Splattering Guts for Fun & Profit

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Update: Minutes ago U.S. Central Command announced that the pirates had executed all four American hostages. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the fallen.

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With the capture of a small party of American missionaries by Somali pirates being very much in the news these past few days, I felt it was time to reboot this series with a column on nautical piracy. Except, as I began to pull together my sources and lay the column out in my mind, I developed the strangest sense of déjà vu.

A few moments of searching and—sure enough. This was one of the first columns I wrote for The Friday Challenge, slightly over two years ago and right after the FC moved here from the old site.

So rather than rewrite the column, I will save all my trenchant observations about Rouseau, Hobbes, and the Magna Carta for a future column and at this time redirect you to:

The BookPimp™ Touts: The Barbary Pirates, by C.S. Forester


(Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, indeed!)