Selkirk's Island: The True and Strange Adventures of the Real Robinson Crusoe Kindle Edition

A very interesting book, a bit disjointed in structure, but very revealing of what life was like - both for the guy marooned hundreds of miles of the coast of Chile, but also for the various pirates and scoundrels attempting to steal Spanish ill-gotten gold. What the ships and people were really like, constantly on the verge of starvation, scurvy induced death. and their shipmates.

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.

The book was an interesting read, especially from the stand point of historical accuracy. Actually, this a three part novel: before, during, and after the adventures of the real Robinson Crusoe (Selkirk?). To fully enjoy the book it helps to under the history of the period and also the English monetary system. Overall, this was certainly a book worth ready.

True and Strange...an eye opening account of life on the seas in that era. This is not the glamorized version seen in the movies but tells an amazing tale of one man's travails alone on an island.

Interesting premises and narrative about the true eventswhich became the model and basis for the author ofRobinson Crusoe. One detraction is the obvious ideaas you progress through the book that this author seemsto have done little original research, rather the authorseems to have built this book out of bits and pieces takenfrom earlier accounts about Selkirk Island. The author ofthis book seems to make the tale more interesting bysuggesting some rather sordid behavior by Selkirk whenhe was marooned on the Island.

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.

Where did Diana get the sources that Alwxander abused goats? It’s all baseleess conjecture. This is the first book I have ever read that had bestiality. And he was painted out as a godless individual who dabbed in various philosophies that were likely unknown to him, a common sailor of the early 18th century. Diana would have done well to stick with the hard facts and not whether he did this or that without any evidence to back herself up. I would say this was not a true biography. I feel her portrayal of Alwxander possibly says much more about herself than it did him.Other than the hypotheses of masturbation and bestiality, I found this book to be a pretty intereting book shedding light on the raw and coarse lives of sailors and pirates of that era.I won’t recommend this book due to its sordid and vulgar language. No reason to use certain words and to focus repeatedly on what may or may nkt have happened with his goats. In some ways, I regret buying this book.

If you are travelling to Robinson Crusoe Island, then this is a must read. It was full of interesting facts and anecdotes. It doesn't get a full five star rating for me because the writing was somewhat spotty and there was unnecessary speculation, perhaps in order to fill out the book of make it more interesting artificially.

Stumbled on this book via a reference from Stephen Taylor's Caliban Shore. I am fascinated by the savage nature of maritime life three hundred years ago, this book certainly gives a flavour of life both on and off shore in that period.You can see how the idea of Robinson Crusoe might have come about. Isn't there always someone thwere to make money from another man's misfortune. Lucky Daniel Defoe and indeed lucky us having such a novel. Thank you Mr Selkirk for providing the story.

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.

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 very interesting subject but I find the concentration on the flora in the early part of the book too florid which detracts from the richness of Selkirk's character.

Wow ! Well researched and well written . I can't say I was particularly interested in Selkirk's life before I read this and knew next to nothing about him , but I bought this book on the strength of reading Souhami's Murder at Wrotham Hall which I really enjoyed. This was equally absorbing, and I learned a great deal not only about Selkirk, but also about life on the sea in the era in which he lived. Thought provoking stuff.