It's not on any chart, but the tropical island of Cayo Loco is the perfect place to run away from all your problems. Waking from a ganja buzz on the beach in Tulum, Tully can't believe his eyes when a 142-foot schooner emerges out of the ocean mist. At its helm is Cleopatra Highbourne, the eccentric 101-year-old sea captain who will take him to a lighthouse on a salty piece of land that will change his life forever. From a lovely sunset sail in Punta Margarita to a wild spring-break foam party in San Pedro, Tully encounters an assortment of treasure hunters, rock stars, sailors, seaplane pilots, pirates, and even a ghost or two.

Where is Joe Merchant? That's what his sister, Trevor Kane, the hemorrhoid-ointment heiress, wants to know. For Desdemona, Merchant is the missing link in her ongoing communications with space aliens. Tabloid journalist Rudy Breno only cares that Merchant gets bigger headlines than Elvis. And for renegade seaplane pilot Frank Bama, the mystery of the presumed-dead-but-often-sighted rock star is turning his life upside down.
In his debut novel, Jimmy Buffett cooks up an irresistible gumbo of dreamers, wackos, pirates, and sharks, as he leads Trevor and Frank on a wild chase through the Caribbean Islands to a place where anything can happen . . . and everything does.

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.


From the Hardcover edition.

"Bright ebullient paintings easily capture the sunshine and sea breezes of the warm climate; the Jolly Mon's smile is winsome; and children familiar with the Buffett song on which the story is based will enjoy meeting him all the more."--"Booklist"

If Tully Mars had known what he had gotten himself into when he agreed to help find the lost lens belonging to the lighthouse on Cayo Loco-well, he might never had agreed to help in the first place. Then again, maybe he would just have taken a slightly longer nap before setting off on his wild adventure. And it isn't just Tully-who Buffett fans will remember well from Jimmy's bestselling Tales from Margaritaville-on the madcap quest. There's Ix-Nay, an Indian shaman with a dislike of the media; Mr. Twain, Tully's loyal steed; Cleopatra Highbourne, the 102-year-old owner of Cayo Loco and Cuban baseball addict; Captain Kirk, fishing trip leader and boatman extraordinaire; former country music star Sean Spurl-AKA Tex Sex; Bucky Norman, a Wyoming cowboy who has found his way to the ocean; and even a fellow named Jimmy Buffett, who decides he might as well join in on the party. Raucous, funny, and wise with the world's strangeness, A SALTY PIECE OF LAND is the best and bestselling novel yet from one of America's most beloved storytellers.

Margaritaville may not appear on a map, but it does exist--at least in the brilliantly creative, sometimes slightly skewed imagination of Jimmy Buffett. "Tales from Margaritaville" is a collection of short stories (some purely fiction, some based in truth) so vividly packed with restless dreamers, wild wanderers, and pure gypsy souls that just reading it is a wild adventure. Travel along with a cowboy named Tully Mars, as he heads from Heartache, Wyoming, to Graceland, and relive the autobiographical odyssey of a third-generation sailor and first-rate musical outlaw. With unforgettable stories that present the true roamer's twin loves--the sea and the road--"Tales from Margaritaville" is one "smooth sailing book of infinite imagination" ("Chicago Sun-Times").

When Lizzy Rhinehart's father is lost in the Florida Everglades, she calls on the help of her golden retriever, tiny Guatemalan "trouble dolls," and a magic blue macaw to save him before a ferocious storm begins. "A welcome blend of myth and reality, set in modern times but connected by folklore to the world of animals and magic."--"Publishers Weekly"

When Southern belle Ellie McBride moves her twins from Vertigo, Tennessee, to New York City, they wouldn't dream of leaving behind the family pig Rumpy. But the posh hotel where Ellie has found work (and living space) has "No Pets" writ large on its portal. So hiding Rumpy from the hotel staff--especially the ultra-carnivorous hotel chef, who would like nothing better than to transform their pet into pork roast--becomes imperative.
Can a talented, sensitive pig survive the claustrophobic, neurotic stresses of life in the Big Apple? Can the McBride twins keep their precious pet from becoming the chef's favorite entree? Get ready for a wonderful ride as master storyteller Jimmy Buffett takes readers on a brilliantly funny romp through Manhattan and beyond. From spoiled rock stars to highly caffeinated football coaches, Buffett's satirical view of American culture never ceases to bite and delight.