Book of Islands featured on Islomaniacs Society blog "An island always pleases my imagination, even the smallest, as a small continent and integral portion of the globe. Even a bare, grassy isle, which I can see entirely over at a glance, has some undefined and mysterious charm for me." Henry David Thoreau, 1849
Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for your islomaniac partner; or perhaps even for yourself? Well then I have discovered the perfect gift. The Book of Islands will keep any islomaniac happy over the holiday period.
Philip Dodd and Ben Donald are both seasoned travel writers who spend their time travelling the world. Oh poor things, what a terrible job! They have collated their years of world travelling into a list of their favourite 200 islands around the world, and took the novel approach of listing them by latitude starting off with the Kingdom of Tonga on the international dateline (one of my favourites) and ending up in Samoa. They have personally visited each of the islands so you are getting advice from real island experts, not like some who pretend to be island experts.
The Book Of Islands is an exhilarating journey to some of the most extraordinary and isolated places on earth. From tropical paradises such as Mauritius and Bali, to prison islands like Alcatraz and Robben Island, from the far-flung - snowy Kerguelen in Antarctica and Tierra del Fuego at the tip of Latin America - to islands in the middle of cities - the Ile St-Louis in Paris and Manhattan - and those that are cities in their own right, like Venice and Singapore - each island has a unique and very distinct character.
Included are places of refuge, escape, exile and mystery - the unblinking primitive statues of Easter Island and the dragons of Komodo; islands that have been sanctuaries and monasteries; the homes of hermits, mutineers, emperors and artists; the sites of battles, vendettas and revolutions. Some of the islands featured are under desperate threat from the forces of global warming: rising sea levels and an increase in severe weather conditions. Unless things change dramatically, many of these unique and diverse mini-cultures will simply disappear. The Book of Islands presents what could be a last chance to celebrate these diverse and extraordinary places.
The fascinating and insightful articles are accompanied by over 250 colour photographs contributed by the world's leading travel photographers.
If your loved one is not as committed an islomaniac as you, then this is the perfect gift to share your passion with them. Islomaniacs beware though! this book will enduce serous hunger pangs for island travel.
Cheyenne Morrison | 
