ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce some of the work that has been done on islands as a systematic geographic phenomenon. Islands have attracted the attention of scholars and writers from many disciplines. Geography, biology, ecology, anthropology, history and economics are perhaps the obvious ones, but we should not overlook the insights into island life and landscapes provided by poets and painters, many of whom have been drawn to the special island ambience. Islands spell romance and adventure and, following the genre of Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson, have been the setting for many famous yarns.
