An island to oneself
by Neale, Tom., Tom Neale · first published 1966
15mentions
8recommended by
10HN commenters
2010–2026first – last mentioned
80% recommend20% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A firsthand memoir of years spent alone on a remote Pacific island. It suits readers curious about solitude, self-sufficiency and deserted-island life. The book is short and fascinating.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Probably my most favourite book is "An Island to Oneself" by Tom Neale. I even visited the Cook Islands because of it. You get a real sense of how wonderful the simple life is without all the complexity of modern life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale…
on “Japan's 'Naked Hermit' Pried from Island Utopia After 29 Years” ↗An Island to Oneself - Tom Neale Free version somewhere online - but I own a first run edition. Amazing book about what you can do if you really want to, and how strong the human mind can be.
on “Ask HN: Books that changed your life?” ↗For anyone for whom this story resonated, this book is well worth a read:- An Island to Oneself http://www.amazon.com/An-Island-Oneself-Tom-Neale/dp/0918024... More info on Tom Neale:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale
on “The Strange and Curious Tale of the Last True Hermit” ↗Tom Neale wrote "An Island to Oneself" in which he lived on a remote island multiple times in his life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale The government still checked up on him on occasion and he had to return to society due to injury,…
on “A man who became a hermit at 20” ↗…should check out the following three things: Emergency by Neil Strauss in which Neil detail his experiences in trying to become more self sufficient and gaining the abilities to escape from the system Island to Oneself by Tom Neale for a first hand account of trying to survive on a deserted island for 16 years. And Survivalistboards.com, which is full of conspiracy nuts but has lots of information about becoming more…
on “How do I become a self-sufficient old man in a shack?” ↗If you are interested in dessert island life, this is a wonderful read: "An Island to Oneself" http://www.amazon.com/An-Island-Oneself-Tom-Neale/dp/0918024...
on “This Man Moved to a Desert Island to Disappear. Here's What Happened” ↗…you may not be aware of this but there is actually a word for this. You are an "islomaniac". Highly recommend this book which is a true story about what Id consider to be the ultimate islomaniac:- An Island To Oneself by Tom Neale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale http://www.amazon.com/An-Island-Oneself-Tom-Neale/dp/0918024... Probably one of my favourite books actually.
on “My Friends and I Bought an Island” ↗Of you have the time (it is only short) read 'An Island to Oneself' by Tom Neale https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale Great book and a fascinating insight to living alone. Another worthy solitude read is Shrimpy by https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Acton…
on “Japan's 'Naked Hermit' Pried from Island Utopia After 29 Years” ↗Boy...that brings back memories. Paul's writings, as well as reading "An Island to Oneself" by Tom Neale, and "We, the Drowned" meant that most of my early 20s were filled with visions of sailing around the south pacific. Never quite made it there, but life is long...
on “13 years sailing around the world” ↗In a similar vein to Dick Proenneke's book, have a read of "An Island to Oneself" by Tom Neale. It's about a guy who lived alone on a remote island in the Pacific. Incredibly calm and peaceful book about living a life completely removed from the endless complications of modern life. It's…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?” ↗Highly recommend this book on the subject: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99746.An_Island_to_Onese... (An Island to Oneself by Tom Neale). The guy spent years on an island in the middle of the pacific all alone (almost, he has pets and animals). On the subject, I'll say that voluntary solitude is amazing, loneliness sucks.…
on “The Lighthouse: How extreme isolation transforms the body and mind” ↗Reminds me of Tom Neale's "An Island to Oneself" - https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9781775492979
on “Confessions of a Long-Distance Sailor” ↗…of the most interesting (to me) I found through reading the 'you may also like' or 'by the same author' in the front or back of random purchases - and would then spend a period tracking then down. 'An Island to Oneself' and 'The Insecure Offenders' were probably two that I had the biggest impact on me and that were the most interesting, that I found this way. I tried to buy a copy of 'A Island to Oneself' for a friend…
on “In Korean wilds and villages (1938)” ↗This dude had a pretty impressive run of self imposed isolation: An Island to Oneself http://www.janesoceania.com/suvarov_tom_neale/
on “The Most Isolated Man on the Planet” ↗See Tom Neale's "An Island to Oneself: The Story of Six Years on a Desert Island". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale . 1 hour loan from https://archive.org/details/islandtooneselft00neal .
on “Paid to Live on a Deserted Island for 1.5 Years and Do Nothing but Kill Seals” ↗