{"product_id":"a-pirate-of-exquisite-mind-diana-preston-9780552772105","title":"A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind","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. \nDampier 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. \nA 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":"Transworld Publishers Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51676833743136,"sku":"9780552772105","price":9.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0753\/2812\/7264\/files\/9780552772105.jpg?v=1779263428","url":"https:\/\/bookcorner.com\/products\/a-pirate-of-exquisite-mind-diana-preston-9780552772105","provider":"The Book Corner","version":"1.0","type":"link"}