Island of the Lost

March 12, 2007
In early 1864, heading back to Australia after a failed mining expedition, the crew of the Grafton
encountered a violent storm and found themselves shipwrecked in the Auckland Islands, off the coast of New Zealand. Druett, a maritime historian (In the Wake of Madness
), draws upon the journals of the ship's captain, Thomas Musgrave, and prospector François Raynal to reveal how the crew pulled together and made the best of their circumstances for nearly two years. By contrast, when the Invercauld
ran aground on the other side of the island months later—beyond an impassable mountain range, and hence unaware they were not alone—the surviving sailors quickly began eating their dead crewmates out of desperation. Soon, only three remained, the ineffectual captain and another officer being kept alive by a resourceful seaman. Druett tells the two stories in strict chronological order, allowing readers to become familiar with the Grafton
party before weaving the Invercauld
survivors into the narrative. She zeroes in on the salient details of their ordeals, identifying the plants that kept the castaways from contracting scurvy or sketching out an improvised recipe for soap with equal aplomb. This is a fine addition to the genre of survival tales like Endurance
or In the Heart of the Sea
.

April 1, 2007
Adult/High School-Using diaries, ship logs, and newspaper accounts, Druett re-creates the different experiences of the survivors of two wrecked vessels. In January 1864, the five-man crew of the "Grafton" left Sydney, Australia, intending to locate a source of argentiferous tin allegedly to be found on remote Campbell Island. In May 1864, the "Invercauld" left Melbourne for South America, with no passengers and a crew of 25, to sail to Callao to take on a cargo of fertilizer. Neither ship reached its final destination. Instead, both were shipwrecked on opposite ends of the same subantarctic island. "Grafton"'s crew survived, and could even be said to have prospered. By working together, the men managed to build a shelter, hunt sea lions, and, eventually, build a boat and launch their own rescue team. The initial 19 survivors of the "Invercauld", on the other hand, fell into arguing and quibbling with no direction or plan. Their number soon dwindled to 16, and then to 3. Viewers of television's "Survivor" and readers of survival novels will enjoy "Island", and the book could provide teens with the know-how to stay alive if they ever found themselves in a similar situation."Joanne Ligamari, Rio Linda School District, Sacramento, CA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2007
In January 1864, five seamen from the wrecked schooner " Grafton"were stranded on AucklandIsland, 300 miles from New Zealand. On the opposite end of the island another ship, the " Invercauld," was wrecked during a gale. The" Grafton"" Invercauld"; eventually only three were left alive. Druett, the author of 16 other books, consulted survivors' journals and other sources to relate their struggles--how they were able to obtain food, how they built furniture, their need for solidarity, and how they spent their leisure hours. They also spent time washing their garments, hunting for sea lions to eat, and continually planning and hoping to be saved. The amount of detail Druett has amassed is truly impressive, resulting in an invaluable account of survival.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)