Swift and Defoe used his experiences as inspiration in writing Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Captain Cook relied on his observations while voyaging around the world. Coleridge called him a genius and "a man of exquisite mind." 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—an omission that Diana and Michael Preston have redressed in this vivid, compelling biography.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 "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 80 years before Cook, and he later led the first formal expedition of science and discovery there.A Pirate of Exquisite Mind restores William Dampier to his rightful place in history—one of the pioneers on whose insights our understanding of the natural world was built.

    Her hair shone like newly minted gold, and her skin was as smooth and iridescent as an exquisite pearl. Her lips were lush and pink, made for kissing. She was a pirate’s prize, yet he could not so much as touch her.Virgin TroubleDestined for the harem of a Turkish potentate, Willow wondered whether she should rejoice or despair when her ship was beset by a sinfully handsome pirate. Now it seemed she was a helpless pawn in a power play between two brothers. Fortunately for Willow, neither Ibrahim nor Dariq realized that a clever woman is never without resources. No matter how much he tempted her, she would teach her captor a thing or two before she gave her heart to…The Pirate Prince.

    "Shiver me timbers," he says. "I see a seagull in the sky!" No, wait, make that a spaceship. Or should it be a pig? This hilarious change-the-story book — a companion to ONCE UPON A TIME — offers a selection of press-out pictures on each page. With thousands of possible variations, readers will have endless fun designing a pirate tale that can range from classic to kooky, depending on the mood of the moment!

    A hard-hitting and sober analysis of Islamic groups and their role in international politics.

    Legends of John Roberts' exploits abound, including his notable mention in Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Treasure Island. Known for his fastidiousness and opulent dress, the pirate who came to be known as "Black Bart" was among the most successful of his profession.

    Read about the myths, meet some famous fictional and real-life privateers, trace their routes on maps, shiver at accounts of their fearsome progress through history, and learn about archaeological pirate ship recoveries.

    The years between 1800-1820 were crucial. Until 1805, a spectacular revival of privateering allows the author to present the men, the practices and the results gained by the privateers. From 1805 to 1814, the Maghrib states gave up a great part of privateering on behalf of transportation and seaborne trade, taking advantage of their neutrality during the Napoleonic wars. The peace in 1814 and the internal weaknesses of the regencies carried away this original attempt. After Lord Exmouth's expedition in 1816, for the first time since three centuries, the Maghrib is prohibited from any seaborne activities and under the mercy of Europe.

    Then she "captures" Captain Jason Jennings. He's been warned of a pirate hunter called "The Rose," but he's stunned when he pulls her from the ocean after finding her adrift at sea. Can he resist her charms and avoid her trap? Or maybe he'll weave a web of his own--one to keep the beauty forever at his side...

    Some readers would no doubt recognize this man, so his name and the other characters in this story have been changed to protect the dead-- and those who could become the dead. For twenty-five years, he ruled the Boston underworld, controlling illegal gambling, loan sharking, and drug dealing in Boston, up and down the East Coast from Maine to Rhode Island. He was the Don of Boston's Irish Mafia. Who is this modern day pirate? What was his secret deal with the FBI? Where is this man now? Only The Phantom Pirate knows