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Book Cover
Book
Author Preston, Diana, 1952-

Title A pirate of exquisite mind : explorer, naturalist, and buccaneer : the life of William Dampier / Diana & Michael Preston
Published New York : Walker & Company, 2004

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  910.92 Dampie Pre/Poe  AVAILABLE
Description ix, 372 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Contents The adventurer -- The buccaneer -- The traveler -- The celebrity -- The ancient mariner
Summary "At a time when surviving a voyage across the Pacific was cause for celebration, William Dampier journeyed three times around the world, sailing more than 200,000 miles in his lifetime and witnessing people, places, and phenomena no European had seen. As a young man he spent several years in the swashbuckling company of buccaneers in the Caribbean and Pacific, learning to survive in their bloodthirsty, uncertain world, before setting off on his first journey around the globe - a many-year odyssey, much of it spent in the theretofore mysterious Pacific and Southeast Asia. Later, his best-selling books about his experiences were a sensation; the vividness of his prose and accuracy of his descriptions put armchair readers in the midst of unknown worlds and introduced many words into the English language, including barbecue, chopsticks, and kumquat. Over time, Dampier's observations and insights influenced generations of scientists, explorers, and writers."
"Dampier's powers of observation were astonishing. 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. His insights on land were equally astute: For example, 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 eighty years before Cook, and he later led the first formal expedition of science and discovery back to Australia. So influential was Dampier that today he has more than one thousand entries in the Oxford English Dictionary."--BOOK JACKET
Notes Includes index
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [349]-354) and index
Subject Dampier, William, 1652-1715.
Voyages around the world.
Voyages around the world -- History -- 17th century.
Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Hydrologists -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Naturalists -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Genre/Form Biographies.
Author Preston, Michael, 1948-
LC no. 2003062197
ISBN 0802714250 alkaline paper
0552772100
9780552772105
Other Titles Life of William Dampier