Book review: Islands: From Atlantis to Zanzibar by Stephen Roger Fischer

It is pretty much guaranteed that any book that references “A-Z” in its title will cut a wide swath. Indeed, given the scope of Islands: From Atlantis to Zanzibar, with chapters devoted to the geology, biology, human settlement, industry, politics, literature, visual arts, and psychology of islands – encompassing the entire globe from prehistory to present day – the book could just as easily have been called A short history of the world as seen through islands. If the author was aiming for sheer breadth, Islands does not disappoint. But even with his stated purpose to capture “the recurrent constants” among islands, it is pretty much guaranteed that with over a million islands in the world, each with what he calls its own “noteworthy narrative,” a 336-page book is just an introduction.