With painstaking research, riveting detail and elegant prose, freelance writer Leslie here creates a keen psychological study as well as a paean to the courage, resourcefulness and perseverance of the human body and mind. This is a hefty chronicle of true stories, from the 1500s to the present day, about survivors of shipwrecks, maroonings and plane crashes, lost in every sort of climate and environment, struggling against animals, humanssavage and civilizedand the forces of nature. There is Peter Carder, who sailed in the 16th century with Drake, was castaway once and twice marooned, ingratiated himself with Brazilian cannibals and outwitted his Portuguese enemies. Leslie insightfully describes the real ``Robinson Crusoe,'' Alexander Selkirk, a sailing master who quarreled with his captain and was stranded for four years on an island paradise off the coast of Chile in the early 1700s. The account of Marguerite de la Roque, a 16th century French woman who was betrayed as an adulterer by her adventurer cousin on an Atlantic voyage and then left to die, pregnant, on an island off the coast of Canada with her servant and her lover, is affecting. But for sheer thrills and inspiration, readers will be fascinated by the tale of the ill-planned and ill-fated Stefansson Polar expedition of 1913. Illustrated. (August)
From Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson to Alive! and Adrift, tales of survival have always captivated readers. This powerful collection chronicles the remarkable true stories of real-life maroons, castaways, and other survivors as they struggle to endure against insurmountable odds. From the 1500s to the present, in the most isolated and unforgiving terrains imaginable, they faced shipwrecks and plane crashes, crossed vast deserts and icy poles, and struggled against avalanches, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Here are their moral dilemmas, their personalities, and their influence on society, literature, and art. Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls is an unforgettable exploration of a subject of perennial fascination.
From Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson to Alive! and Adrift, tales of survival have always captivated readers. This powerful collection chronicles the remarkable true stories of real-life maroons, castaways, and other survivors as they struggle to endure against insurmountable odds. From the 1500s to the present, in the most isolated and unforgiving terrains imaginable, they faced shipwrecks and plane crashes, crossed vast deserts and icy poles, and struggled against avalanches, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Here are their moral dilemmas, their personalities, and their influence on society, literature, and art. Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls is an unforgettable exploration of a subject of perennial fascination.
Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors
Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169661231 |
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Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 01/01/2007 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |