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Selkirk's Island (Voyages Promotion) (Paperback)

by Diana Souhami (Author) "DEFINED BY the vast South Sea, The Island from a wooden craft, far out, was a destination, a place of refuge ..." (more)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Phoenix; New edition edition (3 Jul 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0753813343
  • ISBN-13: 978-0753813348
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.4 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 242,602 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Diana Souhami's Selkirk's Island is not the first book about the extraordinary, real-life adventures of the Scotsman, Alexander Selkirk--that credit must go to a rather better-known book, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Nor, doubtless, will it be the last. But it might be the best. Diana Souhami's book commands superlatives for every reason. The author of previous, outstanding biographies, including the prizewinning The Trials of Radclyffe Hall, Souhami has produced a marvellous account of what life was like on the remote, rain-swept (not desert) island of Juan Fernandez. Selkirk chose to remain on the island in 1704, when he sensed that the piratical voyage he had joined himself to was sinking fast. His shipmates sailed on and left him. For four years he survived in total solitude, hunting the wild goats on the island and clubbing them to death, building a hut from the branches of sandalwood trees, and making fire with dry sticks. Souhami brings everything to life with vivid, imaginary vignettes: "A boa constrictor arrived coiled in the hollow of a cut tree. It had journeyed from Brazil for seven weeks over choppy seas. The tree washed ashore with the turning tide. It sloughed its skin and danced alone." When at last two ships sailed into Juan Fernandez's tiny harbour, quite by chance, they found a bearded, savage-looking man, who could only utter the one word: "Marooned!" Souhami is brilliant on the natural history, on the physical details, on the sheer, intractable character of the material world that Selkirk had to deal with--and all these things demand that you, the reader, ask yourself: "Could I have done this? Would I have survived?" This is what makes Selkirk's Island compelling, fascinating reading, and the three double-page colour photographs of the island are breathtaking. --Christopher Hart

Christopher Hart. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Review

SELKIRK'S ISLAND by Diana Souhami FMCM Again we are setting an end of month press date for this title with confirmed publicity in Guardian My Life In Writing (20/4), The Herald's My Favourite Book (4/5), and BBC Radio 4 Open Book (21/4) and Excess Baggage (13/4), with local radio including BBC GMR and Austrian Broadcasting Company plus BBC World Service's Outlook (25/4). Plus the shelflife interview for The Scotsman (27/4). And reviews are now coming in: 'This book not only illuminates Selkirk's five years as a solitary castaway - the experience inspired Robinson Crusoe, though Defoe did not include any reference to sexual congress with goats - but also probes the circumstances that led the disputatious Selkirk to this predicament and what happened to him afterwards'Independent "The gripping and true story of Alexander Selkirk, more famous as Defoe's Robinson Crusoe." Daily Telegraph "His story still holds thefascination that inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe... meticulously researched." Daily Mail 'To Souhami, the island itself is a character, its flora and fauna and dramatic weather changes so evocatively described...Butshe is good at all levels: delving into contemporary sources she explores Selkirk's aggressive, resourceful and complex character, and writes vividly of the horrors of shipboard life and the venality of some of those who set sail in search of riches'Sunday Times Souhami tells the story of the real-life Robinson Crusoe in terse, well-judged prose, and explores some of the ambiguities of his exile: although desperate to be rescued, he also achieved a kind of spiritual at-oneness with the island. She also provides many colourful details about eighteenth-century sea-life: the horrific illnesses and injuries, thevicious squabbles, and the general contempt for human - especially non-British - life'Observer 'Souhami's research into contemporary political and maritime matters is admirably wide ranging'The Times "Whitbread biog of the year, Diana Souhami's examination of Alexander Selkirk and Robinson Crusoe is a glittering assembly." Time Out - Paperback of the Week. '...an unusual and engrossing book...It is a great tale and Souhami tells it crisply and well.'Sunday Telegraph
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DEFINED BY the vast South Sea, The Island from a wooden craft, far out, was a destination, a place of refuge. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Stranger than fiction, 15 Aug 2006
By R Hamblyn (London) - See all my reviews
Robinson Crusoe is one of the most famous novels in the English language, although many people find that actually reading it is a fairly tedious enterprise; all that Protestant journal-keeping, all that blather about providence, all that endless marshalling of resources. But the story is a fantastic one, and a true one, too. Alexander Selkirk, a sailor from a small Scottish port town, found himself stranded on Juan Fernandez island for 4 years, and only made it home after being rescued by a passing British vessel. His story, which Daniel Defoe heard second-hand, was soon turned into the famous novel - but the true account, which Diana Souhami tells here with great skill and insight, is far more revealing than Defoe's 'original'. Details of Selkirk's daily life are brought home vividly, as are some of his thoughts and fears, such as his terror of being eaten by the dozens of cats that kept him company on the island. The historical context is well handled, too, and you find yourself learning a great deal about early 18th-century commerce and navigation as you go along. Selkirk's Island deservedly won the 2001 Whitbread Book Prize.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars an entertaining, absorbing read, 8 Jul 2002
I loved this book. One of those you almost dont buy, almost dont keep going past the first few pages (a lot of eco stuff about the island), but then suddenly you are gripped and you never want it to end. Its an unusual mixture of meticulously researched history of privateering voyages to loot Spanish ships in the 1700s, and a biography of both Alexander Selkirk and the island he is marooned on, Juan Fernandez. Souhami is very good at everything, she chops backwards and forwards in time, throws in Darwin, literary London, eighteenth century contractural law, and plenty on the enduring vigour of the island (there is a touching photo of her perched on Selkirk's lookout point) and somehow manages to make you care about it all. A very deserving award winner. You learn a lot. The way Selkirk is affected by the island is very moving.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Slow start but gets very interesitng, 20 Oct 2003
By A Customer
My advice to anyone considering buying this book is to go ahead and do it. It will be money well spent. The author does a good job in relating Selkirks story, but what I found even more interesting were the events prior to and subsequent to his abandonment.

This is a good read. I was sorry when it was finished.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Original thoughts
My original thoughts on this still stand, that the author continually uses the phrase 'English sailors' when she occasionally means British sailors and frequently means a mixed... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Idyllic Island
Ms.Souhami has done us all a favour in this charming book, both Selkirk and the island are the subjects of inquiry. Read more
Published on 20 Nov 2002 by A. J. Watson

2.0 out of 5 stars A very disappointing read
I had high expectations of this book, thanks to all the publicity (and awards!) it received..

Only a small part of the book deals with Selkirk's abandonment, leaving the book... Read more

Published on 3 Jun 2002

3.0 out of 5 stars The story behind the story of Robinson Crusoe
Alexander Selkirk was the real life inspiration behind the Robinson Crusoe character. Crusoe spent 28 years on a desert island supported by what he could salvage from his... Read more
Published on 21 May 2002 by R. P. Davies

3.0 out of 5 stars Robinson Crusoe - not such a hero after all
It appears from this informative and entertaining book that the real life Robinson Crusoe was far from the attractive character of fiction. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2002 by B. Ukiah

4.0 out of 5 stars Marooned!!!
Robinson Crusoe was lucky! Besides the fact that he was a fictional character, he was lucky enough to have, within his reach, his wrecked ship loaded with bountiful supplies,... Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2002 by graham@riskman.co.uk

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