In a little over two weeks time, we'll walk aboard the world's last working Royal Mail Ship, the RMS St. Helena, for a trip to two of the world's most inaccessible spots: The islands of St. Helena (the place of Napoleon's final exile) and Ascension.
Should you ever find yourself sailing the south Atlantic Ocean, you will of course want to read up on it ahead of time. Please help yourself to our reading list. As we get ready to hit the road, here's the best we've found:
Napoleon by Paul Johnson - a tight, 187 page summary by an acclaimed historian.Waterloo by Andrew Roberts - same kind of summary, in 132 pages.
The Osprey military histories - numerous volumes.
Rites of Peace by Adam Zamoyski - dry, academic history, including more about philandering early 19th century royals than anybody should know. Still, more than you knew.
Napoleon & St. Helena by Johannes Willms - niche thing you'd only seek out if you were going to St. Helena, or if you just had to read everything in the world about Napoleon.
The Emporer's Last Island by Julia Blackburn - quirky story of the author's own journey to St. Helena - on the same ship we're traveling on.
Turtle Island by Sergio Ghione - nicely written tale of a month on Ascension Island.
Island Base by Captain Bob McQueen - how Ascension was transformed into a staging place for the Falklands War.
The Sun Never Sets by Simon Winchester - Winchester travels to the remaining outposts of the British empire. Simon Winchester's great.
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum - scant coverage of St. Helena, which Slocum visited on his 1895 - 98 voyage.
We like the Bradt Guides, because they dare to go where other tour book publishers don't. And in this case it's a good thing, because The Bradt Guide to Ascension, St. Helena and Tristan de Cunha is about your only guide.
News sources on the web:
The St. Helena Independent - a newsweekly, new every Friday.
South Atlantic News - from the South Atlantic Remote Territories Media Association. You know them. Don't you?
I've been stymied in my search for a really god map. Maybe out there on the road....
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