Benerson Little is an American author, primarily of non-fiction, focusing on naval history, in particular, piracy and privateering in the 17th to early 18th centuries, including the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean. Little has also established himself as an expert, more broadly, on these and other various types of "sea rovers" over history, including through to the present, and has authored several books related to these subjects. He has also applied his expertise to a variety of artistic and commercial productions, including for the Black Sails (2014-) television series, and for the modern board game, Blood & Plunder (Firelock Games), serving as an historical consultant for both.
Early life and education
Benerson "Ben" Kile Little was born on July 30, 1959, in Naval Hospital Key West (on the site of the current Naval BHC Key West) in that Florida city, to Alabamians Margaret Little (née Tillery) and Benerson Vernon Little, his father being "a Navy man."
Little grew up "variously on all three US coasts," and studied and graduated from Tulane University.
Career
Early career
Little joined the U.S. Navy, serving eight years as an officer, 1981–1989, including the six years beginning 1983 as a Navy SEAL (BUD/S Class 121; SEAL Team 3 and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1). After 1989, Little worked in a strategy and tactics group for the related Naval Special Warfare Command, and in the private sector, doing intelligence collection and analysis relating to naval standard and special operations.
Published works
In the first decades of the new millennium, Little has been doing research and writing, in particular non-fiction, with a focus on naval history relating to piracy, in particularly on "sea rovers"—from early sea raiders, to privateers, letter-of-marque men, and cruisers, to commerce raiders, and pirates and pirate hunters—including during the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean. Little has established himself as an expert on the history of piracy and related subjects, and has authored several books. As of January 2017, he is reported to be devoting time to writing contemporary and historical novels.
Books
The following are cataloged book-length publications of Little, as of January 2017:
Non-fiction
[Reviewed by U.S. Naval and Army War Colleges.]
Fiction
Selected articles
Consulting
Little consults on maritime and naval issues, including "maritime threat and security, and especially maritime history."
He has served as the historical consultant for the Black Sails television series (Starz/Anchor Bay, 2014-), for the first three seasons at least, appearing as well on the 9 min. featurette, 'Black Sails': An Inside Look (2014) that was packaged with the Blu-ray disc of the programme's first season. About the Black Sails production, Little has said: a statement about which Søren Dalager Ditlevsen of DR Kultur reported:
Little also served as consultant for the modern board game, Blood & Plunder from Firelock Games, "to ensure that all models, campaigns and strategies reflect the period."
Appearances
Little has appeared in two television documentaries on piracy.
Critical reception
Interest in Little's work has been both scholarly (in both academic and military circles) and popular; notably, Pirate Hunting (2010) was chosen for review by both the Naval and U.S. Army War Colleges.
Jack Gottschalk, a graduate of the Naval War College, an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University, and author of Jolly Roger with an Uzi (2000, with Brian P. Flanagan, on modern piracy), writing for the Naval War College Review with regard to Pirate Hunting, expressed the view that:
Writing in the National Maritime Historical Society's Sea History, Louis Arthur Norton, professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, recipient of two Gerald E. Morris Prizes for maritime historiography (2002, 2006), and author of Captains Contentious (2009, on the lives of five Continental Navy captains), describes Little's The Sea Rover’s Practice (2011) as a "scholarly, informative, thought-provoking work," and states, "Considering all the titles that have been published in the last decade on piracy, this book is an excellent resource on its true nature."
As noted, Little's work in providing historical expertise to artistic and commercial efforts on piracy has been seen as imparting high quality to the projects.