A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind: The Life Of William Dampier

by Diana Preston

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

910.92

Genres

Publication

Corgi (2005), Edition: New Ed, Paperback, 512 pages

Description

"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.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member beggar1015

An enjoyable biography of a long-forgotten Englishman who influenced our world a lot more than most people realize. William Dampier set sail during the golden age of exploration and piracy. While he may not have been much of a buccaneer, he kept a detailed journal of the places he saw, the people

he met, and the things he ate (like flamingoes). The book is well-paced and is peppered with interesting notes on the world at large, from the hair-raising way constipation was sometimes treated to the complaints from housewives about all the coffee their men were drinking and what it was doing to them ("nothing stiff but their joints, nothing standing but their ears"). I've been wanting to learn more about Dampier after I first read about him in the book '1688', which I also recommend.

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LibraryThing member msf59

I read this, as part of my first group read. It's a terrific biography! The research was awe-inspiring and the narrative flow was perfect. Pirate or not, Dampier was one heck of an explorer and naturalist, just sadly neglected. I highly recommend it!

LibraryThing member eduscapes

When we were in Sydney Nova Scotia waiting for some printing to get done at Staples, we decided to stop at the bookstore. This is always an expensive trip for Larry and I. We spent an hour in the Canadian new releases section. The book that most peaked my interest was about an Englishman from the

1600s. His name was familiar, but that was about it. The title of the book caught my interest. Dampier's (1651-1715) works affected writers such as Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe. His observations influenced Captain Cook and Charles Darwin. I loved his sense of curiosity. The combination of naturalist and buccaneer was fascinating. The authors tell the story of his life in very clear, interesting narrative. They interweave his adventures with his later works.

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LibraryThing member cindysprocket

Really enjoyed the book found it entertaining and educational. Recommended reading for middle and high school students.

LibraryThing member MusicMom41

This was the story of William Dampier, explorer, naturalist, and buccaneer who lived from 1651 to 1715. He was one of the most accomplished navigators at sea and circumnavigated the world 3 times; he took meticulous notes of what he observed of wild life, botanical specimens, and native peoples.

Some of his botanical specimens can still be seen in collections in Great Britain. He also made detailed maps of unexplored places that were helpful to those who came after him. He was a celebrity in his time but faded into obscurity for future generations until Diana Preston wrote this book. One theory our group came up with is that because most of his voyages were done illegally on pirate ships which had no letter of marquee (which legalized privateers who attacked the enemies of England) and around the time of his death pirates were not being looked on as sanguinely as they had been his exploits were not written up by the writers of his time and his own writings were allowed to fade into obscurity. There was lively discussion in our group read about Dampier’s character because he was involved in so many piratical activities. My opinion is that he was an amoral pragmatist. He was not enthusiastic about the pirate aspects of his voyages; although he did like getting treasure he was not as bloodthirsty as many of his shipmates and even less so as he got older. He learned to appreciate the natives he “studied” as humans and disliked seeing them harmed—although he wasn’t above capturing some of them for slaves. He even tried to make a go of it as an officer in the Royal Navy, but that didn’t work out so he had to return to pirating—although with a letter of marquee this time. His main passion was making discoveries and then writing about them and that is how he wished to be remembered. Pirating was a means to an end; and for him the end justified the means.

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LibraryThing member JBD1

A decent overview of the life of William Dampier, who could indeed be described as a pirate, explorer, naturalist, &c. given all the various and disparate things that he managed to do during his career. A bit overly digressive at times, but other than that, a good read.

LibraryThing member Stbalbach

A Pirate of Exquisite Mind says it all, Dampier straddled 16th century privateers like Francis Drake, and enlightened explorers of the 18th century like Captain Cook, a bit of both. This book was written by a husband and wife team who travelled the world in his footsteps, it feels like being there

in exotic mostly tropical locations with lush descriptions of nature (since hugely degraded). It's hard to recapture the magic of landing on beaches and walking in forests as a European for the first time, the sense of infinite potential opening, but that does come across at times. Dampier live an action-filled life enough for 10 people. Remarkable life, times and book.

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LibraryThing member asukamaxwell

I've read that there's a difference between buccaneer vs pirate vs privateer. But what if someone has been all three?! After serving in the Royal Navy, he made his way to Port Royal, joined loggers in the Bay of Campeachy, survived a hurricane, and joined a group of buccaneers in Hispaniola, all

before the age of 30! In 1678 he arrived back in England, married a lady-in-waiting named Judith but set out a year later to seek his fortune. It's not very clear what drove Dampier's wandering ways, but what certainly sets him apart is his skill as a naturalist. He diligently kept a journal and later wrote an autobiography, in which he describes native culture, the weather, animals etc. He was the first to describe an avocado in English! His first circumnavigation began in Virginia with privateer John Cook and ended in England via the Cape of Good Hope. His second from Ireland to Panama and round again from 1704-1707, during which he was arrested as a pirate. Finally, he joined Woodes Rogers, later Gov. of the Bahamas, to Cape Horn to Batavia and back again! His story is incredible! Blackbeard and Kidd have nothing on Dampier!

Honestly there are no complaints for this one. It's a thorough, well constructed biography of William Dampier! Even though Dampier spent a considerable amount of time in South America, I'm glad the author didn't decide to skip any significant portions in the timeline. It's all about the journey you know? Between understandably hostile natives, severe malnutrition and thirst, exhaustion, the Spaniards, and natural dangers, there's not one part that is truly boring. It was fascinating to see Dampier evolve from crewman to navigator to commander!. The authors have an engaging narrative style that isn't simply reciting his memoir, and they didn't romanticize him either. I'll be reading his memoir later and this is a useful guide!

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