THE PIRATE-SCIENTIST WILLIAM DAMPIER (1651-1715) lived at a remarkable time in human history: at the dawn of modern science and at the intersection of three golden ages: the golden ages of sail, exploration, and piracy. Curious to see the world and keen to add to the world's sum total of useful knowledge, he ventured out upon the high seas. He kept a careful account of his adventures in the world's Torrid Zone, describing as he went the soil,...