A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind : The Life Of William Dampier Paperback / softback
by Diana Preston, Michael Preston
Paperback / softback
Description
William Dampier, (1651-1715), was an English adventurer and pirate who preyed on ships on the Spanish Main.
Poor and ill-educated and determined to make his fortune, he nonetheless had a passion for exploration and scientific research.
Dampier was the first to map the winds and currents of the world's oceans; led the first recorded party of Englishmen to set foot on Australia - 80 years before Cook; wrote about Galapagos wildlife 150 years before Darwin, who drew on Dampier's notes in his own work; was the first travel writer: A NEW VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD was instant bestseller when it was published in 1697 - said to have influenced the novels of Swift and Defoe.
A man full of contradictions: he who achieved so much 'blew it' later in life, declining into scandal, failure and even farce.
A unique man ahead of his time, he lived a large part of his life among pirates yet managed to preserve what Coleridge called his "exquisite refinement of mind".
A classic example of the best narrative history.
Information
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Only a few left - usually despatched within 24 hours
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:512 pages
- Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
- Publication Date:01/04/2005
- Category:
- ISBN:9780552772105
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Information
-
Only a few left - usually despatched within 24 hours
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:512 pages
- Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
- Publication Date:01/04/2005
- Category:
- ISBN:9780552772105