Michael Scott Moore, a journalist and the author of Sweetness and Blood, incorporates personal narrative and rigorous investigative journalism in this profound and revelatory memoir of his three-year captivity by Somali pirates—a riveting,thoughtful, and emotionally resonant exploration of foreign policy, religious extremism, and the costs of survival. In January 2012, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online International—and funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting—Michael Scott Moore traveled to the Horn of Africa to write about piracy and ways to end it. In a terrible twist of fate, Moore himself was kidnapped and subsequently held captive by Somali pirates. Subjected to conditions that break even the strongest spirits—physical injury, starvation, isolation, terror—Moore’s survival is a testament to his indomitable strength of mind. In September 2014, after 977 days, he walked free when his ransom was put together by the help of several US and German institutions, friends, colleagues, and his strong-willed mother. Yet Moore’s own struggle is only part of the story: The Desert and the Sea falls at the intersection of reportage, memoir, and history. Caught between Muslim pirates, the looming threat of Al-Shabaab, and the rise of ISIS, Moore observes the worlds that surrounded him—the economics and history of piracy; the effects of post-colonialism; the politics of hostage negotiation and ransom; while also conjuring the various faces of Islam—and places his ordeal in the context of the larger political and historical issues. A sort of Catch-22 meets Black Hawk Down, The Desert and the Sea is written with dark humor, candor, and a journalist’s clinical distance and eye for detail. Moore offers an intimate and otherwise inaccessible view of life as we cannot fathom it, brilliantly weaving his own experience as a hostage with the social, economic, religious, and political factors creating it. The Desert and the Sea is wildly compelling and a book that will take its place next to titles like Den of Lions and Even Silence Has an End.

Will a virgin captive surrender to this pirate’s sinful touch? Nathaniel Bainbridge is used to hiding, whether it’s concealing his struggles with reading or his forbidden desire for men. Under the thumb of his controlling father, the governor of Primrose Isle, he’s sailing to the fledging colony, where he’ll surrender to a respectable marriage for his family’s financial gain. Then pirates strike and he’s kidnapped for ransom by the Sea Hawk, a legendary villain of the New World. Bitter and jaded, Hawk harbors futile dreams of leaving the sea for a quiet life, but men like him don’t deserve peace. He has a score to settle with Nathaniel’s father—the very man whose treachery forced him into piracy—and he’s sure Nathaniel is just as contemptible. Yet as days pass in close quarters, Nathaniel’s feisty spirit and alluring innocence beguile and bewitch. Although Hawk knows he must keep his distance, the desire to teach Nathaniel the pleasure men can share grows uncontrollable. It’s not as though Hawk would ever feel anything for him besides lust… Nathaniel realizes the fearsome Sea Hawk’s reputation is largely invented, and he sees the lonely man beneath the myth, willingly surrendering to his captor body and soul. As a pirate’s prisoner, he is finally free to be his true self. The crew has been promised the ransom Nathaniel will bring, yet as danger mounts and the time nears to give him up, Hawk’s biggest battle could be with his own heart. This May-December gay romance from Keira Andrews features classic tropes including: a tough alpha pirate too afraid to love, a plucky virgin captive half his age, enemies to lovers, first-time sexual discovery, and of course a happy ending.

On October 23, 2009, Somali pirates kidnapped Paul and Rachel Chandler from their sailing boat, the Lynn Rival, in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. In this remarkable memoir, the Chandlers recount their terrifying ordeal, revealing the inspiring and poignant story behind the dramatic headlines. The book chronicles the aftermath of the attack, and how the Chandlers' captors held them in Somalia for more than a year while trying to extort millions of dollars from their middle-class family. It goes on to describe how despite enduring threats, intimidation, solitary confinement, and even whippings, their unshakable belief in each other and their determination to survive sustained them. With its detailed, day-to-day account of the experience of being held captive by pirates, this unique and inspiring story will resonate with travelers the world over.

When a notorious pirate demands a ransom from her family in return for lifting his blockade of the local port, twenty-one-year-old Evelyn Hollywell takes matters into her own hands. Her plan to thwart the lawless rogue quickly goes awry, however, when she is carried off from her home and held as a captive aboard his ship. Evelyn soon discovers that while the handsome buccaneer has no intention of doing her any harm, he will not tolerate disobedience, and when she attempts an escape she ends up over his knee for a painful, embarrassing spanking in front of his entire crew. Though the stern punishment infuriates Evelyn, she cannot help wondering what it would be like to be mastered much more thoroughly, and before long she is blushing crimson and quivering with desire as he teaches her exactly what it means for a beautiful lady to surrender her body to a dominant man. Despite her growing attraction to her captor, however, his plans for her remain a mystery. She is to be delivered to a man in Boston, but she knows neither who he is nor what he wants with her. All she can be sure of is that with each passing day she feels less like a prisoner and more like a priceless treasure. But will old enemies or the dangers of the high seas tear her from her lover's arms? Publisher's Note: The Pirate's Captive includes sexual scenes and spankings. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.

A spirited young woman conquers the high seas in this bold historical romance from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Captive Passions. Proud and beautiful Sirena Córdez was once commander of her own ship, battling pirates to avenge her sister’s violent death. But Sirena’s life as the Sea Siren ends when she meets Regan van der Rhys. Handsome, ruthless, and as fearless as she, Regan is the only man who can possess her, body and soul. Once enemies on water, they become lovers on land until their marriage is shattered by heartbreaking tragedy. Abandoned by her husband and left to face an uncertain future, the Sea Siren hoists sail again, embarking on a passion-filled voyage to reclaim her destiny . . . Praise for the writing of Fern Michaels “Heartbreaking, suspenseful, and tender.” —Booklist on Return to Sender “A big, rich book in every way . . . I think Fern Michaels has struck oil with this one.” —Patricia Matthews on Texas Rich “Fast-moving . . . Entertaining . . . A roller-coaster ride of serendipitous fun.” —Publishers Weekly on Mr. and Miss Anonymous

A taut, emotionally loaded, devastatingly powerful thriller from the acclaimed, Carnegie-longlisted author of In Darkness and Blood Ninja.

A 17-year-old pirate captain INTENTIONALLY allows herself to get captured by enemy pirates in this thrilling YA adventure from debut author Tricia Levenseller.