Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #253770 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Review
Encyclopedic survey of survival situations from the 16th century to the present. Leslie, a "freelance researcher," loves his craft, judging by this massive (586 pp.) production, which groans under the weight of scores of survival tales mined from a mountain of books, magazines, and newspapers. Mostly the tales thrill or horrify: desert wanderings, grizzly bear attacks, cannibalism on a drifting lifeboat. Lurid stuff, much refined by Leslie's elegant, intelligent narration, and by the quaintness of the earlier stories. How about two men stranded on a desert island (1540, Pacific Ocean), who run screaming from one another, each believing the other to be the Devil? Nearly all of the older accounts involve the sea; in the 20th century, air disasters take precedence - plane crashes in desert, ocean, mountain. The last 150 pages or so decay into a rapid-fire catalog of such events, and the reader's eyes glaze over. "There is no end to such stories as these," writes Leslie, who seems to have no idea of what to do with his accumulated trove. He musters some remarks about fortitude and perseverance, and a great deal of empathy for his subjects, but there's no cohesive perspective here, no authorial scaffolding to organize his research - just a stylish, mind-numbing pile of mind-boggling tales. Invaluable as a reference tool, but lacking the philosophical glue to bind together as a definitive study. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
Explores the lives of survivors who were shipwrecked, banished, or abandoned during the past several centuries.

Customer Reviews

Great subject matter, poor writing style
If you've had a bad day at work, picking up this book will put things back into perspective. The stories which Leslie picks are certainly eye-opening in uncovering the depths of human endeavour that are needed when the only thing that matters is staying alive.

However, Leslie writes in the bland, litigation-avoiding style of a US corporate lawyer and this certainly takes the sheen off the stories retold in the book. I yearned for someone like Peter Nichols (author of the excellent "A Voyage for Madmen") to have taken the helm and infused some humour and human interest into the book.

Also, the book would have benefited from having some simple maps added for each survival story. Leslie makes no effort to describe where these locations are and is content to give only the place names, rather than how they relate to modern nations and international boundaries.

Don't let this put you off getting the book if you are interested in this subject matter - but it could have been much better in the hands of a better writer.

Torrid tales - great read.
If you like reading true survival stories or have read any of the recent piratical publications (Nat's Nutmeg, Whaleship Essex etc), you will enjoy this. The matter-of-fact style of writing does not detract from the extraordinary accounts. Certainly puts things into perspective.