The Far Land, Brandon Presser
The Far Land, Brandon Presser
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

The Far Land
200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific

Author: Brandon Presser

Narrator: Steve Quinn

Unabridged: 11 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 03/08/2022

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A thrilling true tale of power, obsession, and betrayal at the edge of the world

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. 
 
Pitcairn Island was the perfect hideaway from British authorities, but after nearly two decades of isolation its secret society had devolved into a tribalistic hellscape; a real-life Lord of the Flies, rife with depravity and deception.
 
Seven generations later, the island’s diabolical past still looms over its 48 residents; descendants of the original mutineers, marooned like modern castaways. Only a rusty cargo ship connects Pitcairn with the rest of the world, just four times a year.  
 
In 2018, Brandon Presser rode the freighter to live among its present-day families; two clans bound by circumstance and secrets. While on the island, he pieced together Pitcairn’s full story: an operatic saga that holds all who have visited 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. 

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lori L on February 24, 2022

The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific by Brandon Presser is a very highly recommended reexamination of the story of the HMS Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. In 1790 the mutineers of the HMS Bounty settled on the South Pacific island of Pitcairn. In 1......more

Goodreads review by Steve on December 05, 2021

I enjoyed this book. It does a lot of things well. The story is interesting and well-paced. The cast of characters at the beginning is very helpful as the story spans 200 years. Also useful are the maps, as the story encompasses a vast area. The author’s journey is interesting and I usually enjoy th......more

Goodreads review by Pooja on July 21, 2024

Several centuries after the mutineers from the HMS Bounty settled Pitcairn Island, author Brandon Presser goes to visit this isolated place, where he tries to understand how the bloody and conflicted past has shaped the present day lives of the descendants. Considering how much I enjoy true crime and......more

Goodreads review by Zoë on June 14, 2022

This was an excellent introduction to the stranger-than-fiction story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, especially for someone completely unfamiliar with the topic. I loved how the author alternated between accounts of his time on Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands (in the present day) and historical accounts......more

Goodreads review by Megan on April 13, 2022

Fun, wild, educational, fast-paced... the best book I'll read all year and a joy for travelers (actual and armchair alike). I agree with every word Tom Hanks says in his jacket blurb. Take it from the Castaway himself. The Far Land is Pitcairn Island, a tiny place on the edge of civilization. It's wh......more


Quotes

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

"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

“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, New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

“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