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An Island to Oneself: The Story of Six Years on a Desert Island
by
Tom Neale
What we have all now and then dreamed of doing, Tom Neale did: go and live alone on a desert island. For years while storekeeping in the South Pacific, he planned, read and talked until the great day when he was landed on his little kingdom, aware of (but undismayed by) the fact that he would have to struggle with the full strength of body and mind to survive. Neale's grip...more
Hardcover, 255 pages
Published
September 25th 1990
by Ox Bow Press
(first published 1966)
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To me this was a life changing book. It is told in first person format about how Tom Neale went to live on an uninhabited island in the Suvorov Atoll. He felt that his whole life was leading to that purpose and then he was finally able to do it in his 50's, in the 1950's. This island was not on a trade route but was an outpost at one point during WWII where a lookout was kept. After the war, all that was really left was a shack and a couple rustic outbuildings. This was Tom Neale's home. The boo...more
I'm on a desert-island-book kick at the moment, so when I saw this was available for free, I grabbed it.
I really liked this. It's not an overly long book, but it's well written and in a way a complete opposite to the last book I read of this type, Castaway. The one thing that really stands out is just how happy he is on the island.
There's no real hardships apart from a couple of bouts of fever and a rather poor diet, and even after 14 months alone he's still happy and content, but that adds to...more
I really liked this. It's not an overly long book, but it's well written and in a way a complete opposite to the last book I read of this type, Castaway. The one thing that really stands out is just how happy he is on the island.
There's no real hardships apart from a couple of bouts of fever and a rather poor diet, and even after 14 months alone he's still happy and content, but that adds to...more
Loved reading this book because i have been in Polynesia before so i can only imagine what life by oneself would be like on a deserted motu. Also we follow Neale as he builds his little island, and we're right by his side when he celebrates a day of Victory (like when he fixed the pier or tamed the duck) and a day of defeat (the big storm, when he runs out of tobacco)...
i recommend everyone to read it, could come in handy if you were marooned some day. (even though he chose to live there, so he...more
i recommend everyone to read it, could come in handy if you were marooned some day. (even though he chose to live there, so he...more
Jun 28, 2008
Pat
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoys living a solitary life.
Recommended to Pat by:
Read about in a review of another book.
Written by New Zealander Tom Neale, this book was about Neale's time spent on a desert island for about 17 years. Not a hermit or recluse, Neale was just someone who dreamed of living on a desert island, and that dream came true for him at the age of 50. While most people that age are not even remotely thinking of doing such a thing, Neale did so and seemingly never regretted it. His years on the island were interrupted by a few trips back to the mainland mostly for health reasons, but Neale alw...more
Island of Desire
Terrific book for would-be hermits or just those of us who long for solitude. Neale spent years in the South Pacific dreaming of finding a deserted island before he finally took the plunge, so he had plenty of time to prepare. Still, there were all manner of unexpected setbacks and challenges to face, including a severe bout with fever and an epic storm.
One thing I particularly liked about Neale was how doggedly he clung to his dream. While living an unfulfilling life as a shopk...more
Terrific book for would-be hermits or just those of us who long for solitude. Neale spent years in the South Pacific dreaming of finding a deserted island before he finally took the plunge, so he had plenty of time to prepare. Still, there were all manner of unexpected setbacks and challenges to face, including a severe bout with fever and an epic storm.
One thing I particularly liked about Neale was how doggedly he clung to his dream. While living an unfulfilling life as a shopk...more
Life is stranger than fiction. No really! It is. This is one man's story about pretty much every little boy's dream of living alone on a desert island where he builds a shelter and hunts for fish.
Tom Neale didn't wash up on the island, he went there willingly like Thoreau did to his pond at Walden. Neale is from New Zealand but travelled the islands of the pacific for many years.
This is a great adventure book. It's stranger than fiction. The Tom Hanks movie "Cast Away" has nothing on the drama...more
Tom Neale didn't wash up on the island, he went there willingly like Thoreau did to his pond at Walden. Neale is from New Zealand but travelled the islands of the pacific for many years.
This is a great adventure book. It's stranger than fiction. The Tom Hanks movie "Cast Away" has nothing on the drama...more
Just brilliant! I thoroughly enjoyed this book; every page I turned made me stop and think, could John & I do something like that? This guy did it-and did it alone! Pure solitude, and self suffiency-the truly simple life...well besides the hard work that comes with self suffiency! And great insight; even though he was very much happy as a loner, even he occasionally would long for some companionship...but only for brief moments..other than that-he was very happy and content for those years t...more
Really compelling story of Tom Neale, who marooned himself on a desert island in the South Pacific and made it his home for more than six years. The book covers Neale's first two stays on the island as he battled the jungle, established a garden, a fowl run and tried to put aside the need for companionship and living by the clock. His story is warm and engrossing, making this quick read a book to remember.
What a great book. My cousin recommended it and I have to say I really did enjoy this book. Amazing reading about surviving on an island for years by oneself with very little. He did have a head start in that some things were already on the island, but still very amazing. Even not being sure about some of the things he talked about as he is/was from New Zealand the story was still great and very interesting. Thanks for the recommendation cousin Karen. :-)
Going in I knew I was going to rate this book 5 stars. This is my kind of story. Someone who knows what needs to be done and goes out and figures out a way to do it on their own. There's not much excitement. Just a simple book explaining how to live life on your own. I really want my deserted island now.
This was a pretty good read but I tend to not agree with many of the reviewers. I was a little disappointed in the way Tom depleted the island of many of its resources without regard to renewing them i.e. the coconut crabs, lobsters and the wild pigs. I realize the pigs caused a lot of problems for him and his garden and they were not indigenous to the island but it seems to me there might have been a better way to deal with them.
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Aug 10, 2011
Lindsay Eaton
added it
Tom Neale's classic story of the 6 years he spent in the 50s and 60s living alone on Anchorage Island at Suvarov atoll in the South Pacific. I loved this - a really amazing story.
Couldn't find this one anywhere so I ordered it from Amazon. If you've ever wished you could retreat from your hectic lifestyle and find a calmer existance this is the book to read. What an adventure! Wonderful!
Ever wanted to move to a deserted island alone? This guy did, and makes a pretty convincing argument for it. Very good, but there was not enough "action" to make it great.
Dec 27, 2009
Steve Van Slyke
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Sailors headed for the South Pacific
Shelves:
sailing-cruising
You don't have to be a sailor to love this book because it isn't really about sailing. It's about being comfortable being completely alone, and surviving without a grocery store a doctor or a dentist for hundreds of miles. Tom Neale was an amazing guy and he tells an amazing story of what it is truly like to live alone on a tropical island. I desperately wanted to stop at his island (Suvorov) on our way from Bora Bora to American Samoa, but unfortunately there was a dengue fever outbreak amongst...more
A classic of the South Pacific. Tom Neale lived out everyone's dream of life on an idyllic tropical island.
The dream, and the struggle!
A good book for anyone that want to live on a island by himself!
A good book for anyone that want to live on a island by himself!
One of the best books I ever read.
Fabulous! I want to live like this - for a while anyway :-)
Loved this book. I didn't want it to end. Any fans of Robinson Crusoe should enjoy this read.
A dream of many to live on a beautiful deserted island. Living off the land and prove you can be self reliant...with the right tools!
a very simple but enjoyable read
A very interesting account of life unhinged from the "rat race" we are all engaged with in our modern lifestyles. I must confess, the idea of selling out everything and transporting myself to the island described in this book is somewhat appealing to my sometimes strong desire to be reclusive. A very real and complicated account of life alone on an island without what one would consider normal support mechanisms.
The perfect escape book. This story of a New Zealand hermit who gave it all up to live on a deserted island will have everyone dreaming about how they can do the same thing. Google Suranov, it's still pretty much deserted. Fancy a trip?
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I kind of wished I could do what Tom did, however, I'd probably be the unprepared guy who needed to be air lifted off after a month. This was an easy read. I enjoyed it.
Non fiction about a guy who purposely lived on a deserted island all by himself for a number of years. A Really interesting journey to take with him.
My favorite book of all time. Certainly not a literary masterpiece, but it's my kind of adventure!
One of my favorite books of all time..don't know why, just is....
Completely riveting, despite the minutiae.
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“There, in the shimmering distance, was a sail. I stared in momentary disbelief, but there it was, one of the most beautiful sights the Pacific can ever offer — a ship in full sail edging her way through the blue waters.”
—
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