Never Say P*g: The Book of Sailors’ Superstitions

Sailors might commonly be thought of in storybooks or fairytales (i.e. Peter Pan). Actually, this career choice is genuine and contains a history that affects water dwellers and land lovers alike. Within their history lies an abundance of superstition that could be spread across the alphabet; in fact, R. Bruce Macdonald has done just that. Superstitions are generally numerous and deeply rooted, with these ones keeping a sailor on their toes and a land lover at risk of bringing unknown doom to a voyage or individual. The information is interesting enough for a non-sailor to find enjoyable and crucial for a sailor to know and respect.

Never Say P*g is a page-turner; the superstitions both caught me off guard and made complete sense. An interesting note is that sailors take many stories and ideas from the Bible to heart but also intermix them with gods of other religions whom they must appease for the sake of a safe and prosperous voyage. I found the tellings of how common phrases originated with sailors interesting and informative. Nearly everything under the sun is included in this book; you won’t finish still wondering about the language and beliefs of sailors.