Overview

New islands are being built at an unprecedented rate whether for tourism or territorial ambition, while many islands are disappearing because of rising sea levels or fragmenting due to shrinking ice. It is a strange planetary spectacle, an ever-changing map which even Google Earth struggles to keep pace with. But it is also, Alastair Bonnett believes, a spectacle which is imprinting itself on our hopes and anxieties. From a 'crannog', an ancient artificial island in a Scottish loch, to the militarized artificial islands China is building in the South China Sea, he sets out to explore some of the world's newest, most fragile and beautiful islands to find out why they have such a hold on our imaginations.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alastair Bonnett
Publisher:   Atlantic Books
Imprint:   Atlantic Books
Edition:   Export/Airside
Dimensions:   Width: 13.80cm , Height: 20.00cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.350kg
ISBN:  

9781786498106

ISBN 10:   1786498103
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   07 May 2020
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

0: Introduction Part One: Rising 1: Why We Build Islands 2: Flevopolder, The Netherlands 3: The World, Dubai 4: Chek Lap Kok, Airport Island, Hong Kong 5: Fiery Cross Reef, South China Sea 6: Phoenix Island, China 7: Ocean Reef, Panama 8: Natural, Overlooked and Accidental: Other New Islands 9: Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, Tonga 10: The Accidental Islands of Pebble Lake, Hungary 11: Trash Islands Part Two: Disappearing 12: Disappearing Islands 13: The San Blas Islands of Guna Yala, Panama 14: Tongatapu and Fafa, Tonga 15: The Isles of Scilly, UK Part Three: Future 16: Future Islands 17: Seasteading 18: Dogger Bank Power Link Island, North Sea 19: East Lantau Metropolis, Hong Kong 20: Not an Ending

Reviews

Sheer vulnerability and bold architecture live cheek by jowl in this Age of Islands. If islands did not exist, we would have to invent them. And now we do. This book helps us understand how and why. -- Godfrey Baldacchino, University of Malta; President, International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA) An ambitious journey by wing, sail, rubber and road to find the lost, emerging, off-limits and artificial islands of our fast-changing world. Once again, Bonnett respectfully drags geography back to its roots. -- Brad Garrett, author of Bunker: Building for the End Times Alastair Bonnett's reporting of islands new and ancient: from trash islands to military islands to brand-new, environment-trashing 'ultra-star' islands to approaching-extinction islands is a well-researched and open-handed cautionary tale for our times. -- Dan Boothby, author of Island of Dreams: A Personal History of a Remarkable Place In The Age of Islands, Alastair Bonnett combines a deep knowledge of history and contemporary geopolitics with a seasoned travel writer's eye for the telling detail, as he gives us a tour of our terrifying but often beautiful new world. -- Joshua Keating, author of Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood A knowledgeable world tour of different types of islands, much enhanced by self-deprecating accounts of his own often shoestring visits... Bonnett expertly covers the different kinds of islands... and rightly points out the ecological consequences of human building projects worldwide. -- James Hamilton-Paterson * Literary Review * Fascinating... Man-made territories provide the most interesting moments in Alastair Bonnett's tour of our planet's many islands. * Daily Mail * Extraordinary... Bonnett writes with an acerbic charm... A fascinating and intelligent book. It brings geography to life in a way that felt-tip drawings of Dutch polders never could. * Sunday Times *

Extraordinary... Bonnett writes with an acerbic charm... A fascinating and intelligent book. It brings geography to life in a way that felt-tip drawings of Dutch polders never could. * Sunday Times * Fascinating... Man-made territories provide the most interesting moments in Alastair Bonnett's tour of our planet's many islands. * Daily Mail * A knowledgeable world tour of different types of islands, much enhanced by self-deprecating accounts of his own often shoestring visits... Bonnett expertly covers the different kinds of islands... and rightly points out the ecological consequences of human building projects worldwide. -- James Hamilton-Paterson * Literary Review * A beguiling, fact-filled account of the world's headlong dash to build artificial islands. * TLS * As well as being a love letter from a geographer to his subject, it serves as a whistle-stop tour of a world in flux and crisis. * Newcastle Evening Chronicle * In The Age of Islands, Alastair Bonnett combines a deep knowledge of history and contemporary geopolitics with a seasoned travel writer's eye for the telling detail, as he gives us a tour of our terrifying but often beautiful new world. -- Joshua Keating, author of Invisible Countries: Journeys to the Edge of Nationhood Alastair Bonnett's reporting of islands new and ancient: from trash islands to military islands to brand-new, environment-trashing 'ultra-star' islands to approaching-extinction islands is a well-researched and open-handed cautionary tale for our times. -- Dan Boothby, author of Island of Dreams: A Personal History of a Remarkable Place An ambitious journey by wing, sail, rubber and road to find the lost, emerging, off-limits and artificial islands of our fast-changing world. Once again, Bonnett respectfully drags geography back to its roots. -- Brad Garrett, author of Bunker: Building for the End Times Sheer vulnerability and bold architecture live cheek by jowl in this Age of Islands. If islands did not exist, we would have to invent them. And now we do. This book helps us understand how and why. -- Godfrey Baldacchino, University of Malta; President, International Small Islands Studies Association (ISISA) A great primer on the concept of islands in the modern age. . . . Engagingly written. * Library Journal *

Author Information

Alastair Bonnett is Professor of Social Geography at Newcastle University. His previous books include Off the Map, Beyond the Map, New Views: The World Mapped Like Never Before, What is Geography? and How to Argue. He lives in Newcastle.

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