Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors [Paperback]

Edward E. Leslie (Author), Sterling Seagrave (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1998

Here are the most remarkable stories imaginable of maroons, castaways, and other survivors from the 1500s to the present - their moral dilemmas, their personalities, and their influence on society, literature, and art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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, humans--savage and civilized--and 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.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Surviving against insurmountable odds is the theme of these two disparate booksone a mass market paperback, the other a trade publication. Adams's book is a freewheeling, believe-it-or-not litany of death-defying feats of survivorship taken largely from the 20th century. Most of these mishaps involve aircraftcrashes, in-air collisions, and exiting disabled craft. Natural disaster survival stories cover avalanches, lighting, tornadoes, and earthquakes. A lack of editorial supervision has resulted in a lack of organization and cohesiveness. This journalistic effort could have been entitled "Best Disaster Stories from the National Enquirer." From Alexander Selkirk (the real-life model for Robinson Crusoe) to Antoine St.-Exupery, Leslie tells the stories of 20 men and women involved in shipwrecks, deliberate maroonings, and aircraft crashes. Each chapter covers one person's story, carefully footnoted and fleshed out with primary source materialoften from diaries. The bibliography is extensive; the footnotes annotated. A scholarly but highly readable treatment of a subject holding an inordinate fascination for many people. Adams's book will probably have more circulation, but buy both: Leslie's for the adult collection, Adams's for YA. Paula M. Zieselman, Debevoise & Plimpton, New York
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (March 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395911508
• ISBN-13: 978-0395911501
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive!, March 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors (Paperback)

This book was obviously exhaustively researched, as it spares no details in the dozens of true and horrifying accounts of people throughout the ages who were trapped in hopeless survival situations. Many lived, many did not... The only flaw in this teriffic book is that it may be a bit long and seems to lose momentum before the end. It could have been a third shorter and still been as powerful and just as fascinating. I was a little disappointed that the author did not cover the Raft of the Medusa or the Donner Party, as they would fit perfectly into this book. Perhaps he thought they've already been studies more thoroughly by other reasearchers. But it was still very much worth reading and never got boring. I was surprised at how many instances of civilized cannibalism have occured throughout history! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in survival or human psychology.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST collection of survival stories I've ever came across!, April 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors (Hardcover)

"True stories of Castaways and Other Survivors" This is a superb mix of 20+ different types of survival stories. From the Poor Englishman who landed on a barren isle that "had neither springs nor streams and was utterly devoid of vegetation: no grass, plants, or trees" and managed to live for a full year and be rescued -to- The Headhunter's Casket, which in part reads, "...two issues should be examined and resolved. The first involves an individual's responsibility or guilt for actions taken to ensure his survival. The second has to do with the lasting effects of ordeals." It is truely some of the best reading and information, of this type, I've EVER come across.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Real" adventure stories, not modern contrived ones., August 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors (Paperback)

With the bestseller lists populated by the likes of such adventure stories as Into Thin Air and other contrived adventures of the bored rich, it is refreshing to read about adventure stories that hark back to a time when man was less concerned with adventure and more concerned with science, discovery, or just making a living. Adventure was just something you accidentally stumbled into. The author recounts many lesser known survival stories, and attempts to reconstruct a mental and psychological profile of the victims as well. In an age where we look at adventure and heroism as more important than the preparation and foresight that would make such adventure unnecessary, it is refreshing to read about survival stories where those suffering the hardships simply want to get it over with. The book hums along nicely for about 2/3 of the 500+ pages, but the author seems to run out of steam and stories, and seems to want to read more i nto the adventure experience than is actually there. Many of the survivors seem less than willing to elaborate upon their experiences, or semed less than heroic in their hardships, but this only adds weight to the contrast between explorer/discoverer and the modern adventurer. But those of you with a taste for the bizarre will love this book, it contains enough morbidity,death, cannibalism and suffering to satisfy the most harcore adventure enthusiast. THe chapters on the rampant cannibalism i n the history of the British Navy and in other adventure scenarios are especially gruesome. Bon Appetit! All in all a worthwhile if a bit long of a read.