Alexander Selkirk, a difficult and unpleasant British sailor, was put ashore at his own request on Mas a Tierra Island off the coast of Chile in 1704 and remained alone there until 1709. His story came to the attention of Daniel Defoe, and thereby hangs a tradition. Although isolated, Selkirk, upon whom Defoe modeled his fictional hero Robinson Crusoe, did not have a terribly trying situation, for he had fresh water, fruit, wild goats, shellfish and certain amenities. Others in comparable situations were not so fortunate, as Simmons (The Big Book of Adventure Travel) makes clear in these accounts of eight castaways - some by coercion, some by their own choice - ranging from the 18th century to (believe it or not) 1977. Just as the adventures of Selkirk-Crusoe enthralled readers in 1719, the chronicles here will surely prove exciting to readers today.