by Diana Preston, Michael Preston
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Product Description
Darwin took his books aboard the Beagle. Swift and Defoe used his experiences as inspiration in writing Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Captain Cook relied on his observations while voyaging around the world. Coleridge called him a genius and “a man of exquisite mind.” In the history of exploration, nobody has ventured further than Englishman William Dampier. Yet while the exploits of Cook, Shackleton, and a host of legendary explorers have been widely chronicled, those of perhaps the greatest are virtually invisible today—an omission that Diana and Michael Preston have redressed in this vivid, compelling biography.
As a young man Dampier spent several years in the swashbuckling company of buccaneers in the Caribbean. At a time when surviving one voyage across the Pacific was cause for celebration, Dampier ultimately journeyed three times around the world; his bestselling books about his experiences were a sensation, influencing generations of scientists, explorers, and writers. He was the first to deduce that winds cause currents and the first to produce wind maps across the world, surpassing even the work of Edmund Halley. He introduced the concept of the “sub-species” that Darwin later built into his theory of evolution, and his description of the breadfruit was the impetus for Captain Bligh’s voyage on the Bounty. Dampier reached Australia 80 years before Cook, and he later led the first formal expedition of science and discovery there.
A Pirate of Exquisite Mind restores William Dampier to his rightful place in history—one of the pioneers on whose insights our understanding of the natural world was built.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 One of the Great Pirates, 2008-11-20
The British have been reluctant to celebrate William Dampier for a long time, despite the national admiration for explorers and naturalists, because he was also a pirate. This did not comport with the national moral image, especially when England ruled the waves. Now they don't. Things have changed, and the historians' re-examination of the rise and fall of the Empire takes a more realistic, broader view of piracy, extortion and theft, which brings us to this wonderful, exciting account of Dampier's life.
Exciting is the most appropriate word. It's like "Kidnapped" or any of the great adventure books I read when I was young. You feel the deprivations of life on board a small sailing ship in the 17th century, or two days in an open boat in the pouring rain, or crossing Panama on foot, untreated wounds, prolonged illness (12 months of diarrhea), near-starvation; at least to the extent you can feel them sitting in a chair, well-fed and reading. And you get to visit exotic places. He was all over the place: Virginia, Caribbean, Panama, Juan Fernandez islands, Vietnam, Indonesia to name a few. He went around the world several times.
I was glad too to learn more about England during this time period: roughly 1685 to 1715. All the digressions about Jonathan's coffee house, Captain Kidd's trial and execution, the beginnings of the political parties were welcome.
The only thing missing, understandably, is a clear picture of William Dampier. It's understandable to some extent because his own accounts naturally avoid all the crimes and description of the personal traits that enable criminal behavior. Of course, it probably never occured to him that these traits were anything but essential. And I suppose someone who endures the hardships he endured will have to have been ruthless, defiant and sometimes arrogant. He's not one of those heroes who warms your heart, there's no evidence of a sense of humor. There's a little evidence of affection a few people: for a native slave and his mother, maybe a couple of others. But, in this, he's like more national heroes than not. It's still an excellent book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 exquisite mind,exquisite book, 2008-07-24
having been loaned a copy by a friend, I have now bought a number of copies for myself, friends and relatives.Anyone who has ever thought of themselves as a traveller[rather than a tourist] should buy themselves a copy-even Tony Wheeler of Lonely Planet fame would see himself as a mere tourist after reading this wonderfully researched and written history,that is more important to all of us than we would ever guess.Loved every line.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Well-written bio of an interesting guy, 2008-07-01
Dampier was a fascinating person, a real live buccaneer and also one of our first naturalists. Since I like buccaneers and naturalists, he works well for me. The book is fun to read and well-researched. I dug it.
If you're into books about explorers, you can check out my list - imaginatively titled "Books about explorers" - for a few more recommendations.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Amazing!, 2007-12-28
One hundred years before Charles Darwin there was a pirate whose works Darwin called "a mine of information". Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe used his experiences in writing Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Capital James Cook depended on his observations when circumnavigating the globe and Nelson urged his officers to study his books. In the history of exploration, few have ventured farther or achieved more than William Dampier.
Dampier circled the globe 3 times and sailed 200,000+ miles visiting people and places never seen by any other European. Beginning his journey in Virginia and the Caribbean, this pirate crosses the Pacific east to west, spending time in Southeast Asia. The publication of his observations influenced generations of scientists, explorers and writers. His observations and calculations surpassed Edmund Halley and sent Bligh and the Bounty in search of breadfruit. He reached Australia 80 years before Captain Cook and is responsible for over 1000 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Completely forgotten by historians William Dampier has handed down a profound impact throughout the ages. And yes, he was a most decided pirate!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Book that takes you around the world, 2007-07-27
This book about 17th Century Explorer William Dampier really surprised me - it was so good! I received the book as a gift and it turned out to be one of those books that I might not have chosen on my own, but I really enjoyed.
The book chronicles Dampier's 3 voyages around the world, is interesting, and super easy to read. Two thumbs up for sure.
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