Beloved for his unique blend of country, folk, and tropical rock, Jimmy Buffett became a pop culture icon in the 70s, with hit after hit epitomizing his laid-back, endless summer lifestyle. Born in Mississippi in 1946, he shot to fame with sophomore album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, before releasing the career-defining hit “Margaritaville” in 1977.
Outside of music, Buffett parlayed his “island escapism” philosophy into several successful business ventures, including the Margaritaville restaurant chain and investments in the hotel, casino, liquor, and retirement industries. He was also the author of three bestselling books, including fictional works Tales from Margaritaville and Where Is Joe Merchant?, which combined his passion for adventure, eccentric characters and idyllic landscapes.
In 1998, Buffett released the memoir A Pirate Looks at Fifty, reflecting on his life as a musician, sailor, and globe-trotter approaching his fiftieth year:
“Reaching this landmark was a shock to a lot of people, including me. What immediately came to mind was a trip around the world. Something on the scale of Mark Twain’s epic adventure, which he chronicled in Following the Equator.”
Later reiterating his love for Twain’s 1897 travelogue – “I can pick it up, turn to any page, and get lost in the story” – Buffett includes it on “a baker’s dozen of books I would have to take to a desert island.” From Hemingway’s masterpiece of machismo and morality to pioneering pilot Beryl Markham’s memoir, explore the complete list below. Check out the bookshelves of other legendary musicians here.
Jimmy Buffett’s Reading List
Following the Equator by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (also rec’d by Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Cooper, Dick Cavett, Harold Bloom, Owen Wilson, Stephen King & Suzanne Vega)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (also rec’d by Anthony Bourdain, Emily St. John Mandel, Hayao Miyazaki, Oscar Wilde & Richard Branson)
Don’t Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk
Winds from the Carolinas by Robert Wilder
One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora Welty
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (also rec’d by Cillian Murphy, Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Dorsey & Ray Bradbury)
A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
The Complete Fables of Jean de la Fontaine by Jean de la Fontaine
West with the Night by Beryl Markham (also rec’d by Hilary Clinton)
A Collection of Poems by Pablo Neruda
The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
No One Writes to the Colonel and Other Stories by Gabriel García Márquez
(via A Pirate Looks At Fifty; photo by Bruce Glikas)
Looking for an Amazon alternative? Support local, independent booksellers by shopping Jimmy Buffett’s reading list – and hundreds of other celebrity book recommendations – through Radical Reads’ Bookshop page.