Naked and Marooned

July 28, 2014
After setting a world record by walking the length of the Amazon River, adventurer Stafford's (Walking the Amazon) next challenge strands him on Olorua, a remote Fiji island, for 60 days armed with only cameras to document his stay for the Discovery Channel. Naked, and without tools and weapons, he recounts his epic feat. What could come off as a droning procedural (woke up sore, ate some snails, dislodged a coconut, rinse, repeat) is anything butâStafford shares his immediate regret once he arrives on the island and the gravity of his situation fully sinks in and he realizes that food, shelter, and hydration will be constant worries. He artfully engages and draws in the reader as he battles the elements and struggles to secure a reliable source of fresh water and rejoices when he's finally able to start and sustain a fire. The author's humility and gratitude are truly inspiring. Readers will not only come away with an admiration for Stafford's will to survive, but also a greater appreciation for everyday comforts easily taken for granted.

July 15, 2014
Further tales from extreme adventurer Stafford (Walkingthe Amazon, 2011), European Adventurer of the Year in 2011.The author's latest is the stuff of nightmares: "No food, noequipment, no knife and not even any clothes." Alone, on a remote island in theSouth Pacific. After his two-and-a-half-year ramble the length of the AmazonRiver, among traffickers, defensive locals and terrorists, what would be next?Greater duration was pointless, but as for in extremis, well, acouple months isolated on a South Pacific island, with absolutely noprovisions-except for the video cameras that would record his days for theDiscovery Channel-ought to do the trick. Stafford is a fit, adventure- and battle-tested,fairly normal and sociable man, so it came as little surprise that theisolation got to him. His story of those 60 days is raw and acrid, with all thepungency caught on tape clearly adding immediacy to the emotional wrench of thenarrative. His physical travails were hardly negligible-the lack of fresh waterdrove his blood pressure through the roof (as did almost any stressful thing);"coconut tasted like whale blubber, snails like gritty balls of phlegm"; "Iwoke up to sharp stomach cramps and explosive diarrhea on the beach"-yet it washis mind that was pushed to the most painful places. He was edgy, frustrated,whiny and looking for someone to blame. Then came the little triumphs: buildinga fire, catching rainwater, finding a tin can, caramelizing coconut, huntingdown a goat, and learning to focus and be serene in the face of those things hewas not able to change. Ultimately, he notes why the island is uninhabited: "NOBLOODY FRESH WATER. For certain parts of the year the island produces lesswater than can sustain one male adult."To be sure, some of Stafford's mental baggage popped openduring his latest crazy journey, but his chronicle is, on the whole,entertaining.

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October 1, 2014

After walking the length of the Amazon in 2010, adventurer and retired British army captain Stafford was looking for a new quest (and a fresh television project). Working with the Discovery Channel, he arranged to be dropped on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific with no food, water, tools, or clothes--nothing but the camera equipment he would use to film the experiment. This title documents Stafford's day-to-day experience as he struggles to find water and food and to make fire and shelter. As an adventure tale, the book is bracing enough; the author writes with clarity about his survival strategies and effectively conveys the extreme difficulties--physical, mental, logistical--presented by the island. However, the narrative eventually feels strangely devoid of reflection beyond the immediacies. Stafford is candid about the emotional turmoil of loneliness and self-doubt but never really gives the reader much beyond a blow-by-blow description. As such, it is difficult to imagine how the work adds to the resulting Discovery Channel program Marooned with Ed Stafford, which aired in 2013. VERDICT An exciting if somewhat shallow story of a remarkable experiment in survival. Readers who enjoy daring escapades will appreciate Stafford's detailed recounting of his encounters.--Rachel Bridgewater, Portland Community Coll. Lib., OR

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