
Outposts
Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $17.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Simon Winchester
-
By:
-
Simon Winchester
The New York Times best-selling author of Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman takes listeners on a quirky and charming tour of the last outpost of the British empire
Originally published in 1985, Outposts is Simon Winchester's journey to find the vanishing empire, "on which the sun never sets". In the course of a three-year, 100,000 mile journey - from the chill of the Antarctic to the blue seas of the Caribbean, from the South of Spain and the tip of China to the utterly remote specks in the middle of gale-swept oceans - he discovered such romance and depravity, opulence and despair that he was inspired to write what may be the last contemporary account of the British empire.
Written with Winchester's captivating style and breadth, here are conversations and anecdotes, myths and political analysis, scenery and history - a poignant and colorful record of the lingering beat of what was once the heart of the civilized world.
©1985, 2003 Simon Winchester (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Editorial reviews
Simon Winchester travels to the far reaches of the British Empire. Winchester reads his own sometimes oddball tales. He tells of a cricket match on St. Helena in which a fielder falls off the edge and thus is "retired, dead." On Ascension Island, an island so small it was considered a ship - the H. Ascension - any baby born was considered born at sea. Winchester's nicely modulated voice is perfect for narrating this history/travelogue. He is engaging while narrating the history and perpetually amused at the quirks of keeping the Empire alive no matter the discomfort. The production concludes with an interview in which Winchester discusses his delight at discovering that readers share his fascination with geology.
Critic reviews
"Funny, masterly, fine....Superbly written." (The New York Times Book Review)
People who viewed this also viewed...
















Frustrated
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
colorful stories about distant rocks
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Makes distant places real and the stories are wonderful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'd still listen to anything he's written
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wish it were unabridged
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Another great story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book, as is, is still very good. An interesting look at remote parts of the world few will ever visit. That is the type of travel book I like the most. Take me somewhere I will never go and tell me about it with a wry sense of humor. The chapter on Tristan de Cunha is my favorite The author reads the book and for a change that is a good thing. He is always as good a reader as he is a writer. Not a common combination.
Hope they redo this someday to be unabridged.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lost Places
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The audio version is well read by the author.
However, it is abridged; with a sample of another book by Winchester at the end. Why abridge it, and then add something from another book?
Also, the chapters are off. They break in the middle of a chapter. Seems easy to fix...
Good book, chapters are off
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating adventure
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.