Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire

by Simon Winchester
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire  
published June 1st 2004 by Harper Perennial
binding Paperback
isbn 0060598611   (isbn13: 9780060598617)
pages 400
description

Simon Winchester, struck by a sudden need to discover exactly what was left of the British Empire, set out across the globe to visit the far-flung ...more

date added
12-31-06



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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 76)



James
04/05/08

bookshelves: reviewed
Read in July, 2006
Back in 1997, a volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat blew its top, killing 19 people and burying half the island in ash. After the dust had settled, residents of the British protectorate begged London for more aid to rebuild their homes. The UK development minister famously retorted: "They'll be wanting golden elephants next."

Britain's indifference and sometimes outright hostility to its remaining overseas territories is a recurring theme in Simon Winchester's book. His j...more
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Eric
Eric rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/15/08

bookshelves: poly-social-stuffz, travel-writing
Read in January, 2005
Winchester is an interesting writer, to be sure. This book comes out of a conversation he apparently had with some friends over dinner back in the 1980s. The group was trying to recall what, at that time, was still a part of the British Empire. Winchester set out on a journey to visit every place still a part of the Empire.

Many islands, really chunks of rocks in the ocean, were (and are) still part of the empire. Winchester does a pretty evenhanded job of discussing the historical releva...more
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Janis
Janis rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/13/08

Read in May, 2008
St. Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha...not your usual travel destinations. I enjoyed visiting these and other destinations with the witty and erudite Simon Winchester (I like him so much I want to fix him up with one of my anglophile friends -- Anne? Shanna?). For me, this armchair travel experience would have been more gratifying if it had come with a bit more history and background but that might simply be a reflection of my woefully inadequate education. Still, I enjoyed learning ...more
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L Greyfort
L Greyfort rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/18/08

bookshelves: travel
Read in January, 2005
An enjoyable, leisurely read. Winchester's travel to all these remaining specks of the Empire allows him to explore some byways of British history which either get overlooked or under-explored. He does not refrain from injecting his own (occasionally strong) feelings regarding that history. And it can be fun to learn about just how challenging travelling to and living in some of these remote places can be.
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Jessica
Jessica rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/15/07

bookshelves: travel
Read in September, 2007
I actually listed to the audio book version of this, which I know was abridged, but I still really enjoyed it. I now have a burning desire to visit St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha, and all sorts of other small British enclaves that I'd never particularly thought about before.
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Rachel
Rachel rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/03/07

Read in July, 2007
Fascinating! The author travels to all the remaining outposts of the British Empire to see how they are run and what kind of lives the natives live. The manner of transportation the author uses to get to some of these places are quite adventurous.
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Martini
Martini rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
01/05/08

Read in January, 2008
A thoroughly enjoyable read from Simon Winchester as he visits what remained of the British Empire in the early/mid-1980s. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the British Empire, or looking for a travel book with a difference.
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Alan
Alan rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
01/15/08

bookshelves: audiobook, history
Read in January, 2007
Older book, describing last outposts of the British Empire, with some sailing. I don't remember all the names, but at the time I could compare notes with Australians who had traveled to some of these faraway places, just to see.
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Annette
Annette rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/03/08

bookshelves: 2008
Read in January, 2008
I love Simon Winchester and he didn't let me down. An interesting journey to many out of the way places...several I didn't even know existed...that at one time held great importance to the british empire in one way or the other.
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saragraph
saragraph added it
10/29/07

also really want to read this. basically anything with the words "outposts," "relics," and "british empire" has major potential for me wanting to read it.
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Fenixbird
Fenixbird marked it as to-read
01/06/08

bookshelves: cultural-awareness, history, to-read
British imperialization
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JZ
JZ marked it as to-read
09/03/07

bookshelves: history, to-read
 

Davy
Davy added it
07/09/08

bookshelves: to-read-someday
 

Andrew
Andrew rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/29/07

 

Kim
Kim rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
06/06/08

Read in June, 2008
 

Five
Five rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/18/07

 

Mike
Mike added it
06/04/08

 

Meloukhia
Meloukhia rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
02/15/08

 

Chrissy
Chrissy rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/27/08

 

Rachelfm
Rachelfm marked it as to-read
07/04/08

bookshelves: to-read
 


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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.49 (45 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.50 (44 ratings)
number of reviews: 11






other editions

Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire (Paperback)
Outposts (Paperback)