{"product_id":"pirate-of-exquisite-mind","title":"Pirate Of Exquisite Mind","description":"\u003cp\u003eWilliam 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\u003eDampier 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\u003eA 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57318961611134,"sku":"NW9780552772105","price":12.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780552772105.jpg?v=1778652266","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/en-eu\/products\/pirate-of-exquisite-mind","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}