Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World

A very interesting read. I was entertained with the story and knowledge from the first chapter. A definite must read for anyone interested in a bit of history and the story of these brave men and their survival.

In the 1800s the sub-Antarctic islands called The Aucklands were a shipwreck story being written again and again and again. Eventually the New Zealand government would even install a provisioned castaway hut on the main island due to the number of shipwrecks occurring. Being shipwrecked on these islands was not your sandy beach, blue sky and coconuts story. This was a very inhospitable place (weather and terrain) that took extraordinary strength and will to survive. The castaway hut would come in handy, however, not for the main shipwreck stories of this book. The castaway hut would be, in part, a response to these. This is the story of near simultaneous shipwreck group 1 of the ship Grafton, and shipwreck 2 of the ship Ivercauld. These two groups of castaways would never see each other or know each other were there. History would show them to be a contrast of one group working together to stave off hunger,depression and exposure (Grafton) while the other group being largely aimless, poorly led, where some turned sub human in their actions(Ivercauld). These are their true stories to the best of first hand account, history and recollection provide. It’s amazingly fascinating. The author did great work in picking the subject and researching the topic. In that regards it is 5 stars. Unfortunately the presentation of the stories and/or the cohesiveness of the writing just didn’t fully capture me. At points it felt like I was reading a chopped and dry repost. On this front I gave it 3 stars. I’ll definitely read this author again (again I was wowed by the story itself) but I hope her writing better captures my attention.

Well written, it kept me enthralled the entire book. The last section of the book puts to light the massive amount of research she has done in a monumental effort to produce an accurate depiction of what actually happened. It is interesting to compare the two groups of castaways and how the right leadership, and teamwork can inspire hope and the will to surmount the seemingly impossible. In contrast the opposite leads quickly to despair and death. Excellent work and a joy to read. And for those who think it talked too much about killing seals (like many of the reviews), that was the way they subsisted and occupied large portions of their time. If people don't want to hear about what really happened, they should read a fiction vs historical novel. Sugar coating the facts for the folks that like to have their animals butchered by others is just plain silly. Sea Lions are cute, but when you are starving, you need to kill to survive. This is the brutal reality of being shipwrecked.

This is a non-fiction story of shipwreck and survival, set in the seas south of New Zealand in the early 1860s. A crew of five departed Sydney, Australia in a small vessel, seeking silver laden ore on uninhabited Campbell Island. In route home, they were shipwrecked on nearby Auckland Island, likewise uninhabited. This is mainly a story of how they survived their lengthy isolation. Midway through the story, however, a second ship, quite a bit larger, was likewise dashed upon the rocky shores, at a point some distance from the original crew. Nineteen people survived this wreck, however their experience on Auckland Island was far different. I can’t say that this is an outstanding read. It is quite short, and while it contains a good bit of interesting information, there just isn’t much story here. The ingenuity of both groups, especially the former, is quite impressive. Today, we just go to the story and get some nails, or buy groceries. These folks manufactured cement and soap. They constructed a forge with bellows and crafted the tools and items they needed from scrap metal salvaged from their shipwreck. They built a water tight cabin, with fireplace and survived for 18 months. Especially striking was the different experience of the two groups of shipwrecked sailors, especially as it relates to the interpersonal dynamic and the leadership skills exhibited by one and not the other. This is short read and worth the time to read, especially if you enjoy stories of this type,

This fantastic true story confirms that men can overcome what would appear to be insurmountable odds if they stick together snd trust each other. It’s also an extraordinary story of seafaring life before steam engines, detailing how men chaptered the forces of wind and currents, while battling storms without the benefits of advanced technology. A great read. Highly recommended.

An entertaining and informative read about both the physical and mental aspects of survival after two sailing vessels and their crews crash on a remote island in the South Pacific. There’s a lot said contrasting the approaches taken by the very different, but equally desperate groups of survivors. The leaders of each group, Musgrave and Holding, are depicted as practical men trying to help their crews survive the best they can. One group turns to bettering their situation, building a crude hut and scouring the area for food. The other basically gives into despair and hopelessness, each choice further dooming them. I was a bit surprised by the level of detail describing the near-constant seal hunting that made up most of the survivors diet. There’s a lot of frankly gruesome content about the most efficient way to beat a seal to death and which variety of seal was the best to eat. Apparently, hitting them in the left eye was favored, and the youngest seals had the tastiest flavor. Despite the harsh, wild environment - spoiler alert - some of each group survives to tell their tale, but not without sacrifice and suffering. The book nicely wraps up the ‘adventure’ with brief epilogues for the surviving crew members, and notes that future castaways were saved by the emergency supplies the islands were seeded with as a result of these shipwrecks.

Really recommend this book, it is so well written and interesting. An incredible story and the parallels between the two groups is just fascinating. She is such a good author and I’m now looking for other books by her. I had never heard of this story of survival and yet it is such an incredible one, hopefully this superb book will help to ensure more hear of it. Wonderful book!

An excellent book of a real life adventure and survival in a harsh environment.

Became a big fan of Joan Druett with this book! The smooth narration, the incredible attention to details and the events of 1800s themselves blend to form a fantastic read. The characters portrayal, especially that of Captain Musgrave and Fracois Raynard is compelling - you feel so much for both these men towards the end of the book. All in all, an inspiring story of survival and grit. Highly recommend it.

I didn't buy this book expecting to learn anything more than about shipwrecks and survival, but there are so many other intriguing pieces to it, like the sub-antarctic sealing industry, that there is no question that I will be expanding my reading to learn more about this time period. The book's synopsis is a bit misleading; yes, there were two shipwrecks on the island that overlapped much of the same time period, but the focus is on the wreck of the Grafton and its small crew. There are also very serious environmental and seasonal factors (timing) that contributed to the shipwrecks survivors; differences in leadership played a part of how well each group succeeded, but was not the only defining factor in my opinion. As well, and something that the pulled the book together for me, each wreck had at least one individual who had a level of resourcefulness that contributed greatly to each groups survival. The forge building or the coracle building as examples! The author's ability to meld two separate incidents and her writing style that is highly engaging and to the point, made for a relatively quick read and I look forward to reading more of her work on naval history. Highly recommend this book if this topic or region of the world is of interest. However, would caution that there is a great deal of emphasis on killing seals, especially pups, as a main food source and this may be a big turn off to some readers. As the author notes in the afterword, one group of survivors were mentally prepared to kill seals. This was the one area of the book that I was not mentally prepared for myself!

Fantastic true story, more realistic and more dramatic than a fictional story could be. Contains just the right amount of background information, explanations, speculation and interactions between the characters, and kept me reading and reading to find out what happened next.