The nature of pirates and piracy in popular culture has enjoyed a romanticization beyond nearly any other historical group of individuals. We know many of their names, from Blackbeard to Anne Bonny, and when they appear in movies, television shows, and novels, they are portrayed as free men and women of the sea. Believing in democracy and freedom and fighting against the tyranny of England and the other empires of the time. For the epitome of this effect, look no farther than Jack Sparrow from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. First seen as morally grey, he is quickly changed to have a heart of gold. Even the villain of the first film quickly becomes one of its central heroes. However, historical pirates enjoyed a well-earned notoriety upon the high seas, and Steven Johnson’s Enemy of Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global Manhunt goes through great pains to disassemble these myths and portray the most successful pirate of the Golden Age as he truly was.
Continue reading “The Heist: A Review of Enemy of All Mankind, by Steven Johnson”
City on the Moon 