A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind
€16.50
Product Information
| ISBN | 9780552772105 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Diana Preston, Michael Preston |
| Publisher | Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Format | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 512 |
| Weight (kg) | 0.354 |
| Publishing Date | 01/04/2005 |
| Price (excl. tax) | €15.57 |
| Tax | €0.93 |
| Price (incl. tax) | €16.50 |
| Availability | 3 units in external warehouse |
Product 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.