{"product_id":"9780552772105","title":"A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind","description":"Author: Preston, Diana\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9780552772105\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 Apr 2005\u003cbr\u003ePages: 512 \u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA rip-roaring swashbuckler about a forgotten 17th century English hero who, starting as a poor, piratical buccaneer, became a famed round-the-world explorer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDampier 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA 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.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48165302501534,"sku":"UBD-9780552772105","price":26.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9780552772105.jpg?v=1787133842","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9780552772105","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}