Overview

In 1808, an American merchant ship happened upon an uncharted island in the South Pacific and unwittingly solved the biggest nautical mystery of the era: the whereabouts of a band of fugitives who, after seizing their vessel, had disappeared into the night with their Tahitian companions. Seven generations later, the island is still inhabited by descendants of the original mutineers, marooned like modern castaways. In 2018, Brandon Presser went to live among its families; two clans bound by circumstance and secrets. There, he pieced together Pitcairn's full story: an operatic saga that holds all visitors in its mortal clutch - even the author. Told through vivid historical and personal narrative, The Far Land goes beyond the infamous mutiny on the Bounty, offering an unprecedented glimpse at life on the fringes of civilization, and how, perhaps, it's not so different from our own. 'Brandon Presser's fascinating narrative of the relentless consequences of the Bounty mutineers asks: were they brave or damned? They lived so very troubled ever after. You can't make this stuff up!' - Tom Hanks

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9781785788925

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Reviews

The Far Land swells in the cause and effect of actions of passion. Brandon Presser's fascinating narrative of the relentless consequences of the Bounty mutineers asks: were they brave or damned? They lived so very troubled ever after. You can't make this stuff up! -- Tom Hanks A highly accomplished travel writer, Brandon Presser's The Far Land hits a lot of my pleasure centers: remote islands, then-and-now non-fiction, historical mysteries and forthright travelogues. The first night I started reading, I dreamed about Pitcairn Island. -- Maggie Shipstead, 2021 Booker Prize shortlisted and New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle Meticulously researched...Armchair adventurers will appreciate the author's sharp and sympathetic eye, showing us the mechanics of a truly remote civilization. Presser's detailed account provides a sense of authority to a story too bizarre to be anything but true. * Kirkus Reviews * Brandon Presser moves far beyond the Mutiny on the Bounty to the devastating tale of the Pitcairn Island settlement, a real-life Lord of the Flies tragedy. As Brandon finds when he makes a protracted visit to the island, it's a story still unwinding and a definite reminder that island and paradise are two words which often don't go together. It's a tale which seamlessly blends his new take on the mutiny and its aftermath with his own experiences on Pitcairn today. -- Tony Wheeler, co-founder, Lonely Planet The Far Land uncovers the almost unbelievable true story of Pitcairn Island, while taking readers on an exciting journey to one of the most remote communities in the world... Presser excels at depicting the strangeness, but his novelistic account of what happened to the original colonists is stranger and bloodier-and unforgettable in its shocking details... Lord of the Flies pales in comparison. * Shelf Awareness * A mash-up of an 18th-century adventure novel and the darkest episode of 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' imaginable. * New York Times Book Review * Riveting and obsessively researched. * Bloomberg *

Author Information

Brandon Presser is a travel writer and 'rough-and-tough adventurer' (Entertainment Weekly). His writing has been featured in numerous publications including Bloomberg, Harper's Bazaar, Cond Nast Traveler and Lonely Planet.

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