Selkirk's Island

Much of this book must be drawn from the author's imagination, in the absence of sound original sources. The book is full of factual inaccuracies, internal inconsistencies and geographical impossibilities. Very readable but won't stand up to any critical analysis.

A bit of a slow beginning but soon becomes compulsive reading. The detail is outstanding without ever becoming tedious. The characters become alive with no sense of fictional padding out. Entertaining and informative. Want me to Largo the day I finished it to keep the vibe going.

I read Selkirk’s Island for a Scottish Book Club that I belong to. I wish it told more about Selkirk’s time on the Island and less about his earlier sailing experiences. I thought it would have been more like Robinson Crusoe because Selkirk’s Island was the model for Robinson Crusoe. The book was well written, it was that I had different expectations.

Interesting premises and narrative about the true events which became the model and basis for the author of Robinson Crusoe. One detraction is the obvious idea as you progress through the book that this author seems to have done little original research, rather the author seems to have built this book out of bits and pieces taken from earlier accounts about Selkirk Island. The author of this book seems to make the tale more interesting by suggesting some rather sordid behavior by Selkirk when he was marooned on the Island.

Interesting read about the real story of the man whose life inspired Daniel Dafoe to write Robinson Crusoe. Which was one of my favorite books as a kid and this book does a very good job placing the story into its historical context. Not a day by day account of his life in prison the island but a review of the history of that part of the world and the events that led to Selkirk being stranded on the island, his life while there and his rescue and life after the island.