Boon Island: A True Story of Mutiny, Shipwreck, and Cannibalism - Historical Nonfiction Book for Adults | Perfect for Book Clubs, History Buffs & True Crime Enthusiasts

As a writer of nonfiction history in the region of Boon Island, I was thrilled with this lively and well-researched book on the 1710 wreck. We all know the story vaguely from local legend and Kenneth Roberts' novel, but had never seen the complete story "fleshed out." Instead of focusing on the cannibalism incident, Erickson and Vietze take us back to the origin of the voyage of the Nottinghma Galley in England and carry the story to the recovery of the crew in Portsmouth, NH and the continued legal and literary controversy back in England. There is plenty of drama and gore, but the authors expertly put the event in context and avoid exploiting the gruesome reality of 14 men trapped for weeks on a rock at sea in winter. Boon Island is a pile of barren rocks barely 15 feet above sealevel and the size of two football fields. These men were trapped without food, shelter, or the ability to build a fire during a New England winter at sea. It's a miracle any of them survived. It hunkers just six miles off the Maine coast and has always been a danger to navigation. The 137-foot lighthouse there (the tallest in New England, I'm told) was built in the 19th century and is currently endangered and in search of an owner. While the future of the lighthouse is in limbo, the story of the Nottingham Galley wreck is finally stable after 300 years. This book is now the go-to source for anyone interested in the topic. BTW, Jeff Bezos was right. I read this book on my Kindle (TTS due to my poor eyesight) then bought two paper copies for friends at the Discover Portsmouth gift shop. I have purchased more paper books since buying an e-reader, but buy only TTS enabled books for myself.