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Outposts
by Simon Winchester
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (1985-12)
ISBN: 0340337729
EAN: 9780340337721
Dewy Decimal #: 910.09171241
Hardcover: 272 pages
SKU: 08100349
Condition: Very Good Very Good
Comments: Hardback in very good condition with no markings. Dust jacket in very good condition with minor shelf wear and specking of top edge. Tight binding and clear crisp text. Very nice book.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Simon Winchester, struck by a sudden need to discover exactly what was left of the British Empire, set out across the globe to visit the far-flung islands that are all that remain of what once made Britain great. He traveled 100,000 miles back and forth, from Antarctica to the Caribbean, from the Mediterranean to the Far East, to capture a last glint of imperial glory. His adventures in these distant and forgotten ends of the earth make compelling, often funny reading and tell a story most of us had thought was over: a tale of the last outposts in Britain's imperial career and those who keep the flag flying. With a new introduction, this updated edition tells us what has happened to these extraordinary places while the author's been away.
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Customer Reviews
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Review of audiobook version
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-12-12
This is a review of the audio CD version of Outposts, which is an abridged version of the book, read by the author. In a word, Outposts got me hooked on Winchester's writing, and I've gone on to listen to the audio version of five of his other books, all equally facinating in their respective ways. Except for a weak piece on Pitcairn Island at the end of the audio version of Outposts, where the author seems to have run out of gas, the other pieces are well written and fascinating. I hope that (1) an unabridged audio version of the book is produced and (2) Winchester writes/records another book covering places not covered in Outposts. If you like intelligent travelogs and if you appreciate good writing, this book is for you.
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Outposts of Empire - Forgotten History
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-03-31
Simon Winchester made it his mission to visit the forgotten outposts of the British Empire. A century ago the Empire spanned the globe, hundreds of islands, dozens of countries and protectorates and the sun truly never set on the territories. But the Empire shrunk and collapsed in on itself yet straggling islands across the planet still lay claim or are claimed by the shadow of day's long gone.
Sure, as other people have said, it's a dated book. But it was written in 1985 and reading it with that in mind it's a fascinating travelogue. I loved the author's attempt to "invade" Diego Garcia accompanied by the disappointing story of how residents were evicted and the U.S. put in a major (nuclear) base. The empire has done so many things in its best interest, unfortunately that doesn't always include protecting individual rights.
I also learned a lot about St. Helena where exiles resided for decades (Napoleon, Mbelini - head of the Zulu Nation). I knew nothing about the beauty of the island or of the mansion where Napoleon took his walks and dictated his memoirs, staff on hand and British Guards out of sight.
The Pitcairn islands are the last refuge of Britain in the Pacific not even administered nearby, but instead thousands of miles away from Australia. The resident population shrinking and forgotten. The average British citizen doesn't know much about its current empire. Maybe if you ask they'll say the Isle of Mann or the Faulklands. But these Outposts are historic and present. It's a great read. I love learning the minutia of history: the forgotten places, the discarded histories, and the neglected peoples.
Dated? Maybe, but is history ever dated and does travel lose its romance.
- CV Rick, March 2008
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A Tour of the Ruins....
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-02-05
Simon Winchester wrote "Outposts" in 1984, just after the Falklands War and before Hong Kong was turned back over to China. The paperback edition has a new 2003 introduction but contains the same basic text.
This book is a well-written, sometimes whimsical, often sharp-eyed travelogue of Winchester's visits to some of the remaining overseas territories of the former British Empire. The tour includes Diego Garcia, Gibralter, the Atlantic islands such as Ascension and St Helena, Bermuda, the Caribbean islands, the Falklands, Hong Kong, and the Pitcairn group in the Pacific.
Getting to the remoter locations is a significant part of the story. Winchester has to sneak into Diego Garcia by sailboat, only to be booted out by the authorities. He arrives by commercial airliner in the Falklands just days ahead of the Argentine invasion. Getting to the remoter Atlantic islands required a hop on a periodic cargo vessel and favorable weather to actually get ashore. Pitcairn was so remote as to defeat Winchester's efforts to actually visit.
For each outpost, Winchester surveys its imperial past and provides some anecdotes on its often anachronistic present as a colony or overseas dependency. Some places, such as Bermuda and the Caymans, have done well. Some less fortunate places, such as remote Pitcairn and some of the Caribbean islands, are seemingly administered out of stubborn habit. A few, such as Ascension and Diego Garcia, had been leased to the United States to carry out what were once the old Imperial responsibilities.
If poverty and indifferent administration by London is a frequent finding, so is the lingering essential Britishness of many of the inhabitants of the "outposts." Many residents enjoy their remoteness from the modern world, scratching out a living amid the particular charms of their outpost.
At the end of his travels, Winchester ponders the recent handling of the Outposts and their eventual fates. His lingering reverence for Britain's Imperial days competes with his evident distaste for London's indifference for the present. His thoughtful final recommendation is that London release those outposts who wish to go their own way, while integrating and properly caring for those who wish to stay British.
This book is a fascinating and enjoyable if dated travelogue that will be of interest to fans of obscure geography and to students of British history who wonder whatever became of the ruins of Empire.
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Interesting travelogue though dated
Rating (4)
Date: 2007-11-08
Another one of Simon Winchester's interesting travelogues. Very eloquent and entertaining. Well researched with only a few dull moments. As a result is excellent for long cross-country drives. The only negative (and hence 4 out of 5 stars) is the fact that the book is a bit dated. When Winchester took his trips to these former colonies of the crown it was back in the 1980s. As a result, obviously, much has changed.
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A great read
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-09-20
Simon Winchester's book on the remnants of the British Empire is a fine piece of reportage from a geologist turned journalist turned writer.
Part travel book, part history, part reportage, it takes the reader on various fascinating journeys - sea, rail, air - to outposts ranging from fly specks such as Tristan Da Cunha and Pitcairn Island to teeming Hong Kong on the brink of the handover to the PRC and its new status as a special administrative region.
Like all Winchester's books it is well written, with a lovely light touch that makes the read a pleasure. Much recommended to those who enjoy the travel genre
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