the surface of the Earth) on the high seas. At the time, navigators had two choices, both treacherous: they either traveled well-known routes, thus opening them to the threat of pirate attacks; or they used imprecise navigational methods to avoid that danger. But the latter method presented its own problems, as it was more deadly because ships often got lost at sea or ran aground. Many sailors lost their lives and vast fortunes were dashed as ships crashed into rocks. The problem was so serious that the English Parliament passed the Longitude Act in 1714, establishing a panel of judges to study the problem and announced a prize of £20,000 (worth millions of dollars today) to anyone who could determine longitude accurately.

Enter John Harrison, a self-educated amateur clockmaker from Yorkshire, who believed that the solution lay in time, not in the heavens, as the scientific establishment had long postulated. Harrison devoted his entire life to the pursuit of the longitude prize, all the while battling university scholars who thought him an incompetent crank. In Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, author Dava Sobel tells Harrison's story with vigor and insight. It is clear that she greatly admires Harrison's genius and determination, and she describes how he “went from…humble beginnings to riches by virtue of his own inventiveness and diligence, in the manner of Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin”.

Throughout Harrison's illustrious career, he invented a number of innovative techniques for keeping accurate time-and solved many problems that had plagued clockmakers for centuries. Sobel writes: “Most pendulums of Harrison's day expanded with heat, so they grew longer and ticked out time more slowly in hot weather. When cold made them contract, they speeded up the seconds, and threw the clock's rate off in the opposite direction”. Harrison solved this by “combining long and short strips of two different metals – brass and steel – in one pendulum…” Another invention of Harrison's was caged ball bearings, which are still used today.

Harrison did eventually win the longitude prize, but not until he was in his late 70s. The debate over the way longitude would be found raged on throughout his many trials over the decades between the 1720s and the 1770s. He submitted two clocks to the Longitude Board between 1737 and 1741 (named H1 and H2), but spent nearly twenty years perfecting H3, which he finally submitted in 1769. During this time, a rival 40 years younger than Harrison, the Reverend Neville Maskelyne, insisted that the lunar distance method was the way that longitude was to be found. Sobel makes clear that Maskelyne, while a foe to Harrison, was not exactly a villain; he was rather more like an anti-hero. While Harrison's method eventually won out, Maskelyne did make many important contributions to the science of astronomy. Sobel is objective enough to give credit where credit is due.

Longitude is written in a breezy, easy-to-read style. Sobel tells her tale chronologically, providing the essentials of the struggle while maintaining the historical context. She describes the painstaking observations and integrations that Harrison had to make in order to create his famous clocks. The solitary years he spent in his workshop focusing on his central goal is an inspiration to behold, particularly in an age like ours, where the individual is often looked upon with derision and contempt. Because Longitude is a popular account, there are few technical details, but for the most part this lack of detail does not detract from the book, but occasionally the lack of technical description confuses the reader (for example, Sobel never explains how one determines local time on a moving ship). Nevertheless, this flaw does not detract from the overall value of the book. Sobel tells her tale well and brims with enthusiasm for John Harrison and his wonderful invention that solved a centuries-long obstacle to safe navigation on the high seas. At the end of the book, Sobel touchingly describes her reaction to seeing Harrison's clocks for the first time: “Coming face-to-face with these machines at last-after having read countless accounts of their construction and trial, after having seen every detail of their insides and outsides in still and moving pictures-reduced me to tears”. Spoken like a true history geek.