A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind

The Life Of William Dampier

Diana Preston, Michael Preston

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English

Corgi
01 April 2005

Biography; Biography: historical, political & military; Maritime history

A rip-roaring swashbuckler about a forgotten 17th century English hero who, starting as a poor, piratical buccaneer, became a famed round-the-world explorer.

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.

By: Diana Preston, Michael Preston
Imprint: Corgi
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 126mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 354g
ISBN: 9780552772105
ISBN 10: 0552772100
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 01 April 2005
Recommended Age: From 0 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Diana Preston is an Oxford-trained historian, writer, and broadcaster who lives in London. She is the author of The Road to Culloden Moor; A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole; The Boxer Rebellion and Wilful Murder: The Sinking of the Lusitania. Michael Preston, Diana Prestons husband, read English at Oxford University and is now an historian and traveller.

Reviews for A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind: The Life Of William Dampier

Lively... extraordinary life - an unlikely combination of plundering and pioneering achievements in natural history and exploration The Sunday Times Gripping and well-researched... An impressive achievement Guardian This long overdue biography wonderfully brings to life one of the most important explorers of the seventeenth century -- Nathaniel Philbrick, Author Of In The Heart Of The Sea This eloquently enthusiastic biography, besides charting Dampier's astonishing achievements, offers fascinating information about his times The Age, Melbourne