Castaway in Paradise

Castaway in Paradise, James C. Simmons’ compendium of South Seas adventures involving deserters, runaways, pirates and mutineers, has a breezy tone that belies the often horrifying nature of its hand-to-my-heart true stories.

The tales of Europeans and Americans on South Seas expeditions that go terribly wrong, Castaway never romanticizes the idea of being abandoned to your own devices with no friends, yet somehow each adventure shimmers with romantic allure.

Even when Simmons is describing cannibalism, starvation, desperation and shipwreck, the siren song of the South Seas calls.