Australia Books

Old New Zealand put legs under two opinions I've gained in the last ten years or so: 1) many pre-Christian societies were incredibly savage and no Westerner would want to live among them w/o the incentives of Christian missionary work or mistreating them by enslavement or unfair trading practices; 2) most moderns have idealized the "noble savage" by ignoring the "nasty, brutish, and short" aspects of their lives.

I reached conclusion #1 by reading of the savagery, cannibalism, or both in pre-Christian Rome and Greece, Ireland, Germany, Vikings, Fiji, Tasmania, Mexico (Aztec), Peru (Inca), and America (our word "cannibal" comes from the word for the Carib Indians). Try reading the Mohawk treatment of Isaac Jogues or the Auca treatment of Jim Eliot for a peek at the "noble savage."

Maning's experience and sympathetic writing of the "good old times" of the Maori culture stretches the mind to wonder just how anybody could live they way they did, and how any modern could possibly kvetch at Christian missionaries "for not respecting native customs."

How many murders of innocent children is the "right number" that the missionaries should have approved? How much foot-binding in China is good? How many widows should be burned in India with "Suttee?" How many people are the right number to have their hearts cut out while still alive to make sure the sun will rise in Mexico? (Does the Modern really believe that number is above zero? What if HE is the one?) Is Cortez really to be despised for putting an end to the ritual murder (and consumption) of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of innocent people each year?

If Maning put legs under my respect for Christians who brought the concepts of mercy and justice to benighted people, the review by Jacques Coulardeau put a centipede's legs under my belief that moderns---in their general rejection of Christianity, especially Catholicism---have let their animus blind themselves to a simple reading of history.

Of course I've heard the claim that more people have been killed in the name of religion than all other causes. And, if one will agree that Communism is a religion (answering man's deepest questions), albeit a godless religion, than I must agree. The Communists certainly killed more people in the 20th Century than all the "religious wars" of the prior 1.9 millennia.

Back to Coulardeau. He writes, "With the musket everything changed. It was necessary, for it being used in best conditions, for the Maoris to move their forts and villages to the lowlands. This made them live in swamps, in very unhealthy territories. Their wars were changed, some of their customs were also changed and their habitat was changed. This last element caused the propagation of serious diseases among the population, causing its reduction over a few decades. This book is thus a perfect testimony about the changes colonialization brought to those populations, those people who some like to describe as primitive."

Well, yes and no. What Coulardeau left out is that Maning described the need to move from the forts on the hills to the swamps near their crops was their survival need to get muskets, and they way they could get trade goods was from their farms (e.g., growing flax). What Coulardeau leaves out is the sad reason they needed muskets to defend themselves is that in this "primitive" (nay, let's call it SAVAGE) society. That sad reason is that they believed "might made right."

Simply put, pre-Christian Maoris considered quite OK, even admirable, for any man or group to murder and pillage any other man or group if strong enough to pull it off.

Viking raiders had the same opinion when they "went shopping" in England. In their society, it was morally right to swoop in, kill and plunder those who had eked out a living on the land. Imagine the Hatfields and McCoys running total amuck with revenge, murder, and even eating each other. Would any Modern admire THAT as a wee cultural pecadillo?

Today's Maori do not live in constant dread of an individual or marauding gang appearing at any time holding the belief that they have every right to "harvest" the possessions and even the flesh of their neighbors.

We Americans so respect the caribou that migrate twice each season for their economic benefit that we built parts of the Alaskan pipeline underground to preserve their travel patterns.

Cannot we extend to the English a similar respect vis a vis Australia or New Zealand? French, Spanish, Dutch, Irish, Scots, English, Italians, Germans, Russians, Norse, Greeks, Pakistanis, Sihks, Gujratis, and Mexicans who move to the USA? Or Americans themselves, such as Daniel Boone, who moved "out west" to have a little more room, or Mormons who moved for a more peaceful clime than Nauvoo, Ill.?

I think we should respect them when they did it peacefully. When they acted like Hitler looking for "lebensraum" or Maoris looking for plunder, we must chasten them. Why? Because they are not being "good Christians." The best Christians, e.g. Jogues and Elliot, were utterly peaceful. Cortez and many others fell short, yes, of the CHRISTIAN ideal. The Maoris, however, had no such ideals.

In modern times, nobody ever say Stalin was a "bad atheist." You might call him a "bad man," but when you do you're smuggling in from Christianity your very definition of good and bad.

Modernists! Admit your source for your belief in right and wrong: It emerged from Christianity not pond slime.

F.E. Maning was one of those Englismen who arrived in New Zealand before its being integrated in the British Empire. He became a Pakeha Maori, the personal « property » of a Maori chief, trading with his tribe in many articles particularly muskets and gunpowder. The book is interesting because it describes the Maori civlization before its being completely destroyed by colonialization. But it is of great interest in its showing the direct influence of European culture, particularly of the musket, on the fate of the Maoris from the very start of the European presence. Before, this warlike people was living in forts positioned on hilltops and on cliffs, that is to say in dry and healthy places. Only their agriculture was concerned by the low lands that were cultivated. This location of the forts and villages was perfectly well adapted to the use of the spear to defend them. With the musket everything changed. It was necessary, for it being used in best conditions, for the Maoris to move their forts and villages to the lowlands. This made them live in swamps, in very unhealthy territories. Their wars were changed, some of their customs were also changed and their habitat was changed. This last element caused the propagation of serious diseases among the population, causing its reduction over a few decades. This book is thus a perfect testimony about the changes colonialization brought to those populations, those people who some like to describe as primitive.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

At last the Pacific islands are beginning to take their rightful place in the annals of world history. It is this book that takes a major step to establish that historical perspective.

The Pacific islands are dispersed across one-third of the Earth's surface. All the major island groups have been inhabited for the last two thousand years, some for more than six thousand years, yet a detailed prehistory of the region has been lacking until now. This book, written by a noted Pacific anthropologist and archaeologist who has studied the area for more than thirty years, takes a tour of the diverse islands of the Pacific, beginning in the west in Melanesia, then across the many small islands of Micronesia. The tour concludes in the sprawling area covered by the islands of Polynesia, which extend from New Zealand to Hawai'i and eastward as far as Easter Island. Along the way, the author conveys the personal drama that he experienced in uncovering artifacts that reach back into a deep time. At one place he unearthed a small piece of carved white bone. When he turned it over, he saw the two eyes and the subtle nose of a stylized human face. On another island, while enjoying a beach picnic with his host family, spearing octopus and gathering mollusks, the author took a walk along the beach and discovered, a short distance from where they were camped, a distinct rock layer filled with pottery fragments. Those fragments would prove to be a record of people who had lived on the island more than two thousand years earlier. This book is both a personal narrative of modern-day exploration of the Pacific and an account of the rich prehistory of the region.

The book draws generously from the detailed archaeological work conducted by the author and by others in the Pacific region--most of it done since the Second World War--as well as from studies of language and biology that answer such fundamental questions as where did the Pacific islanders come from and when and how did they settle the thousands of islands at least two millenia before any Europeans entered the Pacific? To most people, the Pacific islands are no more than a place of idyllic scenery and the people of the Pacific are the willing subjects of fanciful tales. Now, through the enlightening text of this book and the many striking photographs that it contains, the Pacific islands take on a fuller meaning. And the many cultures of the Pacific take their proper place in the remarkable story of the development of civilization.

The pacific islands and people who inhabit them have long been viewed as seperate, isolated and somehow different from the rest of the world's civilizations. Patrick Kirch takes this view into contest in this revolutionizing book on the pre-history of Oceania.

He collects a myraid of information about life in the islands before European contact and strives to present it, not as isolated bits of evidence, but as pieces of a cohesive whole. These pieces can be fit together to give a greater understanding of the culture of Pacific Islanders and help place them as an intricate portion of humanities story, not as a group of people untouched and unrelated to the rest of the world.

Kirch shows that the culture and past of the people who came to inhabite the islands of the pacific are unique. But, he also contends that Pacific Islanders do have an important place in the story of humanities past as well as our future. By writing On the Road of the Winds, Kirch has helped make sure that this story gets told.

Both a great reference and a lovely coffee-table book. I gave two to my advisors as graduation thank-you gifts and they were delighted.

The book is a great reference data base of the fascinating Australian orchid flora. Although 'only' a choice of 150 out of some 1200 Australian species is shown this book gives a good impression of what an orchid friend may expect from the Orchidaceae of this continent. Both terrestial and epiphytic species are included. The plants are shown in alphabetical order of the genus, with the species in chronological order of scientific description.

John Riley's drawings of the species are most skillful and combine botanical accuracy with a highly esthetic standard. Every illustration is a masterpiece, showing the plant entirely and its parts in adequate magnification. Thus the reader gets an impression of the plant which is very close to the real view. The presentation of anatomical details allows to identify closely related species. This is useful feature especially in the case of a number of very similar species, for instance within the genus Pterostylis. I have seen several species myself in natura and I can confirm that such a drawing gives more visual information about the plants than a photo often can.

Additional information about the species is given in the accompanying text. It contains data about the distribution, the typical habitat and the state of endangerment. David Banks' text is concise and testifies a great competence in this field.

In summary this book can be recommended all orchid friends. And I hope that the authors will have the time and opportunity to publish some additional volumes of their magnificent work to deliver insight of their intriguing orchid flora to all interested people inside and outside of Australia.

I bought this book to learn more about the primal religious practices of the Aboriginal people. I got more than I bargained for. What I found was a comprehensive study of "The Original Australians," from their migration to the continent 40,000-50,000 years ago, to the present.

Flood's work is thorough, analytical, well-researched and unbiased. She obviously loves the indigenous people of whom she writes, yet she does not patronize them or romanticize their history or their plight.

Neither does she condemn the English, who first colonized "New Holland," or the Australian government, who enacted laws that forever changed the course of Aboriginal life.

Flood proves to be both a scholar, who honestly reports the facts, and a compassionate human, who cares deeply for the objects of her research.

I recommend this book highly. Where other books on Aboriginals tend to be anecdotal in nature, Flood's book is meaty, yet digestible; objective, yet heartfelt. It'll stimulate your mind and touch your heart.

Ms Flood has set herself the challenge of avoiding the political diktat of our times and trying to give an honest and thorough account of what aboriginal culture and life was like at the time of first contact with whites and following. my own interest is to look at a 50,000 year old culture - the oldest on earth - as the human roots of us all, and learn more about the basics of being human. it should come as no surprise to any sensible and honest person, that the picture is one of violence, mistreatment of all who are physically weaker, especially women. there is also a harsh lesson on the fruits of supernatural belief insisting on no change, no innovation, no learning, no progress. isolation and stasis bear terrible fruits.

Australian Aboriginal art is gaining international recognition, and rightly so. It is an art form driven by the culture of the artsists, and this book covers the traditional works of desert Australia, and also touches on more the more contemporary works of urban dwellers. These works are vibrant and alive, and the illustrations do justice to the richness of the work. The accompanying text is detailed and authoritative.

If you are interested in the art works of other cultures, or even art in its broadest sense, you will find many of the works presented in this volume to be quite different, even provocative. Others are as spectacular as any landscape known to the Western world.

This is an excellent introduction to a complex topic, and a worthy addition to any library.

This book was recently reviewed on the Sunday Arts program on ABC television in Australia. The book presents an authoratitive overview of the origins and development of Aboriginal Art and Culture in Australia.

It presents information in an easy to read format with enough detail to satisify most readers. It even includes sections on contemporary Aboriginal artists including Lin Onus. There are many colour illustrations of artwork to illustrate the narrative text.

A must have book for those interested in the history and contemporary state of Aboriginal Art and Culture in Australia.

This book provides introductions to a wide variety of topics in Australian history. It has been edited by three of the most eminent Australian academic historians and many of the entries have been written by experts in their respective fields. The entries themselves deal with events, people, noted historians and current issues in Australian historiography.

"The Oxford Companion to Australian History," revised edition, is edited by Graeme Davison, John Hirst, and Stuart Macintyre. More than 700 pages long, the book is full of alphabetically organized articles. The book's preface notes that the articles range in length from 100 to 2000 words.

The "Companion" is truly vast in scope. Subjects covered include Aboriginal topics (art, history, languages, etc.); people (opera singer Harold Blair, Olympic athlete Betty Cuthbert, suffragist Alice Henry, etc.); cities (Adelaide, Hobart, etc.); newspapers (the "Argus" of Melbourne, the "Canberra Times," etc.); religious bodies and movements (the Uniting Church, etc.); important events (the Cape Grim massacre, the Castle Hill Rising, etc.); political parties; various ethnic groups in Australia, and more.

I particularly appreciated the entries on Australian colloquial terms like "Pommy" and "reffo." There are also many articles that address certain big topics in Australian context: agriculture, censorship, feminism, the film industry, literature, social justice, etc. And interspersed throughout are entries on many other interesting topics: the Bunyip (a mythic animal), convict history, "Waltzing Matilda" (a song), Internet resources, pubs, Vegemite (a food), etc.

Also included: maps, a useful subject index, and a 9-page directory of the book's many contributors. Many bibliographic references are incorporated into the individual entries, making this a good starting place for more in-depth reading on particular topics. The "Companion" is an achievement as big and colorful as Australia itself. While this book is certainly a logical choice for the reference section of any good library, it's also a good book for any individual with an interest in or love for Australia.

This is undoubtedly the best analysis of the High Court of Australia ever compiled. It is easy to use, being fully indexed, and it covers every aspect of the court from biographical details of Judges to analysis of important decisions. It is a great mixture of history and information.

The individual entries have been written by eminent judges, jurists and lawyers in Australia. It was edited by 3 of the most well regarded legal academics in Australian history and is a terrific reference source. I can recommend it to anyone with an interest or need to look in detail at the Australian legal system. There is no other work with such detail and information in one volume.

This volume represents the most comprehensive bank of information on the High Court to date. With no less than 800 pages dedicated to the various aspects of the Court's history, personalities and institutional structures, it is a must-own for the students of the High Court.

The book is organized encyclopedia-style, with entries arranged alphabetically from the AAP Case (1975) to Ziems v. Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of NSW (1957). The entries are contributed by various Australian legal scholars, and cover a very wide range of interests. My personal favorite entry is the one on 'Jurimetrics' by Tony Blackshield.

Despite the hefty price tag (to match such a hefty book), this is one book that is well worth owning. Toting it around may give me permanent back problems, but I'm willing to risk it.

The Pacific Ocean is Earth's largest single feature and covers a third of the planet's surface. But photographer Peter Hendrie has found inspiration enough to add a whole new dimension to the beauty and power of its landscape and the richness of its cultures. It's a dimension that allows him to transform landscape and lifestyle from the merely pictorial to a vibrant experience of the Pacific legend. His pictures capture the piquancy of the moment the image was taken,prompting envy of the photographer's vision plus a valuable insight into how to read such evocative images. No other places on Earth possess the enduring magic of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, and Hendrie powerfully reinforces their merger of romance and reality.
I rate Pacific Journeys - 5/5

The Pacific Ocean is Earth's single largest feature and covers a third of its surface. But photographer Peter Hendrie has found inspiration enough to apply a whole new dimension to the beauty and power of its panorama and the richness of its cultures. It is a dimension that allows him to transform landscape and lifestyle from the purely pictorial to a vibrant experience of the Pacific legend. His images possess the piquancy of the very moments he captured them, prompting an envy of his vision and a thoroughly-satisfying lesson in how to read evocative images. Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia have no equals when it comes to enduring magic, and Hendrie brilliantly reinforces their unique merger of romance and reality.
I rate Pacific Journeys - 5/5

This is one of those rare academic books that has much to say to the general reader as well. The images are both beautiful and disturbing. I never before realized just how outsiders viewed women of the Pacific regions... once you see it, though, you'll always be aware of it. Dr. O'Brien has written a powerful and important book.

The general reader with an interest in women's studies, history or anthropology will find O'Brien's book, as I did, a well researched and thoroughly intriguing study of Pacific women's lives since the earliest voyages of discovery. The colonial stereotypes of the exotic Pacific woman are analyzed in a contemporary perspective from the viewpoints of art, literature, film and journals of the explorers and missionaries. This book opened my eyes to the facts that since the 1500's women of the Pacific have been romanticized, educated by missionaries, used, abused and sexually exploited for the advantage of the colonial powers.This is a "must read" for understanding the myth of "The Pacific Muse". It opens another window for understanding women's lives for those of us lacking background of Pacific history during this period.

I read this book before I was assigned to the United States Embassy as the political officer. I read it again after one year in the country, and kept refering to sections for my entire tour. The most recent edition is an indispensible primer on PNG politics and economics. Sean...we need an updated version!

Unusually entertaining and easy-to-read for a book used by many universities as a text on Papua New Guinea. Contains a wealth of historical facts, economic statistics and keen insights into the people and politics of Papua New Guinea, including many amusing anecdotes from the author's experiences. Though written and published some years ago, it is interesting to note the accuracy of many of the author's predictions as verified by the recent political turmoil in PNG over the Sandline mercenary affair. I thoroughly recommend this book for anyone wishing to know more about the complex and sometimes confusing political and cultural scene of Papua New Guinea.