Will I love A Pirate of Exquisite Mind?

As the saying goes, especially in science, “we stand on the shoulders of giants,” but I was absolutely thrilled to find out about this man from the early annals of science, who was first a pirate!! Talk about being well-rounded!

As someone who dresses up as a pirate every Halloween and never misses celebrating an International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I hung on every page, nay every word, of this swashbuckling scientific drama. I could not believe that it was true. But it is, and I found it to be not only super fun but hugely informative and inspiring.

The real-life inspiration for both Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe, William Dampier was a pirate turned legit explorer who circumnavigated the earth three times, and was the first European to reach the Galapagos and to encounter the aboriginal people of Australia.

He makes my list because of his explorations of the Caribbean…and because I really wanted to include him!