The Enchantress of Florence - Salman Rushdie

Peacocks danced on the morning stones of Sikri and in the distance the great lake shimmered like a ghost. The emperor's gaze traveled past the peacocks and the lake, past the court of Herat and the lands of the fierce Turk, and rested on the spires and domes of an Italian city far away. "Imagine a pair of women's lips," Mogor whispered, "puckering for a kiss. That city of Florence, narrow at the edges, swelling at the center, with the Arno flowing through between, parting the two lips, the upper and the lower. The city is an enchantress. When it kisses you, you are lost, whether you be commoner or king."

Rushdie has concocted a convoluted fantasy with wild stories and exotic characters.  East meets west in this book based in part on historical research. It is both engaging and confusing--an intriguing fairy tale which leaves the reader guessing about what really happening.  At times I was in love with this book and at other times I found it tedious.  The author can write dazzling lines and create imaginative situations that are a joy to read.  For that reason, I did enjoy reading this Booker Award winning novel.  I wish Rushdie didn't meander so much in some details and side adventures.  Yes, he can write beautifully, sometimes it felt like he was doing so just to prove it.  All in all, worth reading if you can commit to a challenging read and want to savor some excellent writing and inventive storytelling.

Pirates - Angus Konstam

This book sets out to examine real pirates throughout history, from the ancient Mediterranean to the waters of the Caribbean, and from the eastern seaboard of America to the South China Sea. Stripped of romanticism, their crimes and their fates are detailed, and the reality revealed.

With the recent piracy situation in Somalia, I decided to revisit the issue and found this book at the library.  It is a good history of piracy from its earliest known beginnings up to the current situations in places like Somalia.

The book is full of good pictures which add greatly to its ability to provide insight into piracy.  For example, the types of ships favored by pirates are well-portrayed and give the reader a clear understanding of outmaneuvering a larger ship.  I learned a great deal from reading this book.  When I took history many years ago in school, Sir Francis Drake was not described as a pirate, which he certainly was, but as a great explorer.  This is but one of many fascinating tales in Pirates.

The book does a nice job of describing how and why pirates flourish at different times and in the different places.  It also covers the ongoing battles to protect ships and cargo from pirates throughout the ages.  This is a good book to fill in what you don't know about pirates and clear up misconceptions you have probably acquired.