Book review: Maldives: Kingdom of a Thousand Isles (2004), by Andrew Forbes, ****

Cemetery on a Maldivian island

Precious little is written on the Maldives besides guide books on posh resorts. This book goes a long way toward filling that gap. The author is well read on the subject and has spent considerable time travelling around the archipelago. He provides fairly exhaustive historical and cultural analyses.

In treno in giro per l'Italia

La settimana scorsa ho deciso di prendere il treno per andare da alcuni amici a Vicenza. Aperta la pagina delle prenotazioni di Trenitalia ho indicato le stazioni di partenza e di arrivo, Roma e Vicenza, e ho scelto data e ora per il mio viaggio. Per un biglietto Frecciargento di prima il prezzo era di 116 Euro. Non proprio regalato, i prezzi dei treni sembrano ormai paragonabili a quelli degli aerei. A titolo di paragone sono andato a vedere quanto costano biglietti simili in altri paesi, sempre in 1a classe. In Francia Parigi-Bordeaux costa dai 40 ai 75 euro, un affare. Per la verità in Germania sembra il treno costi ancora di più, Francoforte-Monaco si vende a 140 euro. In Inghilterra da Londra a Newcastle costa sui 150 euro. In Spagna da Madrid a Barcellona si pagano dagli 80 ai 210 euro a seconda del servizio. Ma andiamo per ordine e cominciamo dall'inizio: la prenotazione.

Bibliography: Books on the Maldives

This is my selection of most significant books on the Maldive islands, which I have visited at least ten times since 2003: culture, history, tourism, politics, and of course travelogues, I have tried to include as much as I could. Let me know if you have suggestions of titles to include in this list! 

Per prima cosa vorrei presentare il mio libro sulle Maldive! Lo trovate su Amazon.it in formato cartaceo e ebook.




Guide / Guidebooks

Ellis, Royston: Maldives (Bucks, England: Bradt Travel Guides, 3rd edition, 2005).

Ghisotti, Andrea: Pesci delle Maldive (Firenze: Casa Editrice Bonechi, 2007).

Forbes, Andrew: Maldives - Kingdom of a Thousand Isles (Hong Kong: Odyssey, 2004).

Vv. Aa.: Spectrum Guide to the Maldives (Nairobi, Kenya: Camerapix Publishers Inter­national, Revised edition, 1998).

Carte goegrafiche / Maps

Globetrotter travel map: Maldives 1:500.000 (London: New Holland, 2002)

World Cart: Maldive 1:700.000 (Bologna: Studio F.M.B., senza data).

Divers and Travelers: A Guide to the Maldives Archipelago, various scales (Victoria, Australia: Apollo Editions, 4th edition, 2004).


Racconti di viaggiatori / Travelogues

Battuta, Ibn: Maldives and Ceylon (Colombo: Royal Asiatic Society, 1882, reprinted in Delhi by Asian Educational Society, 1999).

Bell, H.C.P.: Excerpta Maldiviana (R.A.S., Ceylon 1922-1935; reprinted by Asian Educatonal Service, Delhi, 1998). A detailed catalog of documents on Maldivian history.

Eibl-Eibesfeldt , Irenaeus: Land of a Thousand Atolls (English translation, London: McGibbon and Kee, 1965).

Hockly, T. W.: The Two Thousand Isles, (London: Witherby, 1935).

Jones, Steve: Coral - a Pessimist in Paradise (London: Little, Brown, 2007).

Pyrard de Laval, François: Voyages, various editions available in French and English. Click here to find many editions of Pyrard's work.


Storia, politica e cultura / History, politics and Culture

Heyerdahl, Thor: The Maldive Mystery (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1986). Archeological research into the islands' pre-Islamic past.

Grover, Verinder /Ed.): Maldives: Goverment and Politics (New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 2002). A complete reference tool for Maldivian politics.

Hogendorn, Jan and Marion Johnson: The Shell Money of the Slave Trade (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1986). The definitive book on Maldivian shell money usage in South Asia and Africa.

Robinson, John J.: The Maldives: Islamic Republic, Tropical Autocracy (2015). An English journalist worked four years in the Maldives, 2010 to 2013 and this is what he found out. Lots of detailed facts.

Romero-frias, Xavier: Folk Tales of the Maldives (2012)