Oceania Books

I came at this book with an interest in Mansfield (and to a lesser extent Woolf) and was tired of the countless studies (chapters and essays) comapring the two. Needless to say, then, I approached this study with trepidation and assumed I would not think much of it. But what a surprise! Smith has done a terrific job with her research and has produced a study that towers over the others I've seen. The study smells of sweat and hard work. I put it alongside Sidney Janet Kaplan's and Patricia Dunbar's studies of Mansfield. It is one of the best.

I came at this book from the Mansfield camp and a little exhausted by all of the stale comparisons between Mansfield and Woolf. However, Smith's work is full of well-researched and thoughtful analysis. It's an amazing study--particularly of Mansfield, I think--and one that belongs on the same shelf as Kaplan's KM & THE ORIGINS OF MODERNIST FICTION and Dunbar's RADICAL MANSFIELD. Essential reading for Mansfield scholars and fans alike.

This is an illustrated children's book. It takes the true story of an Australian historical character and bushranger, Moondyne Joe, and turns it into an illustrated version for children. This is not too bad at all, and if you are after a simple adventure picture book for an young aussie kid, no reason not to get something like this.

Mark Greenwood's The Legend Of Moondyne Joe is an legend of the greatest escape artist of the era when Australia was used a prison destination by Great Britain. Moondyne Joe was not gunfighter or a bank robber, but rather a thief with the uncanny ability to regain freedom every time he was put behind bars. The simple, color illustrations by Frane Lessac bring life to a vivid legend in this charming story which is highly recommended for young readers.

It's a good regional guide, but you should consider it if you're staying lot of time and doing lot of activities in queensland. The Lonely Planet australia is enought for the 'basic knowledge' of the region.
Consider it ONLY if you wanna "research" DEEPLY in queensland.

LP does a great job, as usual, of detailing the less expensive ways to get around. I find that when they say a place is less-frequented, they are often right, at least for now.

Somewhat disappointing for a LP guide, lots of text but not as much "meat". After travelling in the Solomons and talking with others one gets the impression that the author did quite limited travelling throughout the islands and largely relied on other's reports. The hike to Mataniko Falls is way more strenuous and dangerous than hinted. (It is still an awesome sight, especially if you're a caver) Likewise a hike along the Weather Coast is more challenging than one would gather from the text, there are places where villagers go by boat because of the vertical exposure. Makira Island is only marginal habitat for salt-water crocodiles according to a Conservation International report and not as abundant as stated in the guide. Given the dearth of information about the Solomons it is still worth buying, but prudence is recommended.

This is the last edition of Lonely Planet's Solomon Islands guide.
It has not been updated since the mid-90es, and has in theory been replaced by the publisher's 2005 "Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands" guide, which in reality only devotes fewer than 30 pages to the Solomon Islands, completely ignoring half the country's provinces, concentraiting on Honiara and a few popular tourist spots instead.

This edition (or the nearly identical 2nd edition), in contrast, covers the entire archipelago in amazing detail, all the way from the Treasury Islands in the West to the remote Polynesian outliers of Tikopia and Anuta in the East.
Each major province and island is described in good detail, and is shown on a good map.
Needless to say, some things have changed - however in the Solomons they have probably changed much less than in most of the rest of the World!
I travelled in the country in 2005, and found myself using this book almost all the time, with the then brand new PNG & Solomons guide quickly buried to the depths of my backpack.

If you want to actually travel around this least visited corner of Melanesia, rather than just have a short holiday on a resort island in Western province, and especially if exploring remote islands and hiking remote mountains and shorelines is your thing, this book is definitely the one to take.
It is also highly recommended for those with a general interest in the country, as travel practicalities apart, the background info on the culture, geography and fauna of the Solomons is still better than I have found in any other single book.

I have the 1980 hardback edition. It is without a doubt one of the best books on the subject of the bounty. The illustrations are great.

. . .for more than 20 years. I'm as familiar with the story as any, and more familiar than most. Recently, I had the opportunity to read Sir John Barrow's account of the mutiny and its aftermath and found the book an extremely interesting historical read. Sir John wrote his book at a time when many of the participants were still living. He addresses every major controversy surrounding the mutiny and subsequent adventures and his perspective, while a bit preachy and moralistic at times, is invaluable. While utterly condemning the actions of Fletcher Christian (and blaming the mutiny entirely on him) Barrow is also hard on Captain Bligh, showing him to be an excellent seaman but a poor leader of men (under everyday circumstances). In a crisis, Bligh was able to rise to the occasion (the open sea voyage in the Bounty's launch) but as an everyday commander of men, Bligh was found wanting. Barrow also casts doubt on Bligh's integrity during the trial, suggesting that he deliberately withheld information which could have led to the acquittal of a midshipman against whom he bore an unjustified grudge. Barrow also condemns the behavior of the captain of the Pandora as inhumane (as it was without doubt) and unreasonable, especially to those who were not mutineers, but voluntarily surrendered. Barrow's description of the trial is extremely detailed. He goes to great lengths to demonstrate that in spite of appearances, the guilty were punished and those who were truly innocent were acquitted (or eventually exonerated). He also had an interest in the eternal souls of the mutineers, recording with satisfaction that the three men eventually hanged for the crime showed evidence of repentance and contrition. All in all, this book was a fascinating read, and provided a different perspective than the 20th century movies and popular novels. I hope it comes back into print.

Calvin's Review

The main plot of the book is about a mutiny on the HMS Bounty. The sailors took over the boat and left Captain Bligh and everyone who supported the captain drifting on a small boat called a dingy. I do not like how the sailors used force to get what they want. One major event after the actual mutiny was Bligh stopping at an island to get food. They then found a tribe and started out nice from both ends but in the end the rest of the crew {not mutineers} but one jumped back in the dingy and escaped. I think it is almost funny how they start out being friends, and no one harms the tribe but they still attack

The setting took place at sea. I liked how in their social environment most of them did not know each other. It was like working on a ship with people you don't know that well for probably about a year. Something that I didn't like as well was the thing about the setting is that Captain Bligh is only trying to get bread fruit trees from Tahiti. It almost seems like a waste of time and effort. He starved and almost died for survival on a trip for breadfruit trees. It was difficult to see why he had to be so harsh on a trip that was as simple as getting bread fruit trees.

I liked the conflict because you could never tell who was wrong; otherwise known as the "bad guys." Captain Bligh was really harsh to the sailors but it seemed like it was necessary to get the work on the boat done. The Captain and his crew on the dingy then had to survive many harsh experiences to make it to safety. I also liked how the conflict was a classic struggle of workers and authority. I did not like how the conflict was destined from the beginning. It was obvious that the mutiny would happen just the way it did. It even said it in the book." The Mutiny on Board H.M.S. Bounty." One thing I would like to know is what happens to the mutineers. It does not say at the end of the book. It just says that Blithe told the governor to look for men that took the boat after he gave descriptions. I think the mutineers deserved to be caught.

This suspensful story of courage, bravery, and traitorousness is a must-read for everyone. Whether Bligh was a harsh cruel captain or whether Fletcher Christian, the leader of the mutiny was the one who was out of line has yet to be proven, but one can easily form their own opinions on the truth within the first few chapters. I beseech anyone who is contemplating whether or not to read this to give it a chance, and I guarantee you'll love it!

Noted historian J. David Markham has made a significant contribution to our understanding of Napoleon's time in exile on the South Atlantic island of St Helena. Published in its entirety in English for the first time, Verling's journal offers fresh insight into the theater of the absurd that was life on St Helena. Add to that Markham's insightful commentary and a collection of important letters involving Verling, and you have a book that should be read by anyone interested in the subject.

Having sent the fallen Emperor Napoleon into exile on the isolated, wind-swept rock of St, Helena, the British needed to provide Napoleon with a doctor who could attend to the exile's medical needs, as well as provide testimony to Napoleon's good care and healthful situation and, preferably, serve as a source of information on what occurred in Napoleon's household. There was good reason to be concerned that Napoleon was treated well. Journalist and reformer William Cobbett announced that sending Napoleon into exile at St. Helena "would stink in the nostrils of the world for ages to come." Another critic saw Napoleon's exile as "a death sufficiently slow to be apparently natural."

Napoleon's first doctor in exile was the Irish naval surgeon Barry Edward O'Meara. Sir Hudson Lowe, the British governor of St. Helena and Napoleon's gaoler, had O'Meara removed from his position in 1818 for essentially becoming in his eyes an homme de l' Empereur and specifically for repeating conversations he was privy to among the British to Napoleon and his party. Dr. James Roche Verling, born in 1787 in Ireland and graduated from Edinburgh University, had served as a surgeon with the army during the Peninsular War and was sent aboard the Northumberland, the ship that transported Napoleon to St. Helena, as surgeon to the Ordnance. It was on this long voyage that Verling first made the acquaintance of members of Napoleon's party. Verling was picked by Lowe to replace O'Meara.

Napoleon refused to see any doctor sent by Lowe who would not agree to certain stipulations, which included, within the limits of the doctor's honor (by which Napoleon specifically meant his physician was free to report any talk of an attempted escape by Napoleon, but was to keep other conversations confidential), not to act as a spy for the governor. Count Montholon, in making proposals to Verling explicitly stated that Verling "would not be required to do anything which might compromise [Verling] before any tribunal." Verling for his part felt that "the only mode I know of obtaining [Napoleon's acceptance], and of which the governor was aware, seem now to throw a shade of suspicion upon my character."

Dr. John Stokoe, another naval surgeon, was chosen instead. Gov. Lowe instructed Verling to accompany Stokoe on his visits to Napoleon, a situation, which would undoubtedly further raise Napoleon's suspicions of Verling as a creature of the Governor. Stokoe, agreeing to Napoleon's stipulations, quickly fell afoul of the governor, was court-martialed and forced to leave the service. Interest turned again to Verling to serve as Napoleon's physician. Verling had continued to serve as doctor to the Bertrands and Montholons.

Verling could not have been too pleased to be tapped for such a sensitive and apparently dangerous position. Obviously no good could come from taking a position that would put him between the rock and the hard place of the Governor and Napoleon. In the end Dr. Verling never did serve as Napoleon's physician though he did continue to serve those around the former Emperor. Eventually Dr. Francesco Antommarchi, a Corsican anatomist selected by Napoleon's mother and uncle, was sent to St. Helena to serve as physician to Napoleon, freeing Verling from an untenable position. Of Antommarchi, Napoleon opined, "I would give him my horse to dissect, but I would not trust him with the cure of my own foot." With Antommarchi's arrival however, Verling was able to quit St. Helena and return to Britain, continuing his medical career.

The original journal had passed down in the Verling family until it came into the possession of a nephew who was a naval surgeon. This nephew left the journal on board a ship shortly before he died. The journal was later presented to Napoleon III. In 1915 a transcript of the journal was made and a copy deposited in the Bodleian Library, where J. David Markham first read it. According to Markham, Verling's journal is the last major document concerning Napoleon's exile on St. Helena that remained unpublished.

Dr. Verling's journal reads more as an aide-mémoire against the possibility of some future legal proceeding that might arise in consequence of his duties than as a record of his inner thoughts. One gets the distinct feeling that Verling would rather not have been placed in this circumstance at all. Verling doesn't record much of his own feelings or impressions but records instead what was said or written to him by those in the British administration on the island and by the French at Longwood. Verling was painfully aware that being physician to Napoleon held "more prospects of ultimate injury than benefit." The journal doesn't include any great revelations, but gives the reader another impression of Napoleon's final days.

Verling was obviously reluctant to place himself in any situation where he could be accused of favoring the Emperor's party or acting in their interest. Verling knew it was in his interest to avoid both sin and the near occasion of sin. At one point he sends back to Madame Bertrand a tea service she had given him, going at once to Gov. Lowe to inform him of the gift and that he had returned it. Verling would not accept a blanket pass from Lowe to attend to the inhabitants at Longwood, requesting from the Governor specific orders to attend his patients.

What ever Lowe's opinion of Verling, which at times seemed strained and at other times formally correct, he at one point was writing to Lord Bathurst, the British official responsible for Napoleon's captivity, of his concerns that Verling was Irish and Catholic. Lowe described Verling as not only "fully competent" as a physician, but "activated by right principles." Lowe praised particularly "the resistance [Verling] has shown to all design on the part of the persons at Longwood." While Verling did not quite act the spy, he made sure to keep Lowe informed of any relations he had with the French. Verling's intentions seem to be to protect himself and he was quick to report all matter of things he heard while treating the Montholons and the Bertrands. Verling apparently had the expectation of returning to Europe after three years serving with the Ordinance and by March 1819 that period was almost at an end. This light at the end of the tunnel might well have been a deciding factor in his reluctance at that point to become Napoleon's physician.

Markham includes with the journal a number of letters concerning Verling on St. Helena from British archives. Some of these letters are versions of letters Verling transcribed in his journal. Frequently there will be differences between the letters themselves and the versions given by Verling, which makes for interesting comparison. To the journal and letters Markham has added an introduction discussing Napoleon's last days in France, his journey to St. Helena and information on his doctors on the island. Also included are capsule sketches of the chief individuals mentioned in the text, as well as the principal locations on the island. Illustrations of many of the principals, as well as scenes of St. Helena are included.

I'm in agreement with the reviewer who wrote that this book is mostly about traditional not modern architecture and design. When I got this book, I was hoping that contempory would mean modern and upscale. This book does not deliver any of that and the book cover photo is not the type of designs that are found in the rest of the book so I was terribly disappointed. Eventually, I grew to tolerate the traditional design photos ( which are mostly of churches, huts, cane worker houses and store shacks), but if you're looking for upscale design ideas, select another book and relegate this one to a fond look at old, dilapidated island style.

In Pacific Island Style, Glenn Jowitt and Peter Shaw collaborate to showcase contemporary Pacific styes lending cultures from the many islands of the South Pacific with their various colonial influences. Jowitt and Shaw explore both the traditional architecture and crafts of the region as well as contemporary design concepts. the use of attractive and natural materials, environment-enhancing designs, indoor-outdoor living arrangements are all trademarks of the Pacific Island style and to be found world wide. Pacific Island Style covers Samoa, Niue, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands. Pacific Island Style admirably serves as a source of architectural and interior design references and ideas for anyone seeking to incorporate the islands' peaceful, natural style amidst modern surroundings. Pacific Island Style is a highly recommended addition to any personal or professional design library collection.

128 pages of pure JOY.

Mr. Allward has given Pitcairn/Bounty fans something to treasure and refer to again and again. This book is loaded with illustrations and photographs. For me, the photo of beloved Pitcairner Reynold Warren was worth the cost of the book many times over.

Buy one for yourself and another to share with your local library.

I love Pitcairn folklore as much as the rest of us, but this book is primarily filled with pictures. If you are looking for a historical account of Pitcairn and The Bounty, I would keep looking.

After one year of travelling around Australia, I returned home to Ireland fascinated by Aborigine, Mauri and Polynesian culture. A friend gave me a gift of Bewick's book. I like art, but when representing a culture so far removed from my own I always think that photography is liable to be a more loyal medium in representing the culture in question. Bewick surprises me, she manages to imbue the whole atmosphere of a foreign culture through her paintings. There is something subtly sensual about her work. It is bright, alive & alert. She does not appear to be one of those artists that tries desperatley to throw her spectators into the depths of psycho-analysis. What you see is what you get. A great book, a real 'sit back and let the South Seas flow through you'. A must on any coffee table !

Pauline Bewick, an Irish artist who has travelled all over the world and is inspired by what she sees, living in Ireland with her husband, and lives in the heart of Tuscany during the summer. Pauline has shown intrest in art since she was two, her mother, Harry, also an artist, kept all her work since she was two, and Pauline had a retrospective exhibition of her works from when she was two until her late forties. This retrospective exhibition took place in The Guinness Hop store in Dublin. In 1988 Pauline went to the South Seas with her two daughters, also artists, to work on her next exhibition.She went home to Ireland and began working on her south seas book.Pauline returned to the South Seas for another year to work on the book.In this book you will see Paulines unique paintings and read about the Maouri way of life and learn about their legends,- very interesting.Definitely a book to buy if you can't afford to buy her paintings. In 1995 Pauline had a large exhibition, called the 'The Yellow Man', Pauline created this creature while doodling in Italy, and went on to create hundreds of pieces based on this creature includind 75 ceramic pieces which she painted in Rampini Studios in Tuscany. Pauline is now preparing for an exhibition in Dublin on September 1999.The exhibition includes her very colourful series of 'Laughing Women" and her series of African Eve's with their babies, inspired by both her daughters becoming mothers,and Charles Darwins theory of the human race beginning in Africa.