nicknicknicknick reviewed Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky
Review of 'Atlas of Remote Islands' on Goodreads
4 stars
1) "On the morning of 2 July 1937, the aircraft shoots over the bumpy strip at Lae on the edge of the Solomon Sea, laden with a full tank which has enough fuel for a little more than twenty hours. The whole world -- 22,000 miles -- is behind them; they just have to complete the last section, over the silent ocean that spreads over half the earth. Off Howland Island -- 2,556 miles away -- the Itasca, an American Coast Guard cutter, is waiting for them with fuel and freshly made beds. The atoll is so small that a single cloud is enough to obscure it from view. At 7.42 a.m., Earhart's voice is heard on the radio: We must be on you, but cannot see you -- fuel is running low. One hour later comes a new call: We are on the line 157-337, we are …
1) "On the morning of 2 July 1937, the aircraft shoots over the bumpy strip at Lae on the edge of the Solomon Sea, laden with a full tank which has enough fuel for a little more than twenty hours. The whole world -- 22,000 miles -- is behind them; they just have to complete the last section, over the silent ocean that spreads over half the earth. Off Howland Island -- 2,556 miles away -- the Itasca, an American Coast Guard cutter, is waiting for them with fuel and freshly made beds. The atoll is so small that a single cloud is enough to obscure it from view. At 7.42 a.m., Earhart's voice is heard on the radio: We must be on you, but cannot see you -- fuel is running low. One hour later comes a new call: We are on the line 157-337, we are running on line north and south. The crew of the Itasca search the horizon with binoculars and send signals, but there is no reply. Amelia Earhart disappears just beyond the date line on a flight into yesterday. The ocean is silent."
2) "Nine and a half years later, one of the searchers, the marine biologist John Naughton, finds a wreked boat on the beach of Taongi, the northernmost and driest atoll of the Marshall Islands, 3,750 kilometres west of Hawaii. A Hawaiian registration number is prominently displayed on the fibreglass hull. It is the Sarah Joe.
There is a simple grave nearby: a cross of driftwood on a pile of stones. A few bones protrude from the sand. These are discovered to be the remains of Scott Moorman. Who buried him here and where the other men are remains a mystery."
