The Age of Islands

In Search of New and Disappearing Islands

Alastair Bonnett

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English

Atlantic Books
01 June 2020

History; Physical geography & topography; Travel writing; Bargains

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.

By: Alastair Bonnett
Imprint: Atlantic Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 200mm
Weight: 350g
ISBN: 9781786498106
ISBN 10: 1786498103
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 June 2020
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

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.

Reviews for The Age of Islands: In Search of New and Disappearing Islands

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 *