Oceania Books

European kings in the 16th century dreamed of finding spices and gold in a mythical land mass in the Southern Hemisphere called Terra Australia. Incognita, or Unknown South Land. The search for it was only part of the great exploration by white men of the vast 10,000 mile watery expanse that Magellan so incorrectly named Pacific. Primitive canoe wanderers had already found homes in Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia, but now came Portuguese explorers seeking the Indies, Spaniards in great galleons that were floating treasure houses of plunder, British privateers, and seamen from all over Europe.

Mendano, who found the Solomons; bold Francis Drake; the Dutch Tasman, who blazed a sea trail to Australia; Selkirk, the original Robinson Crusoe; Captain Bligh of Bounty Fame; and Captain Cook, perhaps the greatest of them all...these are just a few of the names emblazoned across the canvas of this thrilling saga. Here are the shipwrecks and castaways, the cannibals, the coral reefs and lush islands of breadfruit and coconut, the mutineers and Yankee whalers, in an all-inclusive adventure story of epic proportions.

180 pages with index.

I found this book very helpful in planning my Oz holiday. It provides useful recommendations on places and things to visit. The plentiful color pictures add much to the book's appeal.

While the book is good for planning your vacation, it does not provide detailed information on accommodation, transportation, or other essential information. Get another guidebook (such as The Rough Guide) to complement this book.

After an 11 page introduction in which the author's skilfully set the scene, they collectively go on to explain the Great Barrier Reef in the way it should have been explained all along. With chapters on; Evolution, History & Exploration, Marine Life, Nature & Art, Life above, Diving, Fishing and finally Staying & Seeing, these two authors have covered all bases in an interesting a readable way.

Not all visitors to the greatest reef on earth are either divers or fishermen and there are few books which cater for those who are not. This one caters for all tastes.

Superbly supported with colour photographs on every page - some of which will make your eyes pop right out of your head, this is a book to please all those who read it.

Altogether a very exciting book!

NM

The stories are so well told, I found it hard to put down the book. They are full of warmth and are rich with authentic detail. This book is hard to categorize because it works equally well as interesting stories of the islands and as a cultural insight into two cultures meeting. Would recommend it to anyone interested in Pacific life, cross-cultural themes, or just warm stories of human sensitivity in a foreign setting.

Noted military historian / writer Martin Middlebrook has excelled himself with this fastidiously researched & tightly written account of the short lived, but bloody, 1982 war between Britain & Argentina over the tiny Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic. The author has effectively covered both the British & Argentinian perspective's of the campaign, and gives a fairly unbiased approach to the subject matter at hand.

Middlebrook provides a comprehensive, historical background to the issue of how the crisis developed in the Falklands, and the political climate in Argentina prior to the ill fated invasion. Middlebrook additionally illustrates how the British Lion then roused from it's slumber, swung swiftly into action and assembled a formidable task force, and sailed them thousands of miles away into the South Atlantic to battle against a numerically superior force.

The book provides detailed and intriguing insights into the naval aspects of the campaign including the loss of the Argentinian cruiser, General Belgrano and several English ships such as Sheffield, Sir Galahad & Atlantic Conveyor. The author examines the constant threat & fear that the Excocet missile posed to British shipping & their crews, and a bold plan to land SAS troops at Rio Grande to destroy Argentinian Super Etendard jets, the only jets capable of air launching the deadly Exocet. In addition, Middlebrook paints a gripping picture of the air war between British Harriers & Argentinian Skyhawks & Daggers, and the fight for supremacy of the skies over the Falklands. Finally, he covers the land campaign and the hard fought battles by Britsh Paratroop & Commando units against a dug in opposition & bitterly cold weather for key points including Goose Green, Tumbledown Mountain, Darwin Hill & finally the capital of Stanley.

A key aspect of the book that maintains the readers interest is the many, enthralling first hand comments by participants in the war including serviceman & politicians from both sides, Falkland Islanders, and the relatives of those involved in the crisis. Middlebrook combines details on the military technology that are easy to follow for the layman, with a fluid and well paced writing style that make the book compelling reading. Middlebook has written numerous other titles on military history, and this is another fine addition to his line up. Highly recommended for those seeking a concise, intriguing & well written book on the Falklands War.

Full of useful information for tourists, including ratings and reviews of places to stay and sites to see. The authors have a very down-to-earth, honest approach to the reader and some of their comments had me laughing out loud. For example, in commenting on the kangaroo, the book reads:

"To give you an idea of what you're dealing with in a tame kangaroo, just watch them with children--even when...[they]...pull their ears and walk on their tails, they just get up and walk away. If they wanted, they could open the kids up like a tin of sardines--they have claws like a saber-tooth tiger's tooth."

Combined with the Frommer's Australia books (both the 4th edition and the 'for about $50 a day' edition) I've found tons of useful information and probably won't even need to resort to a travel agent next time we visit.

This is a great book I brought with me all over Australia and found invaluable. This book gives detailed info on more sites than you could ever hope to dive, and even if you don't dive the pictures are great. Top book!

If you're goint to Fiji, this is the book for you. This recently updated guidebook is very comprehensive and provides excellent information on Fiji. I strongly recommend also buying the Fiji map, too.

A new edition of Finding Fiji is available and can be located by searching for "Moon Fiji" on this site.

Finding Utopia is a children's picturebook about searching for wonder in the world - a quest that can lead to truly grand discoveries. An American family and their Aboriginal friend travel to Australia, looking for a glimpse of Utopia. While there, they travel on camels, see the outback, meet a wise Aboriginal couple, visit the sacred Uluru rock site, and learn about the native animals and creation myths of Australia. The jam-packed color illustrations and the extensive text are further supplemented with notes at the back of the book, about noble leaders and great ideas that promoted world harmony and peace. A glossary of Aboriginal words rounds out this amazing tour of Australia's wonders and human ingenuity in the quest to create and live in a perfect world.