Tom Neale did what we all now and then dream of doing - go and live alone on a desert island. For years he planned - until the great day when he was landed on his little kingdom, undismayed by the fact that he would have to struggle with the full strength of body and mind to survive.
It was often a near thing ... Hostile fauna and flora, storms, physical mishaps nearly put an end not only to his idyll, but to him. Yet the garden grew, the pests large and small were dealt with, even nature in its most violent moods was met and mastered by fortitude and ingenuity. And along with the toils and perils were days and years of peace and beauty, which made the experience worthwhile to him, and will make the sharing of it a joy to those who read Tom Neale's book.
This endlessly fascinating book is Tom Neale's story of his life alone on Suwarrow, a dream-life which he made come true. Apart from the sheer joy and drive of the narrative, it is absolutely required reading for the thousands who fancy doing the same. It is one of those books which is quite capable of leaving a mark on you for life.
And this is how it begins: "I was fifty when I went to live alone on Suvarov, after thirty years of roaming the Pacific, and in this story I will try to describe my feelings, try to put into words what was, for me, the most remarkable and worthwhile experience of my whole life. I chose to live in the Pacific islands because life there moves at the sort of pace which you feel God must have had in mind originally when He made the sun to keep us warm and provided the fruits of the earth for the taking ..." [continue reading here or here or read the book online at www.archive.org - simply SIGN UP - it's free! - LOG IN, and BORROW]
