Interesting! I did not know this story before reading this book. This is a great book for anyone interested in the history of the late 19th century and the Pacific. I found this to be very entertaining and enlightening about the period, if a bit gruesome at times with some of the descriptions. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

I found this book incredibly engaging and could not put it down. It’s well written and well researched and just a genuine pleasure to read. While I liked the whole book, there is one part that stood out the most:

‘Village history does not reside in the public domain but is owned by various individuals and families- a copyright legitimised by an ancestral connection to a major participant in the narrative.’ This is the line that fully gripped me and made me realise how much I was going to enjoy reading the book. It shows how much research went into writing it, since this is not something that could be easily understood. Randell clearly went to extraordinary lengths to write this book, and it shows. I loved his dedication to making sure the reader understands the culture of the island, and I think that’s what makes the book such a good read.

It appealed to my love of both history and anthropology and I recommend the book to anyone who likes either.

Nigel Randell has written a fascinating and extraordinary account about Jack Renton, a young sailor marooned on a small island in the Solomon Islands. The detailed story of Renton was passed down through descendents of the island’s inhabitants by oral history.
He befriended the local chieftain, who greatly respected Renton’s artisan skills, intelligence and bravery. The large gaps in Renton’s memoirs were skilfully filled in by the author using the islander’s verbal history and the contemporary accounts of his ‘white’ rescuers. Clearly Renton went native and probably became as brutal as the local headhunters.
The accounts of the decimation of the islanders by European diseases are truly tragic. As we are now aware, similar events happened all over the New World. In Brazil, as an example, whole native cultures were wiped out by typhoid, influenza, syphilis, and common colds etc. As often happens, the role of the missionaries had severely negative effects on the spread of disease and the destruction of the islanders culture.
The book also covers the dreadful exploitation of the various groups of islanders by the Australian and European traders and businessmen, leading to drastic falls in population groups.
One of the most beguiling parts of the story, was the use of porpoise teeth as currency by the Solomon islanders. The chieftains tightly controlled the culling of the porpoises in order to regulate the impacts of supply and demand. I suggest it can be compared to De Beers artificially controlling the price of diamonds in today’s global market.
In summary, it is a well written book that also covers a lot of fascinating semi-related topics.

The White Headhunter reads like fiction, it's perfect for fans of naval adventures and historical journeys. This is a reprint from 2003, so it is possible that you've read it before or that your library already owns a copy.

This is the true account of a young Scottish sailor Jack Renton washed ashore in 1860 on one of the most isolated Solomon Islands Mala’ita. The book describes how he successfully adapted to the life of the natives tribes who were headhunters. The book is also a history of the society and customs of the natives and why headhunting was so important. The book puts the native islanders into the context of the Australian sugarcane planting and the ensuing slave trade. It also looks at different castaways or beachcombers who lived with natives on other islands. It is a well researched book demonstrating the impact the Whites had on these native societies. By taking oral histories into account a picture of how the island tribes also changed as they dealt with the impact. It would benefit from a better organization but nevertheless a fascinating book.

I admit, the title and cover of this book did make me cringe. When was this book written- in the 1800’s? No, it wasn’t, and the author makes it very clear that this book is not a tone-deaf “beachcomber memoir” from 150 years ago. Beachcomber memoirs were popular in the 1800’s- exotic accounts of plucky European castaways reinventing themselves on foreign shore through manly acts of heroism. Europeans saving those in darkness was a popular trope of the times.

The author focuses on two main points in this book. First, he does tell the tale of Scots sailor Jack Renton, who was indeed castaway in 1868 on an island in the Solomon’s in the South Pacific. But the author uses the story of Jack and his eight years with a tribe of island headhunters to share with us his research about the history of the times.

This approach makes for a thorough review of the subject, with its careful focus on shipping, exploration, missionaries, and the rise of the sugar plantations in Australia. But it also makes for a more scholarly-type read rather than an adventurous tale, like Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

The author does give us some eye-popping details such as- Jack’s shanghai experience, the dangers of sea travel and the sacrifice of human victims on the island. I also enjoyed reading about John Harrison, the Yorkshire clockmaker who solved one of the greatest scientific problems of the 18th century with his invention of the chronometer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for a review copy of this interesting book. This is my honest review.

A REMARKABLE TRUE-Life HEART OF DARKNESS in 1868, Jack Renton, a teenage scots sailor, was Shanghaied in San Francisco. In 1876 he was rescued from captivity on the Pacific island of Malaita, home to a fearsome tribe of headhunters. After the rescue, I. A sensational best selling memoir, Renton recounted his eight year adventure: how he jumped ship and drifted two thousand miles in an open whaleboat to the Solomon Islands, came ashore at Malaita, was stripped of his clothes, possessions and his very identity, but lived to serve the islands tribal chief Kabou eventually as his most trusted adviser. For all the authenticity and riveting detail, however it turns out that Rentons chronicle glossed over key events that made him the man that Kabou said he loved “ as my first born son”. While the White Headhunter is the story of a man transformed by an island, it is also the story of a man who transformed the island as he prepared it for the onslaught of western civilization.

There was a lot of interesting information provided in this non-fiction account which was based on a memoir from the mid 1800s; but quite frankly, I fail to see how it was an improvement on the original memoir written by the teenager who lived and survived the experience. Yes, there was a lot of background information and additional historical accounts, but it was presented in a harem-scarum format so typical of inexperienced writers. There were more questions left unanswered than answered.
Perhaps it would have read better in a hardback rather than an ebook.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I’m sorry I couldn’t give it more stars. It was a worthy effort, but a frustrating read.

Thank you Net Galley and Thistle Publishing for The White Headhunter by Nigel Randell.

This is a story of Jack Renton from the late 1800's who was shipwrecked in the Pacific and then rescued by headhunters. They taught him a lot mainly how to headhunt. The tribal chief took him under his wing and trusted him. This is a story you won't read in any history book although I wish it would have. This is a very adventurous book but very gruesome.

I was very hesitate to read this book when the publisher asked. I'm glad I agreed, I have to say I cringed at most parts that were very graphic. Of course I was sucked into this story for the history lesson.

I would recommend this book for the history buffs out there.

Cherie

#NetGallery #TheWhiteHeadhunter

The White Headhunter by Nigel Randell

The White Headhunter by Nigel Randell is a spine-tingling story of daring and survival within a globally, heartbreaking story of the cultural breakdown of an island community. The author drew his original inspiration from a genre of literature called the “Beachcomber Memoirs,” seamen’s adventure stories describing “contact” with the Solomon Islanders. In 1868, a nineteen-year-old Scottish seaman Jack Renton jumped ship in the Solomon Islands. Starved and dehydrated after being at sea for 35 days, Jack landed on the island of Malaita. He was fortunate to find a mentor in a powerful chief (or big man) of the Islanders; otherwise, earlier tales lead us to believe he might have been so threatening to the islanders that they would have eaten him to assume his power.

The broader context of this story is the distressing results of “First Contact” for Solomon Islanders with Europeans. Nigel discovered the islander's side of the stories by interviewing the island’s oral historians. Learning how the history of the islanders is handed down is enlightening and makes this reader want to know more about the island culture. A piece of the story is given to the brightest grandchildren who learn it and own it and are the only people authorized to recite it.

The White Headhunter provides intriguing and detailed examples of "First Contact" and its impact on the Solomon Islanders. My research tells me that regrettably, it has happened all over the world. Indigenous peoples like Native American Indians eventually traded with explorers in places like California, Texas, Louisiana, Newfoundland, and Oregon. Native Americans traded plants like potatoes, maize, and tobacco for horses, guns, and alcohol. Also, in South America, Africa and island settlements in every ocean, Native American Indians were forced onto reservations and through a process of acculturation have become less than they once were.

I rate The White Headhunter by Nigel Randell 5 out of 5 stars because the writing style is eloquent, passionate, and a joy to read. Nigel described Jack Renton’s landing party “with their blistered, emaciated bodies, swollen-joints and stick-like limbs they appeared to be without human semblance.” The extensive bibliography supports these extraordinary stories. The book was published in England and has English spelling.

If readers enjoy an interest in history, 19th-century exploration or cultural stories, these writings will be fascinating and informative. However, be warned there is a dark side of these idyllic islands. The practices of cannibalism, headhunting, and labor trafficking are thoroughly explored and may be too gruesomely written about for some readers. European migration, missionaries, and sickness have an unforeseen and dire impact in the future of the Islanders.

I downloaded this into my kindle fire for one reason, and one reason only. Whether it is this author, his publisher of for whatever reason, this has come up in my e-mail 2 to 3 times a day. I've deleted it. Reported it as spam, and it still keeps appearing. Honestly, it's as obnoxious as the porn, naked pictures and "stop sending me your naked pictures" spam. As if! I don't enjoy spam from Netgalley, and maybe they should better check.who they are associating with.

A REMARKABLE TRUE-LIFE HEART OF DARKNESS STORY

In 1868, Jack Renton, a teenage Scots sailor, was shanghaied in San Francisco. In 1876, he was rescued from captivity on the Pacific island of Malaita, home to a fearsome tribe of headhunters. After the rescue, in a sensational best-selling memoir, Renton recounted his eight-year adventure: how he jumped ship and drifted two thousand miles in an open whaleboat to the Solomon Islands, came ashore at Malaita, was stripped of his clothes, possessions and his very identity, but lived to serve the island’s tribal chief Kabou eventually as his most trusted adviser. For all the authenticity and riveting detail, however, it turns out that Renton’s chronicle glossed over key events that made him the man that Kabou said he loved, "as my first-born son."

Mining the oral history passed down in detail from generations of Malaitans, documentary filmmaker Nigel Randell has pieced together a more complete and grislier account of Renton’s experience—as a man forced to assimilate in order to survive. While The White Headhunter is the story of a man transformed by an island, it is also the story of a man who transformed the island as he prepared it for the onslaught of Western civilization.

My thoughts
When i first heard about it the publisher sent me a message and asked if it would be something that would be of interest to me and as soon as I read the book synopsis i was yes please , it was a new to me author , non fiction which is something i love to read and it was a part of history i never heard of before so whats not to love, but sadly there is a problem, and that problem is i have no idea what is going on with the story , and I mean that 100 %. Its confusing, and the author seems to jump from one thing to another and then back again. I've even tried re reading the chapters I've read to see if i can get an idea of what is going on and i still can't figure it out, So with that said I'm DNF it , with that said I would love to thank the publishers and Netgalley for a lest letting me try to read this and review in change for my honest opinion