Culture | Shark bait

“A merry life and a short one”: the pirate motto was half-true

Keith Thomson explains why in “Born to be Hanged”

White, Mike (Michael) (20th century) Pirates attacking a Spanish galleon. Private Collection colour lithograph 20

Born to be Hanged. By Keith Thomson. Little, Brown; 384 pages; $32 and £25

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Shark bait”

China’s slowdown

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