A pirates Gift Guide: Books

First off Happy Holidays /t/giftideas. I have been trying to hand out gifts all week on Snapzu. Now it's your turn. I can tell your excited! The prospect of getting a gift from a Pirate (and the fact that it is coming from the Glorious Captain of the Crooked Tale Pirates) may be overwhelming. So this is my gift to you. A personal guide to the top 3 books every pirate MUST have in his collection.

1) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
So why would this book be an important part of a Pirates library? It is a fictional tale after all, but it has its place in pirate history itself. The reason this book is important is simply because it heralded in the age of the Hollywood pirate. There are many types of pirate reenacters out there but the ones most people see at festivals are the Hollywood style pirates. Full disclosure I am a Hollywood style Pirate. Although I read a lot of the actual history I prefer the clothing of the Hollywood pirate. The book Itself has been used as a guide for many pirate movies, and the original film adaptation in 1934 change the look, language, and attitudes of the well know and often hated pirates. From the ragged "arrr" to peglegs and eyepatches when you think of pirates you think of the pirates from the book Treasure Island. It is a good solid read which single handedly change the perception of pirates from evil killers to Gentleman Adventurers.

2) The Republic Of Pirates by Collin Woodward
This is a wonderful book on Pirate History. It follows the paths of many of the top pirates, how they began, where they sailed, and who took them down. It is filled with many historical facts on piracy and the pirate way of life in the Caribbean. The book itself is almost set up like a timeline (I am currently working on a timeline myself and I do use it as a reference) of stories about each of the prominent pirates of the era. This sometimes makes it a difficult read because you may be reading about Bellamy and then switch to Woodes Rogers on the next page. But the amount of information in this book makes it's mixed up nature insignificant and also a must read.

3) The Pirate Primer: Mastering the Language of Swashbucklers and Rouges by George Choundas
Have you ever tried talking like a pirate? It's not as easy as it seems (I try to type like a pirate, it isn't easy either). This book guides you through the ups and down, the ahs and arrs of pirate speech. It contains 469 pages of commands, epitaphs, retorts, curses and cultural terms. It also teaches how to say the phrases and words correctly. On top of that the author has added the information of where the phrase comes from (book, movie, history) . If you want to step up your Pirate talk game then you WILL need this book.

So there you have it. My top 3 books from me to you. Perfect gifts for any pirate or someone wanting to be a pirate. Also good for any occasion.