Hardcover book about how Robinson Crusoe made all his stuff.

January 19, 2010 7:16 PM

When I was a kid (late 70s, maybe early 80s) I had a large hardcover Robinson Crusoe book that was like a how-to engineering type description of all the different things he made. Does anyone know the title?
posted by TheManChild2000 to Technology (5 answers total)

Perserverance Island by Douglas Frazar? Check out page vii.
posted by Acacia at 10:03 PM on January 19, 2010

Do you recall if it was just the Crusoe story or if there were other stories in the book?
posted by ninazer0 at 12:29 AM on January 20, 2010

Response by poster: Acacia: Nope, not it although that looks like a cool book.

ninazer0: My memory is really hazy on this book but I do believe it was only Crusoe.
posted by TheManChild2000 at 4:11 AM on January 20, 2010

Unless you're absolutely sure it was a Crusoe book, you might check our "My Side of the Mountain" as I recall it being Crusoe-ish in innovative survival techniques. I recall it having many illustrations with the descriptions. It was very popular during your time-frame.
posted by Acacia at 11:13 AM on January 20, 2010

Since you haven't found your answer yet, I thought I'd post another tenuous link. The "how-to engineering" part of your description made me think of C. Keith Wilbur. You'd certainly recognize his style if you saw it. He made wonderful illustrated guides to 18th and 19th century technology, especially seafaring and building.
posted by Gable Oak at 3:20 PM on January 24, 2010