Black Flags, Blue Waters is a general history of pirates, particularly those who interacted with the British colonies in North America. The author, Eric Dolin, seeks to present an accurate history that is nevertheless incredible and fascinating. He largely succeeds, though some of his mythbusting may produce disappointment when it comes to certain tales. This most of all applies to Edward Thatch, better known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard's method of applying fuses to braided facials hair and his Rasputinian duel to the death were thought up in Charles Johnson's General History of Pyrates, a history which like many of its time did not adhere to a scientific method of inquiry and was a mix of truth and fancies. You might also be surprised to learn that the Jolly Roger is only an approximate guess of what a pirate flag looked like. Reports of the time mentioned a black flag or a flag with death motifs such as skulls, but no physical flags or even drawing of them have been preserved (quite surprising).
On the other hand Dolin humanizes most of the pirates. Leaders like Blackbeard were very minimal in their use of violence. They did it enough to intimidate prey without forcing costly sea battles. The crews themselves included many sailors who escaped tyrannical sea captains and wanted a freer way to conduct business, albeit a way which often involved theft and violence. When boarding ships, they would ask the crews how well their captains treated them. If they had been mean and dictatorial, they could expect to be killed, perhaps after some nasty torture.
