title: A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea
author:  Richard Phillips 
description: "Phillips's story is not just riveting and timely, but also an informative, heartening look at...the Merchant Marines." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review
zlib_text: Erasto	 Khalfani,	 a	 twenty-nine-year-old	 Somali	 ex-fisherman,
  was	now	plying	the	more	lucrative	trade	of	piracy.	As	his	small
  craft	approached	the	freighter,	Erasto	surveyed	the	deck	with	his
  binoculars.	There	was	the	usual	skeleton	crew	wandering	about
  the	deck,	paying	little	attention	to	the	waters	below.	He	paused
  when	 he	 came	 upon	 some	 vehicles	 sitting	 on	 the	 deck:	 a
  powerful-looking	black	pickup	truck	and	what	looked	like	some
  kind	of	ambulance.	Odd	for	them	to	be	in	the	open	air	rather	than
  in	the	hold,	but	that	was	irrelevant.
  The	 boarding	 was	 accomplished	 seamlessly.	 Eighteen	 men,
  armed	with	assault	rifles	and	small	arms,	scrambled	up	the	side	of
  the	hulking	vessel	and	were	quickly	on	board.	In	general,	this	was
  when	panic	ensued.	Instead	the	crew	were	completely	relaxed	as
  they	quietly	raised	their	hands	and	placed	them	on	the	backs	of
  their	 heads.	 The	 looks	 on	 their	 faces	 betrayed	 neither	 fear	 nor
  anger,	 but	 almost	 a	 bemused	 aspect	 that	 on