From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-Long has selected an irresistible combination for this age group-pirates and soccer. Jeremy Jacob is building a sand castle when a pirate ship lands nearby. His parents are preoccupied with other chores, so he takes off for an adventure on the high seas to help the men bury their treasure chest. He learns that buccaneers don't bother with manners or bedtimes, which is just fine with him, but it also means no bedtime stories or being tucked in. He tries to teach the pirates to play soccer, at least until the ball gets swallowed by a shark. When a storm hits, forcing the crew to return to shore, Jeremy solves the dilemma of where to bury the treasure-in his own backyard. He even makes it home in time for soccer practice. Paired with Shannon's energetic acrylics of a colorful crew of pop-eyed, snaggly toothed pirates seen from a variety of zany viewpoints (including upside down) and a small boy who is clearly having the time of his life, this rollicking adventure is sure to be a favorite with the storytime crowd.
Laurie Edwards, West Shore School District, Camp Hill, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review: Arr! Can I Be a Pirate, Too?
If ever there were a children's book that played into every child's foibles, dreams, and tastes, it's Melinda Long's "How I Became a Pirate."

I've got to believe that just about everyone out there, young and old, will find something amusing and true to life in this fine children's offering.
A sand castle of unusual quality built by Jeremy Jacob attracts a misfit band of not-too-scary pirates in search of a master digger to help bury their ill-gotten booty. Jeremy soon finds that the pirate life is for him--staying up till all hours, saying "Arr," and foregoing vegetables. But after finding no one to tuck him in at night (in a hilarious pirate pile illustrated with great touches by David Shannon), Jeremy has second thoughts about a life on the seven seas. In the end, he gets the last laugh in a delicious little twist ending.

I will consistently go back to books like "How I Became a Pirate" for their gentle humor, wonderful illustrations, and pleasant reading that appeals to children. It's hard to go wrong with those qualities and you would go wrong if you passed up this delightful little book. I know my three year old son ate up every word and drawing in it. A surefire nominee for the 2004 Caldecott medal, in my opinion.

Enjoy!

Review: There's Something About Pirates
What is it about pirates that intrigues children so much? We've got pirate movies, play figures, books, "The Pirates of Penzance," even the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Perhaps young Jeremy Jacob, borrowed by some wayward pirates for his digging skills (to hide the treasure, of course!), offers the best clue:

"But nobody tells pirates to go bed, to take a bath, or to brush their teeth... In addition, they don't change into pajamas-unless they want to. Pirates don't do anything they don't want to-except for maybe swabbing the decks.

Whether it be independence, riches, the potential to swear, or the boys' club ambiance, pirate stories are very popular, and "How I Became a Pirate" is one of the best comical turns at the genre. A motley crew notices Jacob's sandcastle building and digging talents (no rock music pun intended, pirate crews are just always motley) of colorful and friendly lost pirates:

"Ahoy thar, matey! Be this the Spanish Main?" "No," I said, "this is North Beach." The pirates decide to take him with them because they need a good digger. Now, frankly, this is kidnapping (see Kidnap, the great pirate story by R.L. Stevenson, by the way). Author Melinda Long handles this deftly: "I didn't think Mom and Dad would mind, as long as I got back in time for soccer practice the next day."

Jeremy Jacob has great fun with the personable pirates. He learns pirate manners (there aren't any) plays soccer on deck, and sits on a gigantic treasure chest, with a jeweled crown on his head and doubloons at his feet. Jeremy thinks he has found his calling.

However, there's a downside to piracy. Melinda Long starts slowly, as Jeremy notes that pirates' teeth are green since they don't have to brush them. There are other signs of civilization and family life that he begins to wish for, things he probably took for granted before. There's no one to read him a story or tuck him into bed. And, when a fierce storm comes, with "everyone yelling and lowering and battening" he decides that maybe pirate life isn't as cushy and romantic as he thought. Besides, he has his family, his home, a dog, and soccer back on land.

The pirate story parody is so easy to contrive that it risks formulaic retelling. However, author Long's humorous dialogue and sense of comic timing are great read-out-loud material. The pirate crew, for example repeatedly acts as a chorus to the Captain's commands: And if you ever need us, "Braid Beard added, "just run the Jolly Roger up yonder pile" "Up yonder pole!" the others shouted. This device gets a little old after awhile, but it's the kind of interplay elicits laughter when read aloud. David Shannon's acrylic illustrations are big, boldly colorful, and dynamic: He crowds the pirates together and slightly distorts size to convey the bustling deck and interior. Shannon draws one pirate with a patch on the left eye and one on the right, the dubiously blind pirate removes them one at a time to look at the surrounding activity. In a now famous picture among book fans, Shannon replicates "Washington Crossing the Delaware" in a spread showing the pirates and Jeremy rowing towards the ship. It's a comical picture and Long knows when to lay back: She writes only "That's how I became a pirate" at the top of the page. Great illustrations and a narrative that honors both the adventurous and the tender make this pirate story a standout.

Review: RAISING THE FLAG ON KID'S ADVENTURE
Now here is a book that really has gotten it right. A lively, silly, imaginative book, beautifully illustrated and a pure joy to read. Little jeremy Jacobs visits the beach with his parents one day and notices a pirate ship. But just him, not his parents as they are too busy to listen. He soon finds himself invited aboard the ship by Braidbeard's ship by a typical group of pirates with patch eyes and hooks for hands. jeremy begins a rousing adventure on the high seas, eating, playing games, and cavorting with the pirates. But when he stars getting homesick and the pirates need a place to bury their treasure, Jeremy invites them to his house so they can bury it in his backyard. The lively pirate-style language and the illustrations by David Shannon make this book a sure fire winner. Encouraging imagination while at the same time making kids know there's really no place like home. Great fun!

Review: VERY WELL WRITTEN
This book is wonderfull! Not only did David Shannon win us over again with his illustrations, but the writing is excellent. Melinda Long can't write another soon enough for my family!

Review: Fabulous book for kids and their parents!
Once in a while, a great children's book comes along that gives you the parents as much joy in reading it as the kids get in hearing it. This is that kind of book! The artwork is incredible, and the story darling, completely couching the "moral" in good, clean hilarity. May your children give you plenty of "pirate kisses" after buying them this book.

I saw the cover of this book and had to bring it home. My children are getting to old for these books, but their Mama isn't!

Review: A great pirate adventure
For everyone who ever wondered how to become a pirate, here's one amusing account. The story is fun to read whether your kids are all about pirates or not. The pictures are great, the point is nice, and you can read this one again and again for a rollicking good time.

Review: Wonderful Book
My four year old absolutely loves this book! The pictures are bright and colorful. He is intrigued with the story, and wants me to read it several times a night to him. I would recommend this book to anyone with a young child who has any interest in pirates at all.

Review: For Every Kid Who Ever Dreamed of Being a Pirate!
I like 'tongue-in-cheek' humor and books with colorful phrases that beg to be read aloud. And this book has all that and more! Jeremy Jacobs is a lucky boy,indeed, to be hand-picked by a real-live, green-teethed pirate to sail the 'deep blue sea' with the most motley crew of pirates ever assembled. You won't believe your ears when you hear the 'pirate-speak' that Melinda Young has sprinkled throughout her awesome book. And you won't believe your eyes when you view the fascinating illustrations created by Caldecott-winning illustrator David Shannon. 'Shiver me timbers,' kids, you better ask your parents to buy you this one. It's a real romp of the old-fashioned kind.

Review: How I Became a Pirate
A Kid's Review
I chose How I Became a Pirate because it tells about a boy who became pirate.It tells a boy that it is happy when your a pirate.This is like a first time he becme pirate.When he was apirate he has lots of fun because he could do whatever he want.

Review: A Family Favorite, March 30, 2005
I don't noramlly buy children's books. But after checking this one out from the library, then missing it when it was returned, I bought it for my four-year-old son. Not only does he love it, but his two-year old sister loves it (and so do Mom and Dad!). The Pirates aren't scary, the pictures are great, and it's so fun to read! My kids love to shout along with the pirate crew. They look for the scraggly cat (he's only on the boat) and the parrot. They want me to read it every night, and I gladly do. We are perfecting our pirate voices. This book is a treasure -- but I wouldn't dare bury it in my back yard!

Review: A piece of Art in more ways then one....,
I bought this for my 4 yr old daughter who has a kinda "thing" for pirates. She and I were so pleased. The illustrations are captivating - especially the two page spread where he says "Thats how I became a Pirate", his arms flung out as he shouts to the world at the front of the boat. Whimsy, fantasy, the culmination of any child's dream.....I saw represented on this page.....As an adult I just found the illustrations excellent and downright funny at times...

My daughter loved it and so do I!

Review: Captivating for wannabe pirates
My 4 year old simply loved this book. The illustrations were great - not too busy like some of the newer books, but intricate. The story was absorbing and enjoyable for both me and my son, even on the 25th read in as many days! (o.k., I did start to glaze over a bit after the second week.)

Review: Ahoy! Beware of Grand Adventure Ahead!
This fun-filled, adventure fantasy about pirate life is perfect for any imaginative child. It was even selected by child judges as the winner of the 2003 Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. Set in contemporary times, the adventure begins when five or six-year-old Jeremy Jacobs runs off with 18th century pirates who have landed on the beach. Jeremy's delight in his adventures with Captain Braid Beard and his bedraggled crew of ruffians is obvious from the colorful, humorous, cartoon style illustrations. (They are similar to those in Shannon's own No David! book and its sequels). Brimming with amusing situations and characters, the illustrations match the tone and content of Long's story perfectly. A great example is the cover where Jeremy sits gleefully on the Captain's shoulders with a pirate scarf atop his head and the Captain's parrot on his own shoulder. A lesson that "the grass isn't always greener on the other side" is provided when Jeremy begins to realize the things he misses aboard the pirate ship (i.e., being read a bedtime story and then tucked in). Highly recommended for ages 4 to 8.

I just HAD to get this book for my niece - a Peter Pan lover - for her 7th Birthday and now I'm somewhat sad that I'll no longer have it around! Perhaps I'll have to buy another for myself!

Another great, amusing pirate adventure is "Roger, the Jolly Pirate" (2004), by Brett Helquist (ISBN 0066238064).

Review: Will Be a Classic!
Reviewer: newmom326 (Bristow, VA) - See all my reviews
This is my son's favorite book. He's 2 1/2 but I think that older children would enjoy it too. Reading about Jeremy Jacob is a nightly ritual for us. Given a choice of books to read, my son always picks this one. The story is very cute and the illustrations are wonderful. Highly recommend!

Review: Mother of a future pirate
This is a great book for any little boy or girl who loves pirates. My son, who just turned 4, loves this book so much he walks around all day just holding it and looking at the pictures (he has it memorized). It actually made him want to play soccer. It is a great book.

How I became a Pirate" is one of those great kids' books that appeals to a much wider range of ages than the publisher suggests. His parents distracted by grown-up chores, Jeremy takes off with a band of pirates on a fantastic journey that in "real time" lasts less than a day. Along the way we learn pirates don't brush their teeth or eat vegetables--cool! But they also don't pay attention to the soothing bedtime rituals that this book will quickly become part of in your own home. Jeremy thinks better of his new career and goes home, along the way making sure the pirates return some day. The illustrations in this book are fantastic, with loads of little details and jokes that make it fresh each time--which is a good thing because your kids will demand multiple re-readings. It's well-worth investing in this one!

Review: And it is it is a glorious thing to be a pirate king.
While kids have always loved pirates and the piratical life (Peter Pan, anyone?), the current pirate craze sweeping the nation is somewhat amazing. Suddenly there are pirate Saturday morning tv shows, an official Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19), pirate movies making a mil, and pirate picture books. The breathtaking success of Melinda Long's, "How I Became a Pirate" is a little odd, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer story. Full of all the classic words and actions pirates partake of (with the possible exception of walking the plank) the book's a good hearted take on one boy's dream to be a scurvy dog.

Jeremy Jacob is the only person on the beach that notices when a pirate ship docks near the ocean shore. Jeremy, up until this moment, has been building a sand castle, yet the sight of the ship doesn't seem to get anyone's attention but his own. When Captain Braid Beard and his crew of seven see Jeremy's sand castle skills they are instantly impressed. They've a treasure to bury after all and Jeremy's just the lad to help them. Off he goes to join the pirate's life! There's a lot of "Aargh!"s and "landlubbers" to learn. Lots of talking with your mouth full, on board soccer (Jeremy teaches them how to play), and pillow fights. Unfortunately, Jeremy also learns that sweet comforts like getting tucked in ("No tucking!", the crew cried) getting a bedtime story, and receiving a goodnight kiss are lacking on this ship. After deciding that maybe he doesn't want to be a pirate after all, Jeremy finds the perfect place for his friendly crew to hide the booty. In the end, the pirates sail away happy and Jeremy goes back to his soccer practice.

A caveat: I'd like to be honest with you and state for the record that any picture book containing the sentence, "We must have taken a wrong turn at Bora Bora", instantly has my love. The story is full of fabulous pirate-inspired sentences like that one (though I suspect that particular line has been foisted from a Bugs Bunny cartoon). The pirates for their own part are happy go lucky fellows, ready to welcome their newest crewmate on board, no questions asked. There's never a scary moment on this particular ship, though the pirates deal with a sudden storm with some relative panic. David Shannon is the illustrator of this particular outing and as such he's great. Jeremy Jacob is your typical soccer playing tyke. The pirates themselves are the real stars of this show, however. With their terribly rotted teeth and scarred cheeks they might be scary if they weren't so darn appealing. Kids will enjoy watching the pirate with the patches over both eyes as he lifts first one and then another to see his fellows. Shannon places infinite little details and touches throughout his work as well. The shipboard cat is forever attempting to devour the captain's parrot. The largest and meanest pirate is seen patiently buttoning up his pajamas as Jeremy and the captain engage in a pillow fight. All in all, the illustrations in this story fit Long's writing perfectly. You couldn't ask for a better pairing of author and illustrator together.

I think kids everywhere have already figured out what grown-ups are only now discovering. Pirates are eternally amusing. This book just taps into the already existing piratical love sweeping the nation. Had this book been lucky enough to win a Caldecott award, I wouldn't have batted an eye. It's a wonderfully rousing tale. A feel good pirate piece, if you will. And a perfect addition to any up and coming young pirate's library. Fun for the whole fam.

Review: This be terrific, me hearties!
It's hard to say what's more endearing and fun: the engaging text or the clever (and amazingly detailed) illustrations. Most children's books are OK, a few are totally lame, but a very few are simply super and do not fade even with the 100th re-reading: this is one of those that stays funny and will be handed down from boy to boy in this family. Can't say enough about the illustrations, there's so much to look for: the pirate who wears TWO eyepatches (and is always holding one up except when he goes to bed), the other mean pirate who wears pajamas, the way the parrot and the scurvy cat eye eachother with suspicion, the wild look on the boy Jeremy Jacob's face (it's a true to life wild look of a real boy!). Anyway, this is highly recommended.

Review
My 2 year old son absolutely loves this book. It is what started his enthusiasm for pirates, and it is still his favorite book (by far). I also recomend for any pirate loving child a CD of pirate music by Captain Boggs and Salty (Bedtime Stories for Pirates).


2 boys at home almost 4y and just 2y. They love pirates and this is the best pirate book I have found (and we have several) My opinion on other pirate books. Pirate Pete 2.5 ; Everything I know About Pirates (would be better for older kids) 3.5; Pirate School 4; Do Pirates Take Baths 4.5; Pirates (by Anastasio) not a story, just "facts" 4.5. But How I Became a Pirate is the most fun to read aloud.

Review: AYE MATEYS! My 4yo Daughters Favorite Book!
Reviewer: A reader
Great Book! My 4 year old daughter wants to hear this book every night! So Cute! Buy It your child will love it

Review: Best Little Boys Book
I bought this book for my 3 y.o. son this past February. It has by far become not only his favorite book but the favorite book of my five year old daughter. They love screaming the words of the crew when we read this book together. The story line is wonderful - a small boy who joins a crew of pirates, learns what he likes and doesn't like about the pirates, lots of exciting adventures, a shark, a bad storm, and a treasure to bury. It's precious, and the illustrations are superb. This is perhaps the best little boys book I have ever bought (I should know - I'm a kid's book junkie), and it's a great book for little girls as well.

Review: Golden Trap Award Winner
This book is great. I ran out and bought it as soon as I heard it for the first time. This book won the Golden Trap Award winner for all of the islands in our area. My son loves it!

Review: Wonderful for my 6 yr old
My 6 yr. old son has recently become interested in pirates and this book is adorable. The author tells us about the pirates'lack of personal hygiene, rules, and most importantly...their lack of bedtime rituals. My son thinks that these guys are " nice pirates " and he is inspired to read more.

Reviewer: A reader
This is my 4-year-old son's favorite book. He even tries to brush his teeth extra good so they don't turn green --like a pirate's teeth.

Review: Beautiful illustrations & cute story
'How I Became a Pirate' is about a little boy who goes away with pirates one day. He learns how to live like a pirate, the joys (eat anything you want, don't brush teeth, go to sleep whenever) and the pitfalls (no one to comfort you, no one to tuck you in). Finally he decides to go back to his family.
This story is fun to read and the illustrations even capture my babies's eye :) I do like the importance based on having a family & having someone to comfort you & read to you.

The only potential drawbacks & why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars (and I might be being critical) is that:
1.) it might give the message that it is okay to leave your family to go off with strangers
2.) also it is fun to not brush your teeth & eat like a slob.

Overall, though, I would recommend this book.

Review: Cute, engaging, fun
Jeremy, probably feeling a little neglected on the beach, goes off with a band of pirates. He feels his parents won't mind as as long as he is back in time for soccer practice the next day. Initially, he finds this adventure to be exciting, liberating and great fun. Soon he realizes a pirate's life is not exactly ideal. There's no tucking in, no books, and no goodnight kisses! Of course, a storm must swoop down on the ship and the treasure is in peril. Jeremy has the ideal solution, which you'll love.

Review: Wonderful Pirate Fantasy
After seeing his sandcastle at the beach, a ship of pirates decides to take Jeremy Jacobs aboard their ship. At first Jeremy loves the life of a pirate ("No one tells you to eat your spinach), but after there is no one to tuck him or comfort him during a storm, Jeremy decides to return home. Accompanied by detailed illustrations this book is recommended for anyone who likes pirates.

Review: Educators Recommend
You'll never again read another pirate book without comparing it to this treasure of a tale-it's that good.
There's Jeremy Jacob, sitting on the beach, building sandcastles, minding his own business when what should appear but a pirate ship! When the captain, Braid Beard, sees what a fine digger Jeremy is, he convinces him to join his crew. "We've been needin' a digger like yourself," says Beard, "We've a chest of treasure to bury."

And so Jeremy is off. He quickly picks up piratical ways. Soon he is seen swaggering around the poop deck, singing sea chanteys (loudly), and slinging pirate lingo here and there ("landlubber," "scurvy dog") along with his food.

Ah yes, the life of a pirate. Nobody telling you when to go to bed, when to take a bath, or even brush your teeth! What could be more perfect?

But avast! There are some downsides to pirate-hood Jeremy soon discovers. Pirates are not very good soccer players. And when night falls and Jeremy asks Braid Beard to tuck him in and read him a story, Beard bellows, "Tuck you in?...Pirates don't tuck." (They also don't read-`ceptin' treasure maps of course.)

Suddenly a storm whips up. After lightning hits the ship's mast and breaks it in two, the plans for burying the treasure are sunk. Jeremy, quick-thinking pirate that he is, knows "the perfect digging spot."

And so the story ends as the pirates row back to shore and bury the treasure in a most safe place-Jeremy Jacob's backyard.

The story is wonderfully wacky and full of good humor. Shannon's bright, acrylic illustrations are truly inspired. (Think Vermeer gone a little crazy.) Each double-page spread if filled to overflowing with action and vitality. The characters' piratical expressions are laugh-out-loud funny.

A must-have for your classroom. Children's books don't get much better than this.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff

Everything I Know About Pirates (Hardcover)
Amazon.com
Ahoy there, matey! All buccaneers to the poop deck or ye'll be walkin' the plank! Aaarrgh! Author and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld always wondered why pirates' pants are so raggedy on the bottom edges, and what makes pirates so crabby all the time, and why it is that earrings were macho on pirates way before they became cool for any other guys. So he decided it was up to him to write the final word on piratedom. This encyclopedia of spectacularly unscientific, unfounded facts about those nasty brigands of the sea will thoroughly satisfy the curiosity of landlubbin' vermin and pirate wannabes alike. Complete with name charts (pick one word from each of three columns to come up with a name like Blind Tooth Willy or One Boot Kidd), diagrams of swashbuckler fashion, and cutaway views of pirate ships, this volume is chock full of unforgettable and indispensable details of the buccaneering life. Did you know, for example, that pirates are very clumsy--why else would they always end up with eye patches and hooks? And the skull and crossbones was not discovered inside the desk of a seventh-grader in De Kalb, Illinois, as is commonly believed. It was Leonardo "Peg Leg" da Vinci who invented the design. Confused by all this technical lingo? Check out the Official Pirate Glossary in the back. Lichtenheld's hilarious illustrations and outrageous nonsense makes for a delicious reading experience for swashbucklers of all ages. (Ages 4 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From Publishers Weekly
Newcomer Lichtenheld's picture book spoof of a reference on all things piratical will shiver the timbers and tickle the funnybones of those salts, both young and old, with a penchant for silliness. Waltzing through a compendium of merry myths about the terrors of the high seas, Lichtenheld sends up everything from buccaneers' wardrobes (holey boots "ventilated to prevent toe crud"; the origins of "scaredy pants") to their surly looks ("the Pirate Sneer") and their loot ("gold coins, jewelry, and high-end Japanese electronics"), all to mirthful visual accompaniment. He traces the evolution of the pirate flag (the "1620 Hot Dog and Crossbones" was an abject failure, due to the fact that it was "not very scary"), and provides a handy do-it-yourself pirate name chart (because the pirates are "not going to let you in with a name like Nathan or Ashley"). The off-the-cuff commentary maintains a rapid-fire, gag-a-minute pace that dips into the kind of crudeness certain youngsters crave (polka dots on pirates' hankie headscarves "are actually old booger stains"), and the jaunty cartoon illustrations, rendered against a parchment-like backdrop in ink, colored pencil, gouache, pastels "and ear wax," as the fore to aft. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review: Everything I Know About Getting Kids to Read-
If you don't find humor in this book, you just don't know how to laugh. For kids, there is nothing funnier than talking about boogers, B.O., and other stinky stuff. Adults sometimes loose site of the fun stuff in life...get this book and lighten up...you just might remeber what if feels like to be a kid again. If you are looking for hard facts about pirates, this is not the book for you (which, if you read the editor's review you would know). Tom Lichtenheld did a wonderful job incorporating a savy sense of humor, a rich vocabulary, and interesting illustrations into a book that kids will want to read.

Review: What my grandson said . .
I haven't read this book, but my 5-yr-old grandson, Ryan Shaffer of Houston, Texas, has and he said in a phone call: "This is my favorite book ever." Sounds like a pretty good endorsement to me!

Review: Lame & Vulgar as a double-pegged-leg pirate
Sorry, folks, spend your doubloons elsewhere. This book is not very funny and teaches nothing (except that one can publish children's books that use "boogers" for cheap laughs). I've had to explain to my son that the author didn't really know anything about pirates but wrote a book anyway. As another reviewer has rightly commented, there are better books about pirates for kids. Far better.

Review: I only have one eye and one leg so I didn't find this funny,
Forget the so-called humor that makes fun of all us one-eyed, one-legged folks -- it also isn't particularly funny. When I read this book to my son (age 43), he didn't laugh once! Of course, he lost his vocal cords in a tragic pig calling contest, so perhaps that isn't a fair barometer.

Review: Forget the kids!
As a 45 year old Kindergarten teacher, I picked this book up over summer and had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard! Lichtenheld's pictures are comical, too. I hope he writes many more "everything I know about..." books. I hope to have my students write 'everything I know' essays.

Review: A great read for dads and sons
My son is 5 and he asks me to read this one alot. We've read it all the way through several times and I'm sure we will some more. So Bleearrrggg and Shiver-me-timbers! Set sail for a fun time with your kids. A great book for little pirates and big ones too.

Review: A boys favourite!
Reviewer: A reader
My 6 year old son thinks this book is wonderful. I recommend it for boys aged 5-9.

Review: great read, even for adults
The older I get the more I enjoy childrens books, and I really enjoy them when they're intelligent, witty, charming, well illustrated and "Everything...Pirates" is all the above and more. From the intricately drawn end covers to the tiny comments hidden around the pages, this is a tour inside a child's mind of all those questions that needed answers about pirates. Highly recommended!

A Pirate of Exquisite Mind : Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier (Hardcover)


From Publishers Weekly
Dampier's adventures and observations ignited the imagination of a generation, but today his name is largely unknown. This exhaustive biography by Diana Preston (Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy; The Boxer Rebellion; etc.) and husband Michael won't make Dampier famous again, but it will give readers a clear understanding of one of the most well-traveled men in history. In the late 1600s, Dampier, an Englishman, circumnavigated the globe three separate times. The authors draw heavily on the books and articles Dampier published about his adventures, and they include the most mundane of details ("The buccaneers sailed on, pausing to bury at sea one of their number, who apparently expired of high fever exacerbated by hiccups brought on by a drinking bout at La Serena"). During his time as a buccaneer, Dampier launched dozens of raids on gold-laden Spanish ships, marched through Panama's jungles and mutinied many times. What distinguished him from an ordinary pirate, as the title indicates, was his sharp eye for observation. He was the first self-made naturalist to visit the Galapagos; his sketches of the region's turtles set the stage for Darwin's future visit. He also drew detailed maps of nearly every place he visited, charts that defined Western Europe's knowledge of the Americas and the South Seas. His theories about how wind patterns affect ocean currents are still used today. Indeed, Dampier's scientific and historical legacy holds up better than his swashbuckling escapades, which, though exciting, hold slightly less novelty. 65 b&w illus., maps.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

William Dampier is important today for many of the same reasons that made him fascinating to his 17th- century contemporaries. He was a representative man of his time: master navigator and peerless recorder of winds, currents, coastlines, seasonal weather and even magnetic fluctuation in England's great age of exploration. As another biographer of Dampier, W. Clark Russell, remarked, "No skillfuller body of seamen were ever afloat." Although more mariners of his time than might be expected left journals, maps and other writings, Dampier was but one example of the breed, and hundreds of other men lived out similar stories.

The men who became sailors were younger brothers like Dampier -- or poor, reckless characters greedy for wealth, experience and adventure. Dampier knew some Latin. Perhaps his parents did what they could to prepare him for the clergy or the law, but, orphaned at 16, he was instead apprenticed to a shipmaster. His first trips, which this biography by Diana and Michael Preston omits, along with almost all of his early life, were standard experiences: commercial voyages and then a stint in the navy in the Third Dutch War. Dampier's rambling, opportunistic travels, which had him jumping from ship to ship, experiencing sudden destination changes and enduring deprivation, were all common. After serving in the merchant marine and the navy, he became by turns coastal trader, privateer and outright pirate, and he rose to the leadership of two financed expeditions, one by Bristol speculators.

In his sealed bamboo carriers, Dampier preserved botanical and zoological notes, as was expected of a man in his position. As early as the 1660s, the Royal Society asked mariners to do exactly what Dampier did. Books before his, such as Robert Knox's An Historical Relation of Ceylon (1681), organized their chapters according to the Society's categories of knowledge. In contributing to the evolution of lists of what was to be collected, Dampier helped shape his own, Edmund Halley's and others' scientific expeditions.

There are two problems with this biography. First, it is not well written. Dampier's sea life can be divided neatly by his major voyages, but A Pirate of Exquisite Mind is imbalanced toward his first. The prose is often turgid and far too dependent on A New Voyage Around the World, Dampier's first and least impressive book. His slogs on foot through Central America seem endless and pointless. We are not told that buccaneers were usually trying to establish dependable trading contacts and routes or even settlements in parts of the world beyond the laws of any nation. Dampier's ambitions largely conformed to this economic model, as we see, for example, in his attempts to set up as a logwood trader. He and other privateers were also patriots, disrupting the shipping lines of England's enemies, attempting to intercept shipments of gold that paid for war.

The authors are better at narrating his expedition to Australia and make telling points about the contrasts between the culture of buccaneers, with the rules that had evolved to govern independent men on long voyages in close quarters, and that of the Royal Navy. It is not until the authors introduce another privateer, Woodes Rogers, into the narrative and compare him in some detail to Dampier that they establish a smooth, authoritative voice. Even so, they squash this voyage into 14 pages, although it was Dampier's third around the world and took three years.

The second problem is the portrait of Dampier. The Prestons desperately want him to be first and singular. They repeat "first to . . . ," sometimes correctly, but more often not. For example, they want Dampier to be the first European to reach Australia, but their muddled prose suggests that they are straining to obscure the Dutch explorer Janszoon Tasmen. Almost all of their claims about Dampier as a writer are inaccurate. Voyage literature was enormously popular before he wrote -- he joined the second great outpouring. Books such as Knox's, a reprint of Drake's voyages and Alexander Exquemelin's fascinating Buccaneers of America, which Dampier mentions, may have inspired his accounts, as he surely encountered them all when he arrived in London in 1691. Dampier's dedication to A New Voyage claimed he had "a hearty Zeal for the promotion of useful knowledge" (the motto of the Royal Society). As a privateer, he devoted that zeal to his "Country's advantage."

In the Prestons' hands, however, Dampier emerges as irascible and driven by a hunger for gold. In reality, he was a premier example of his time's embrace of empirical methods and desire to explore the entire globe. He explained one of his changes of ships by noting, "It was not from any dislike to my old Captain but to get some knowledge of the Northern Parts of this Continent of Mexico." The authors also leave out other major aspects of his personality, which are apparent in his four autobiographical books. His religion, for instance, is gone, as is the fascination with forms of government that he shared with his contemporaries (including Knox and Exquemelin) in the time when Englishmen remembered a civil war and a republic, and then saw a hereditary monarch displaced by a foreigner. The authors lose sight of his lively sense of humor, the detail that his interest in zoology seems to have been largely culinary and his ability to make himself unnoticeable when that was appropriate. Yet he could not have survived to age 63 had he not been a master of managing intricate situations and avoiding confrontations. The authors' inattention is especially frustrating since, in nearly every respect, Dampier is that best of biographical subjects -- the representative but exceptional person, one who reveals the indomitable spirit and amazing knowledge of the hundreds of men who lived out the same stories but did not find a publisher.

Reviews

I really enjoyed "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind". I have always been drawn to historical biographies ("Galileo's Daughter", "The Last Alchemist") and this tale of William Dampier a sometimes pirate and alltimes scientific observer really captivated me. I'm not too well versed in the time period covered by the book (the 1680 through 1714) so I found much to be surprised and entertained by. Descriptions of the wild and rough life on the fringes of European civilization contrasted well with the glimpse provided of little-touched or oftentimes completely unexplored islands in the Pacific. I was also interested in the depictions of the buccaneer culture, its social conventions and the consequences that result in disrupting that society. It was a fascinating time, Dampier was a very interesting character and "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind" was an enjoyable and enlightening book.

Review: An Exquisite Biography
A remarkable man died sometime in 1715 in London and was buried in an unmarked grave.
This would be of little note were it not for the fact he was one of the greatest explorers of all time, a pioneering navigator, a naturalist, hydrographer, travel writer and - probably to his disadvantage - a pirate. His maps were used by James Cook and Horatio Nelson, among others; his work as a naturalist influenced von Humboldt and Darwin, and his writings stirred the imagination of Defoe, Coleridge and Swift. He circumnavigated the world three times and was the first Englishman to explore Australia.
It was William Dampier's lifelong ambition to achieve wealth and fame. Though he found some of the latter before his death he was frustrated at almost every turn in his efforts to accomplish the former and, sadly, died in debt.
Diana and Michael Preston have given the man his due in their biography, "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind."
Dampier was a man of his time and, thus, is not without fault in the modern view. But he had more tolerance than many of his contemporaries, despised superstition and saw curiosity about the world around us as among the highest of virtues.
For a man whose writing had (and continues to have) so much influence on so many others, it is surprising that William Dampier is largely forgotten, even in his birthplace of East Coker, Somerset. Before this long overdue biography, the Prestons found almost everything known about Dampier came from his published books. None of his original journals have survived.
The Prestons searched out manuscripts in the British Library and moldering papers in various record offices and then went one better than many biographers, actually visiting the many places his path took him around the world.
There are aspects of his life the authors only skimmed over and which I wish they had given more attention. While not quite as readable as "Blue Latitudes," the Tony Horwitz book on Cook, I found much to admire in this book.

Review: The first modern biography of pirate genius
A Pirate Of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, And Buccaneer: The Life Of William Dampier is the first modern biography of the pirate genius William Dampier who was also an intrepid explorer, observant naturalist, and more. This was an extraordinary man whose exploits influenced fellow pirates, and even went on to inspired Charles Darwin, who as a young man found his books a treasure trove of information. Dampier journeyed three times around the world at a time when one circumvention was cause of celebration, living with buccaneers, producing best-selling books, and influencing scientists and explorers alike. A fascinating biography evolves.

Review: Fearless intellect
William Dampier was what many people can only fantasize of achieving in their lifetime. From the hot, clammy, precarious jungles of Central America, South America and Southeast Asia, to the barrenness of Australia's seashores and all places in between, Dampier's three voyages around the world totaled more than 200,000 miles.

Beginning on the sugar plantations of Jamaica at the age of twenty-one, it was fortune and fate that he had a falling out with the owner. For the next several years he was in the company of pirates, always seeking that elusive Spanish treasure fleet, but all the while observing, recording and writing of his natural, physical and celestial surroundings.

Following his years as a pirate, he was employed by English dignitaries to explore and surmise the world. His life was a timeless series of wonder from one place to another. One voyage led to another, year after year, nautical mile after nautical mile.
He made major contributions to science in the areas of botany, zoology, anthropology, navigation, etc. Many distinguished and prominent scientists, authors, explorers and navigators were influenced one way or another by Dampier's achievements.
A man of astonishing accomplishments. Very well written.

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