Phantom Islands of the Atlantic: The Legends of Seven Lands That Never Were [Hardcover]

Donald S. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

Rich with the wonder of the Age of Exploration, Phantom Islands of the Atlantic explores the strange tales of seven mythical islands that were claimes, described, and carefully mapped, although they never actually existed. "A single, deceptively simple volume that is profoundly researched . . . truly in a league of its own."--The Explorers Club Journal. 35 maps and illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Prior to the discovery of continental drift and the birth of islands by volcanic action, a different sort of movement and birth of landmasses took place: the continual cartographic displacement of approximately 27,000 nonexistent islands reputed to exist in the Atlantic and the ontological displacement of the islands from imaginative "existence" on maps and in traveler's tales. Johnson traces the birth, lives, and deaths of seven of these elusive islands of the Atlantic--including their towns, villages, and exotic inhabitants such as St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgin companions (what a lure this must have been to lusty sailors!)--from maps and ship's logs. In the process, he reveals much about the ways in which imagination becomes reality through social consensus and the authority of the printed document.

From Publishers Weekly

Until the invention of modern navigational intruments (most notably the chronometer, in the 1730s, which enabled sailors to mark longitude), geographic calculations drew upon legends and unverifiable reports from ancient mariners who, sailing only by latitude and the stars, could not pinpoint precisely where they had been. Early cartographers filled their maps with the satanic beasts and horrific (or idyllic) landscapes the sailors described. As navigation became more scientific, these "lands that never were" disappeared from the maps. After presenting ancient and medieval geographical theories, Johnson, a sailor who has crossed the Atlantic five times in a 27-foot schooner, tells seven of these island tales. The Isle of Demons off Newfoundland was reputedly inhabited by bears, walruses and a variety of mythological animals. St. Brendan, a sixth-century Irish monk, was said to have discovered the islands that came to bear his name on a seven-year voyage that may have been a religious fantasy. The fifth century's Saint Ursula, legend has it, left Britain for Rome by boat, accompanied by 11,000 virgins. Johnson also tells of the tantalizing searches for Frisland, Buss Island, the Isle of Seven Cities and Hy-Brazil, a foggy green isle off the west coast of Ireland that was eyed as a midway station for trade to the Orient. This admirably researched and well-written account, with numerous maps and illustrations, vividly illustrates how interesting the often overlooked science of geography can be. BOMC and QPB selections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Co; Revised edition (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802713203
• ISBN-13: 978-0802713209
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,497,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Much on Maps, but the Myths are Missing, August 16, 2002

By 

jrmspnc (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phantom Islands of the Atlantic: The Legends of Seven Lands That Never Were (Paperback)

I hate to sound a sour note, especially in the face of unanimous five star ratings. However, Phantom Islands does not live up to its billing. To read the title and the book jacket, one would expect the book to be primarily about *legends* - tales of mysterious islands inhabited by wondrous people and creatures. One would think, too, that the cartography of the Atlantic would be secondary - an interesting side-note, but not the focus.

The opposite is true. Johnson gives an all-too brief description of the "phantom island" at issue, then launches into an exhaustive recitation of the island's appearance on maps; how so and so in 1524 put the island here, while such and such twenty years later moved it ten miles further south. It quickly becomes old.

Let me emphasize that my grievance stems largely from feeling misled. I opened the book expecting X and got Q instead. If one is looking for a history of cartography, this book probably deserves the five stars others have given it. But if you are looking for tales of legendary, vanished isles look elsewhere.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tale Tales and Mistaken Identities, June 29, 1998

By 

Lenore S. Schellinger "linn556" (Humble, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Phantom Islands of the Atlantic: The Legends of Seven Lands That Never Were (Paperback)

Until the problem of longitude was worked out in the 1700s, sailors and cartographers had great difficulty affixing exact locations of land masses. Islands were particularly elusive, and many of them had a habit of wandering around in the ocean! Occasionally, someone would bump into an island; think a new discovery was made; give it a name; and then spread the news to mapmakers. Some islands got discovered and named several times. Other islands were imagined or invented. Imagine the confusion of a poor navigator trying to figure out where he was if he was relying on a map drawn from hearsay.

Phantom Islands of the Atlantic is filled with quaint maps and illustrations. Mr. Johnson's narrative is breezy and entertaining yet well-researched and informative. This book is a delight!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Mythological History, September 29, 2000

By 

"kingsransom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phantom Islands of the Atlantic: The Legends of Seven Lands That Never Were (Hardcover)

There are numerous islands which have appeared on maps of the Atlantic Ocean which then disappeared when later maps were published. This delightful book tells the stories of some of these islands. These island discussed in this book are:

1.The Isle Of Demons, upon which Marguerite de la Roche spent over two years before being rescued.

2.Frisland, a large island with a king and numerous towns, sometimes south of Iceland, sometimes south of Greenland, sometimes in between.

3.Buss Island, sometimes small, sometimes large, east or west of Frisland.

4.Antillia, the Isle of Seven Cities, just West of Spain.

5.Hy-Brazil, circular with a river through it, just West of Ireland.

There are two chapters regarding two religious stories which were related to islands. One of them is the voyage of Saint Brendan, a story which inspired some to identify the islands as locations of miraculous occurrences.

Part history, part fairy tale, it is very entertaining reading of islands which, in fact, never even existed but were listed on maps for hundreds of years.