{"title":"Books by William Atkins","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780571352999","title":"Exiles","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA luminous exploration of exile – the people who have experienced it, and the places they inhabit – from the award-winning travel writer and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Immeasurable\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWorld\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Moor.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Breathtakingly good . . . \u003ci\u003eExiles\u003c\/i\u003e is completely sui generis.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEDMUND DE WAAL\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Atkins spins a marvellous tapestry of colourful tales, beautifully weaving history and travel accounts.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eANDREA WULF\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Invention of Nature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A volume for our times.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSARA WHEELER, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE SPECTATOR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A fascinating study of exile and its effects.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOBSERVER\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the story of three unheralded nineteenth-century dissidents, whose lives were profoundly shaped by the winds of empire, nationalism and autocracy that continue to blow strongly today: Louise Michel, a leader of the radical socialist government known as the Paris Commune; Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, an enemy of British colonialism in Zululand; and Lev Shternberg, a militant campaigner against Russian tsarism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eExiles\u003c\/i\u003e, William Atkins travels to their islands of banishment – Michel’s New Caledonia in the South Pacific, Dinuzulu’s St Helena in the South Atlantic, and Shternberg’s Sakhalin off the Siberian coast – in a bid to understand how exile shaped them and the people among whom they were exiled. In doing so he illuminates the solidarities that emerged between the exiled subject, on the one hand, and the colonised subject, on the other. Rendering these figures and the places they were forced to occupy in shimmering detail, Atkins reveals deeply human truths about displacement, colonialism and what it means to have and to lose a home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOccupying the fertile zone where history, biography and travel writing meet, \u003ci\u003eExiles\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterpiece of imaginative empathy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'[Atkins] is humane, humble, and empathetic . . . beautiful and moving.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eILYA KAMINSKY\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eDeaf Republic \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eDancing in Odessa\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An incredible, brilliant act of retrieval.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePHILIP HOARE\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eAlbert \u0026amp; the Whale\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A finely crafted and lyrical meditation.' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTLS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Gracefully written . . . Brilliant.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE ECONOMIST\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'Rarely has a book been more timely.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHISTORY TODAY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRead \u003ci\u003eThe Moor \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Immeasureable World \u003c\/i\u003efor more award-winning writing from William Atkins\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43172899946674,"sku":"9780571352999","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571352999.jpg?v=1786014638"},{"product_id":"9780571319749","title":"The Immeasurable World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWINNER OF THE STANFORD DOLMAN TRAVEL WRITING AWARD 2019\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne third of the earth’s land surface is desert, much of it desolate and inhospitable. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat is it about this harsh environment that has captivated humankind throughout history? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTravelling to five continents over three years, William Atkins discovers a realm that is as much internal as physical. From the contested borderlands of the USA to Australia’s nuclear test zones, via Nevada’s riotous Burning Man festival and the ancient monasteries of Egypt, he illuminates the people, history, nature and symbolism of these remarkable but often volatile places.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291699917173,"sku":"9780571319749","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571319749_01590762-47cd-4a7f-a5f3-4d71eca191d0.jpg?v=1786014821"},{"product_id":"the-moor","title":"The Moor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the 2015 Wainwright Prize \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this journey across England's most forbidding and mysterious terrain, William Atkins takes the reader from south to north, exploring moorland's uniquely captivating position in our history, literature and psyche. Atkins' journey is full of encounters, busy with the voices of the moors, past and present. He shows us that, while the fierce terrains we associate with \u003ci\u003eWuthering Heights\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Hound of the Baskervilles\u003c\/i\u003e are very human landscapes, the moors remain daunting and defiant, standing steadfast against the passage of time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481422340469,"sku":"9780571290055","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571290055.jpg?v=1786089683"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-william-atkins.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}