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AND, note to winners of our January contest–the books are in the mail.
Book Cover: Atlas of Remote Islands
Destination: The Oceans
Book: The Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will (NEW in English, 2010) by Judith Schalansky
As a writer, artist, and typographer, the perfect job for Judith Schalansky, surely would be to create an Atlas. And she did just that. An Atlas of Remote Islands wins a place in the traveler’s library as a book of beauty, ingenuity, poetry and even contains some of the statistical facts you expect from a reference book. I will treasure this book, dipping into it whenever I feel the need to flee ordinary places and ordinary books.
Her book won awards in Germany, where people sailed into book stores to buy this instructive yet fanciful look at 50 islands. She explains in her foreword that one book in just about every German household is an Atlas. And to add to the love affair with maps, consider that she grew up in East Germany under communism, when the government banned travel, but could not stop travel of the imagination–armchair travel.
Judith Schalansky and pages from Remote Islands
Shalansky serves up one page of text and a handsome map of each of the 50 islands. Other than a few facts–location, size, governing country–she doesn’t try to tell us everything about each island, but introduces each with a story of a person who once lived, or tried to live on that island. While based on fact, these stories reside more in fantasy than reality. As Utopias, most of these islands proved to be let downs. If they were uninhabited, there was good reason–too remote, too bereft of flora and fauna, not conducive to farming, no fresh water sources. And yet, humankind must seek out islands just as they must climb mountains–because they are there.
The not-so-remote St. Lucia in the Caribbean
While you may have heard of a few of them, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) for one, most will trip you up on a geography quiz.
Go Nomad published this article which compares the book’s story to the experience of “The World’s Most Traveled Man.”
Britain’s Guardian on line, whose reviews I always love to read, says:
In her foreword, Schalansky describes the act of finger-walking a map as an “erotic gesture”. Cartophiles will know instantly what she means: not that there is a sexual frisson involved in map-reading, but that the distant longing for a landscape is usually far greater than the satisfaction gained by reaching it (eroticism’s essence being anticipation rather than consummation).
I want to thank Penguin, the publisher for providing this book for review.
If you are an island fan, you will also want to read
- Island Story (Okinawa)
- A Poet’s Story of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
- Not Quite Paradise (Sri Lanka)
- Travels to a Pacific Island (Marshall Islands)
And for Map lovers:
I took the photo of a St. Lucia beach was taken while I was a guest of the gorgeous East Winds Inn. The beach was right outside my apartment. Not remote, but SO island!
How about you? Share your island stories. What is the most remote or unique island you have ever visited?
Vote for my article on WorldTravelist.com, sharing the best travel content on the web.
About the Author:
A freelance writer who loves to travel. When she is not traveling she is reading about travel. When she is not reading or traveling, she is sharing with the readers of A Traveler's Library, Reel Life With Jane and other websites. Also co-author of a biography, Quincy Tahoma, The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist. Contact Vera Marie by e-mail.
Vera Marie Badertscher – who has written 680 posts on A Traveler's Library.
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Tags: atlas, BlogSherpa, East Germany, Easter Island, Guardian, Islands, maps, Rapa Nui, remote islands, Scharansky, St. Lucia
That Guardian quote about eroticism equaling the thrill of anticipation is spot-on – thanks for sharing it! I’m most often on the island of Manhattan, which is exotic and cannibalistic in its own ways, but I’d rather be up on Mount Desert Island in Maine….
Casey would like you to read..Ditch Dogs- Seeing is Believing
Whenever I see an island on a map, I always want to know more. And in my mind, it’s always an undiscovered Swiss Family Robinson fantasy waiting to happen. This is a great resource, thanks for telling us about it!
Melanie Haiken would like you to read..Seeking Health and Solace in Chimayó- New Mexico
This sounds like a delightful book!!! I love maps and to hear of various islands- well, I’m sure I would love it.
p.s.
I received my book from Mike Gerrard- thanks again!!
I really like the idea of tying stories of people to the maps…
Kerry Dexter would like you to read..Celtic Connections 2011- images
Any island sounds good right now. It’s not the most remote, but I remember visiting and loving Patmos.
Thanks for introducing me to a great book. I’d really like to read it now. I love the quote from the Guardian.
Jason
Jason would like you to read..Peruvian Fusion- Doña Pepa
Wow! I cannot imagine the amount of research required. Being me, of course, the tropical ideas and narrative stories would be the hook.
Roxanne would like you to read..Lilly Herding Lesson 1- The Poll
It sounds like a fascinating book, and I like that the stories are centered around a person. I would think that brings the islands alive, rather than just citing stats and whatnot.
Jane Boursaw would like you to read..Water for Elephants- Check Out the Poster & Trailer
I like the idea of this book.
Paz would like you to read..Watching and Waiting
Paz: But of course. A friend of mine who has lived near 56th St. on the East side all his life, always tells people that he lives on a very small island.
i could go an island getaway right about now;)
This sounds like a wonderful book, especially for people like me who are inexplicably drawn to maps.
Ruth Pennebaker would like you to read..Speaking of Shame
When they were little, my sons loved to lay maps out on the floor, lay on their bellies, and study them for hours.That was the ultimate in travel of the imagination. This book sounds like a treasure!
Sheryl would like you to read..Take Back Your Sleep!
This sounds like a treasure. We’re definitely island people around here and my son is an avid map reader. Thanks for the recommendation!
Kris Bordessa would like you to read..Grill it Yourself at the Shore Bird in Waikiki
Krsi and Sheryl: I make it a point to give little kids gifts of maps and atlases. Even at 3, my grandson wants to know where HE is on a map. From there it is just a step to where you WANT to be.
what a great gift idea — and not one I’d thought of, though I spent hours with maps and globes too when I was a kid. I’m borrowing this idea for the children in my life. and perhaps the adults as well.
Kerry Dexter would like you to read..Celtic Connections 2011- images
Oh, she’s a typographer? I might buy this book for that reason alone – I’m utterly fascinated with typography!
Stephanie – Wasabimon would like you to read..How to Make Ketchup
Stephanie: Yep, an artist, writer AND typographer, which makes for very interesting books. She designs and typesets her own. Unfortunately I don’t know if we can get her others in the U.S. and in English.
oh, this sounds wonderful. i can’t wait to read it!
wandering educators would like you to read..Friendship Force Sets World Friendship Day March 1
I have a thing for islands. I need to get this book. I love the FL Keys, islands in Maine and the Bahamas.
NoPotCoooking would like you to read..Chicken- Sweet Potato- Sage and Brown Butter
I would say, NOPOT, that you are an indiscriminate fan of islands–from Bahama to Maine–quite a swath!
Ooooh! We have a huge Atlas. Living on an island in the Pacific makes us especially aware of other islands. This looks like a good Xmas present for some folks I know.
Frugal Kiwi would like you to read..Book Review- Green Interior Design
I felt like I was visiting an island when I read THE SEX LIFE OF CANNIBALS. I think that’s the closest I’ve gotten to a truly exotic island experience.
Oh, except for going to the Apostle Islands — the islands in the heart of Lake Superior. Those are lovely and mostly untouched.
Jennifer: I don’t know about the Apostle Islands. Having grown up in Ohio, however, I did visit Big Bass and Little Bas in Lake Erie.
I’m such a map geek.. thanks for the links!!
I visited an interesting island located in the Snake River near the Oregon Trail. A friend of mine conducted an archeological dig there…around the turn of the last century three bachelors lived there. They kept goats and rolled tobacco and licorice to make cigars, which they sold in town for supplies. It must have been an interesting life on the Snake River!
Richard: Certainly not extremely remote, but definitely unique! Thanks for the info.