{"product_id":"pirate-of-exquisite-mind","title":"Pirate Of Exquisite Mind","description":"A rip-roaring swashbuckler about a forgotten 17th century English hero who, starting as a poor, piratical buccaneer, became a famed round-the-world explorer.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\nWilliam 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\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\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. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\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":"PRH Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46491824488645,"sku":"9780552772105","price":27.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0790\/3343\/4309\/files\/Q8Yu-70ZTeg-Qlje7_-x26osdjTSSo5J_uCADEluRcVLYQ_60_60.jpg?v=1783173360","url":"https:\/\/maritimeandtravelbookshop.com.au\/products\/pirate-of-exquisite-mind","provider":"MARITIME \u0026 TRAVEL BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}