A Pirate Looks At Fifty

2 Pages 604 Words

The book A Pirate Looks At Fifty by Jimmy Buffett is a remarkable look back on one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century’s life as told by Buffett himself. The reader joins Jimmy on a journey through the Southern Hemisphere as he celebrates his 50th birthday. As he travels from country to country Buffett takes time, between fishing, surfing, and lounging, to tell the reader about his incredible life. Buffett wrote the book in such a manner that the reader feels as if they are there with him on the beaches of some small country in South America just hanging out trading stories about old times. This is by far the most interesting book I have ever read.
The thing that separates A Pirate Looks At Fifty from other autobiographies lies in the first two pages of the book. Buffett is able to capture the reader’s attention immediately by trying to describe his life in “four hundred words or less”. In these four hundred words Buffett manages to describe so many interesting things in his life that the reader almost has to keep reading to hear the stories behind these events. “I sang and worked on a fishing boat, went totally crazy, did a lot of dope, met the right girl, made another record, had a hit, bought a boat, and sailed away to the Caribbean.” This little excerpt alone is more excitement than most people can fit into their entire autobiography.
Apart from capturing the reader’s attention early, this book separates itself from others I have read by the way Buffett tells his story. “My writing style is a rather unrefined stream of consciousness; I don’t know when to stop telling the story.” It is in this writing style that Jimmy managed to put down on paper the stories of his life in such a way that it feels like you are his life long friend and that you are there with him as he talks about the incredible adventures he has experienced. The reader makes a real connection with Buffett as a person. ...