{"product_id":"pirate-of-exquisite-mind-the-life-of-william-dampier","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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 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.","brand":"Unity Books","offers":[{"title":"Pirate of Exquisite Mind : The Life of William Dampier","offer_id":50619426668741,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0625\/6679\/3413\/files\/978-0-552-77210-5.jpg?v=1791080271","url":"https:\/\/unitybooks.myshopify.com\/products\/pirate-of-exquisite-mind-the-life-of-william-dampier","provider":"Unity Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}