Customer Reviews

Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe

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Scottish mariner Alexander Selkirk is marooned on a South Pacific island - and becomes the model for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. In his real life he survived completely alone for over four years, and engaged in daring sea exploits upon his rescue - including the capture of a Spanish treasure ship. His experiences come to life in a title which reads with all the drama of fiction, embellished with colorful detail in Marooned: The Strange But True Adventures Of Alexander Selkirk, The Real Robinson Crusoe.

As Alexander Selkirk watched his ship sailing away, leaving him alone on a small, isolated south Pacific island, he thought the captain was bluffing. After all, Alexander was the sailing master, a skilled navigator able to pilot the crudely charted seas in 1703. Without him, the ship would be unable to find her way back to England--wouldn't she? Even though he had challenged the captain's authority and refused to sail on until repairs were made to the travel-worn ship, he was sure the captain would have to return for his navigator.
Days stretched into weeks, and Alexander realized that he had indeed been abandoned. Over the next four years and four months, he survived by his wits: building shelter, crafting rude tools, and adapting to his wild, solitary life on Juan Fernandez Island.
To research this book, author Kraske consulted accounts written by men who had known Selkirk, including the English privateer Woodes Rogers, whose ship rescued Selkirk from the island. Together, Rogers and Selkirk sailed eastward, returning to England two years later by way of Indonesia and south Africa.
Rogers's account was also read by another Englishman, Daniel Defoe, who was inspired to create his own castaway, Robinson Crusoe.
Marooned is a quick but compelling read. Its 120 pages are chock-full of vivid details about Selkirk's exploits, from solitude and survival to piracy and privateering in the early 1700s. The account is recommended for adventure-craving readers in upper elementary and junior high.

Though the story was intriguing, the book itself was thin and the typeface about 12 points, which made for a very fast read. Maybe two hours. I like my books to take a few days with a lot of depth and character development which this one was lacking. This book seemed geared towards middle school aged readers.

If you enjoy real life adventure, you will love this book. Alexander Selkirk's true tale inspired the tale Robinson Crusoe and the Swiss Family Robinson.

It is so great to go to the primary source. So if you like Crusoe and Swiss you will really enjoy this tome.

Enjoy!