After I finished reading two books on the adventures of travelling to (or cycling on) islands, I decided to look for more information about Ascension. Plenty has been written about the Atlantic islands of Tristan da Cunha and St. Helena, but not as many books have been solely dedicated to Ascension. I used Ben Fogle’s bibliography to order these two:
Ascension: The story of a South Atlantic Island by Duff Hart-Davis was written in 1972 and covers the island’s history from 1501 on. I loved the title of the first chapter: “The Useless Island 1501-1801”.
Turtle Island: A Journey to Britain’s Oddest Colony by Sergio Ghione (translated from the Italian by Martin McLaughlin) used to belong to the Manly Library in New South Wales, Australia. I usually avoid buying former library books as their condition is never pristine or like new, yet the description of this one, as well as its price, were irresistible. Since its dust jacket was still wrapped, it was in perfect condition. This book was published in 2000 so it deals with the role the island played in the Falklands War.