false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170448537m/55129.jpg 55129 5 Darwin took his books aboard the Beagle. Swift and Defoe used his experiences as inspiration in writing <i>Gulliver&#8217;s Travels</i> and <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>. Captain Cook relied on his observations while voyaging around the world. Coleridge called him a genius and &#8220;a man of exquisite mind.&#8221; 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&#8212;an omission that Diana and Michael Preston have redressed in this vivid, compelling biography.<br><br>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 &#8220;sub-species&#8221; that Darwin later built into his theory of evolution, and his description of the breadfruit was the impetus for Captain Bligh&#8217;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. <br><br><i>A Pirate of Exquisite Mind</i><b> </b>restores William Dampier to his rightful place in history&#8212;one of the pioneers on whose insights our understanding of the natural world was built. 798247 1 4 2004 A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier total:60|5:20|4:25|3:15|2:0|1:0| 60 245 127 17 4 0 false false Wed Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Tue Mar 31 15:38:14 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 15:38:39 -0700 2009 I really enjoyed A Pirate of Exquisite Mind. I have always been drawn to historical biographies (Galileo’s Daughter, The Last Alchemist) and this tale of William Dampier a sometimes pirate and alltimes scientific observer really ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Mar 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 12:57:59 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 13:34:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 06 21:09:38 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 26 11:40:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Mar 05 20:14:45 -0800 2007 Mon Mar 05 20:28:58 -0800 2007
His discoveries and writings resulted the addition of hundreds of words to English vernacular...most still in use today...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Oct 12 20:32:45 -0700 2008 Tue Dec 02 18:00:22 -0800 2008 1
Is it the means to the end or does he really enjoy it? That's the q...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Feb 13 09:27:06 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 09:27:17 -0800 2009
http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2009/01...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 05:17:21 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 05:18:14 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Sep 27 18:31:05 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 27 18:35:11 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jun 30 10:57:22 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 10:57:34 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 25 10:10:44 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 25 10:12:55 -0800 2007 There are aspects of his life the authors only skimmed over and which...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed Feb 13 15:55:55 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 15:59:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 13 08:54:21 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 13 08:54:21 -0700 2008
The story is well told, with only one section where you get bogged down in research. Dampier...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 16 15:23:42 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 16 15:24:15 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Mar 29 08:16:30 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 08:17:33 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jan 02 12:32:29 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 11:52:49 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Feb 17 08:45:04 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 08:46:23 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Thu Nov 27 09:19:57 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 09:20:15 -0800 2008 Charity shop find.]]> 0 0 false false Wed Nov 11 13:10:36 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 13:10:36 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 07:04:53 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 07:04:53 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Oct 29 08:13:27 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 08:13:27 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=55129