A Pirate Looks at Fifty: Summary and book reviews of A Pirate Looks at Fifty by Jimmy Buffett, plus links to an excerpt from A Pirate Looks at Fifty and a biography of Jimmy Buffett.
A Pirate Looks at Fifty
by Jimmy Buffett
Hardcover: Jul 1998,
420 pages.
Paperback: May 1999,
255 pages.
For the millions of fans of Jimmy Buffett's music as well as his
bestselling books, Tales From Margaritaville and Where Is Joe Merchant?,
here is the ultimate Jimmy Buffett philosophy on life and how to live it. As hard as it is
to believe, the irrepressible Jimmy Buffett has hit the half-century mark and, in A
Pirate Looks At 50, he brings us along on the remarkable journey which he took through
the Southern hemisphere to celebrate this landmark birthday.
Jimmy takes us from the legendary pirate coves of the Florida Keys to the ruins of ancient
Cartegena. Along the way, we hear a tale or two of how he got his start in New Orleans,
how he discovered his passion for flying planes, and how he almost died in a watery crash
in Nantucket harbor. We follow Jimmy to jungle outposts in Costa Rica and on a meandering
trip down the Amazon, through hair-raising negotiations with gun-toting customs officials
and a 3-year-old aspiring co-pilot. And he is the inimitable Jimmy Buffett through it all.
For Parrotheads, for armchair adventurers, and for anyone who appreciates a good yarn and
a hearty laugh, here is the ultimate backstage pass -- you'll read the kind of stories
Jimmy usually reserves for his closest friends and you'll see a wonderful, wacky life
through eyes of the man who's lived it. A Pirate Looks At 50 is a breath of fresh
air and a ingenious manual for getting to 50 . . . and beyond.
Entertainment Weekly - Beth Johnson
...[an] enthusiastic, rambling memoir.
Library Journal
These intertwined, meandering recollections would make a nice column in the local paper, but as the memoirs of a creative talent they are deeply disappointing.
Kirkus Reviews
This first nonfiction outing from singer/songwriter Buffett (Where Is
Joe Merchant?, 1992, etc.) is more food for his Parrothead fans, but there
is some fine writing along with the self-revelation. Half autobiography
and half travelogue, this volume recounts a trip by Buffett and his family
to the Caribbean over one Christmas holiday to celebrate the writer's 50th
birthday. .... Both Parrotheads and those with a taste for the Caribbean
find something for their palates here.
Publishers Weekly
The diaristic logbook that Buffett keeps along the way provides endless opportunities to muse on the music business; his older, wilder ways; navigation and, on the horizon, approaching mortality. Buffett's prose won't itself win him more "parrotheads" (as his fans are called), but those with enough patience or reverence to wade through long descriptions of beloved gear, favorite books or "fucking tikki pukki drinks" will find beneath these amblings a disarmingly direct character.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Ms CJ Something different I enjoyed the unusual writing style of JB. It can feel a bit scatterbrained, but in the end a very enjoyable read.
Rated of 5
by Wren J.Harper,Jr.
"A Pirate Looks at Fifty" is a work I wish I had read when I turned 50 (some four years ago). I too love the Caribbean and not only found a wealth of information in the book regarding some new sites to consider traveling to, but more... Read More
Dave writes not only about being 50, but also about 50 years of inventions (Oreos, Silly Putty), arts (Howdy Doody, TV commercials), politics and other baby boomer nostalgia.
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of 5
by Ms CJ
of 5
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