Australia Books

Herb Kawainui Kane (pronounced KAH-ney) is a master artist, voyaging canoe designer, and Hokule`a captain. He is also author of Ancient Hawaii, a visual extravaganza of his vision, based on research and his artistic interpretation, of the life and times of pre- and post-contact Hawaiians.

Kane writes: "Without writing, kahuna were the living libraries of the old culture, preserving knowledge in trained memories. Some feats of memory seem incredible today. The story of Kamapua1a required sixteen hours of word-perfect recitation. Some temple invocations, we are told, in which any mistake would break the power of the words, required two days to deliver. Early Christian missionaries were astonished to find among their converts some who could recite entire books from the Bible soon after learning to read. Knowledge kept in living memories and shared only among a select few is extremely fragile, which helps explain why so much has been lost. One epidemic of an introduced disease could wipe out the masters of a guild, and with them knowledge accumulated over millennia. Disenfranchised in 1819 and subsequently condemned by Christian missionaries as sorcerers and witch doctors, their veil of secrecy became their shroud" (p. 40).

Given the reduction of the Hawaiian population from a high of over 800,000 to only 40,000 in a hundred years, Kane's hypothesis explains a great deal.

"Much that we would like to know about them has been lost by the impact of Western ways as well as their own customs of secrecy. Much of what remains is tantalizingly indistinct, blurred through the lens of our modern vision, distorted by the fantasies and embellishments all peoples invent about their pasts" (p. 7). I think Kane would admit that his personal fantasies affect him as well, with his depictions of ancient life in his paintings, noble and proud. Regardless, his paintings are magnificent, and they are well integrated into his text.

Ancient Hawaii is a nice addition to the secondary literature on Hawaii's history. For the price, it is probably the best bargain around.

Liked the story. LOVED the artwork. If you're only going to have one book on Hawaii's history, then make it this one.

This compendium of beauty and history will be enjoyed and cherished by all ages. Children will revel in the wonderfully intricate paintings of Kane. He is able to express the baeauty and unique culture of his people. His descriptions and historical information truly shows his love for the islands and of all things kanaka. I reccomemend this to anyone interested in a loving people.

I bought this book to be able to describe ancient Polynesian life. The photos are treasure troves of information. The text is almost secondary, even if it is right on track. Well worth the cost if only for the beauty of the prints. Did I say the pictures were pretty?

Before the grand hotels and resorts, before crowded beaches, before paved roads and cars... there was sacred Hawai'i of old.

Herb Kawainui Kane allows you through his words and mostly through his artwork to revisited old Hawai'i in its truest and purist form. It's a visual journey that details even the smallest things. Herb Kane does an excellent job at retelling a story almost forgotten... a spiritual and emotional journey experienced by all but so often unexplained until now.

Hawai'i was and is still a magical place and Herb Kane's work shows that better than most any other artist I've seen in Hawai'i. Herb's work allows you to take a differant kind of trip to paradise... the one that existed and flourished for a thousand years before discovery by Captain Cook.

Wow! This book by Jean-Michel Cousteau & Mose Richards is amazing! The 120 full color photographs in here are some of the best i have ever seen. Truly breathtaking pictures of this awesome predator. This book chronicles the Cousteau team's extensive two-and-a-half years study of the great white shark at Dangerous Reef, Australia. After attracting the sharks, the research team would observe the sharks behavior underwater in specially built stainless steel cages and one made of Luxon(a clear, bulletproof plastic). They would then tag them and attach transmitters to follow their movements and patterns. A new understanding emerges of the great white and it's lonely, lifelong hunt for food.

Cousteau has truly captured my mind and allowed it to wander through the amazing pages of his book, COUSTEAU'S GREAT WHITE SHARK. I started adoring sharks at age 3, and have always dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. Cousteau has wonderfully made it possible for me to go after my dream without any worries. His book is truly inspirational and gracious. Thank you Jean-Michel!

This book is fascinating. What most do not know is that Mose Richards wrote this entire book, while Cousteau supplied the inspiration and pictures. This book has excellent writing and fabulous photography. An excellent read. Props to the author, Mose Richards!

For surviving for 400 million years. For refusing to submit yourself to mankind's aquariums and corporate SeaWorlds. For never allowing your secrets of mating or birth to become known to the prying eyes of man. For not even leaving a skeleton for science to attempt to examine. For being the Master of the Seas, without even using mechanical aids to assist you, like we, the Humans, the Wimps, the Know-Nothings, the Arrogant Pestilence of the World must resort to to even attempt to conquer you. Keep fighting, Terrible, Beautiful Lordly Ones. We offer you humble, unworthy obeisance in the form of this book, under the aegis of your most dutiful admirer, Jacques Cousteau, Poseidon rest his soul. Never has your grace nor your fearful symmetry appeared to such great advantage. Keep cruising. May your fins glide through the oceans long after the peasants have ceased to crawl upon the earth--or dared to trawl upon the waters!

A very informative book about the great white. The photos are amazing. This Shark is one of the most interesting animals alive. A real predator.

Travelling with Michael is to say the least exhilarating, fun, adventurous and a journey of discovery. While many can only dream of actually making the trip, Michael Palins' books are the next best thing. It's not just where he goes, but how he does it and perhaps most importantly: seeing it through his mind's eye, which needless to say can make humor out of nothingness. All you need is to relax and have the urge to increase your imagination. A wild but educative ride!

Michael Palin does it again with Full Circle. Starting in Alaska Michael travels anti-clockwise around the rim of the Pacific Ocean visiting countries as diverse as Russia, Korea, Viet Nam, New Zealand, Colombia and the west coast of North American. He tells of his adventures getting to and exploring some fantastic natural wonders, visiting a Russian gulag with a former inmate, the relief of Japan, the Vietnamese reactions to a westerner, the biggness of Australia and the hardworking people of South America. The section on the United States is short and not always sweet. Palin is taken aback by the physical bigness of Americans, and rush, and loudness. By the time he reaches Canada and attends a "lumberjack" fair (no singing Mounties included!) he really "wants to go home". We also learn a bit about how the series and book were produced, his wife Helen and their children, and that being on a job for the BBC doesn't always mean smooth sailing! Michael's friend Basil Pao took the photographs - he also joined Michael on "Around the World in Eighty Days". I can highly recommend this book and not only to fans of Monty Python - it doesn't end how you might expect!

As always Palin has produced a great travel book and series... this I found better than his "80 Days". The other thing people might find interesting about this travel book is that it takes us to some places which are hard to reach even in this day and age, so this is the only way we can know them.

Also suggested- "Hemingway Adventure"

Full Circle is just as good, if not better then his othertravel/comedy books. It is simply magnificent.

I've seen the 10-part Full Circle tv series, and I had a serious addiction from the start. When it ended, I went through a withdrawl period. I silently rocked myself in a chair in my room repeating "I must get the book,... must find book...must read book." I've got it now and I'm back on a Full Circle high. The book goes into details that they never had time for on the series. It tells you everything that you would have noticed had you been in Japan or Australia or Chile.

Ahh... I can imagine myself right now on the streets of China getting a massage from a blind man.

Which book was Dr. Heller & wife promoting on Oprah's show? (so I'll know which one to order) I didn't see entire show , but what I did see was informative & INTERESTING.

I picked up this book while browsing in a bookstore and it changed my life. I started at 153 pounds and my goal weight was 118. I weighed 116 this morning. And I have more energy, am more mentally alert and upbeat than I ever have been. The book is very motivational. The rules and guidelines for the diet are spread throughout the book so you must read all before starting. Only criticisms are that it's wordy and most of the recipes are bland, but I believe it's the best of all the books the Heller's have written.

I picked up this book while browsing in a bookstore and it changed my life. I started at 153 pounds and my goal weight was 118. I weighed 116 this morning. And I have more energy, am more mentally alert and upbeat than I ever have been. The book is very motivational. The rules and guidelines for the diet are spread throughout the book so you must read all before starting. Only criticisms are that it's wordy and most of the recipes are bland, but I believe it's the best of all the books the Hellers have written.

When I began driving a truck I gained 30 pounds in the 1st month. Fortunately I found this book and re-learned how to eat. Doing this diet right is not the easiest thing, breaking food addiction is seldom easy, but if you read this book it will be easier to make happen. I've lost those 30 pounds and more, landing at an ideal wieght that I've never imagined being at again. Good luck, use this book - it's a great resource. Follow where it leads.

This is an excellent, simply written, but well researched, book on the dangers of bad carbs. I found it extremely enlightening and wondered if it was more than coincidental that Dr. Barry Sears, writes in an amazingly similar vein, in his book "Enter The Zone". It seems that more and more scientists, and doctors, are discovering that we suffer from an overabundance of bad carbs in our eating, and it's also imbalanced versus protein and fat intake.I would heartily recommend this book, and for more scientific corroborative data read "Enter the Zone". Combine this with the sensible exercise program outlined in "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips of EAS Inc., and you will do yourself a very large favour.

A wonderfully crafted autobiography. Honest and personal, Geldof puts the first half of his life under the microscope and you grow to love him for his warts and scars.
A riveting book especially for those who recall the music of his era. You will laugh and you may cry even if it is only because the book ends years short of the present day.

This book is one of those books that will renew your faith in the ability of normal people to change the world for the better. It is also hilarious and a great read!

I don't usually read biographies books but this one is a very good one

It's severly dated by today's standards, but what an excellent read, all the same. I look at it as the music industry version of Julia Phillips "You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again". Biting with sardonic wit, lots of muck-raking (most of it spot-on), and just a wee bit 'o' honesty.

How much of it is true, we'll never know. But the essential bits (the inception of the Boomtown Rats, their immersion into the music scene, other bands, Live Aid, etc.) are required reading for anybody who gives a damn about the music industry. There's loads of comedy as well as pathos, as well as some of the greatest quotes I've ever read in an autobiography.

If you can still find a copy, it's well worth owning.

Bob Geldof's book is a stunning odyssey into the mind of a rock star. he also happens to be a philanthropist who can teach a thing or two to the best of them. the man behind `live aid' not only collected hundreds of millions out of a telethon for africa's famine victims, but made sure they reached the right hands. his forthright language and no-holds-barred style are refreshing. if you must read an autobiography of a rock star, read this one.

Eric Newby, who died in 2006 at the age of 86, was an adventurer and gifted travel writer who chronicled his experiences in several books that reflect his curiosity and research about the world as well as his shrewd and often very hilarious observations of humans making their way in it. Originally published in 1956, THE LAST GRAIN RACE could be called memoir, but Newby recreates his apprenticeship aboard one of the last mercantile sailboats on the eve of World War II via his diaries, claptrap memory and research, creating an airtight world with immediacy. There is no sense of retrospect, distance of time or hindsight in the narrative.

Newby was 18 when he went to sea in 1938 on a barque owned by a Scandinavian shipping firm. Before World War II, it was still economical to deploy a commercial fleet of these behemoths around the world to scoop up grain crops from Australia for the European market. When his job at an advertising agency (hilarious) was threatened by lay-offs, he indulged the youthful romance of life at sea stoked by a girlfriend's naval father and signed up with the Erikson firm's ship, Moshulu. He kitted up grandly, found a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk. Immediately aboard ship, he learned that a lot of the work centered about scaling those tall masts, cleaning the "restrooms" and repelling off the side to scrape rust. He was the only Englishman among Scandinavians and Germans who were decidedly not of the Louis Vuitton school. Newby's character sketches are priceless and he captures the hybrid vernacular so well that by the end of the book, the reader knows as much as he learned. The book is loaded with technical information about the boat and its mission, but also with accounts of dramatic storms, bedbug plagues or occasional leisurely pursuits like capturing an albatross just to measure its wingspan. I purchased a used original UK Reader's Union edition (think Book of the Month Club) that usefully had a detailed illustration inside the back cover and a world map inside the front, with the journey dated and marked off.

Infrequently, news of the outside world drifted to the ship via a radio signal from a distant land. It is not good news, but at sea they can mostly ignore it. Like the Pequod in MOBY DICK, the Moshulu was its own complete world. That's the beauty of this book: it captures a fully evolved culture that would suddenly disappear a year later. When Moshulu unexpectedly returned first among the fleet, Newby packed it in. He had lived a lifetime and grown up in under a year. The next time the boat went out, it returned to the waiting Germans. Afterwards, it turned up in a future where commercial sailing ships were no longer competitive. Sic transit gloria mundi.

If you want some relaxing summer reading and if you like the sea by all means get this book. Eric Newby was an 18 year old kid who, with family approval, signed on as an appentice before the mast on the Finnish owned barque Moshulu in the fall of 1938 for a nine month sail from Queensown to Port Victoria in Southern Australia and return. The Moshulu was a steel sailing vessel, built in Sweden in 1905, 3,600 gross tons, 360 feet at the waterline, three masted ship-rigged with her main mast topping out at 198 feet at the cap. She could carry 4,800 tons of wheat - and did, setting the record of 92 days for her return voyage eastward round Cape Horn. (Her outbound voyge had beeen around the Cape of Good Hope)

Newby went on to become a rather prosperous clothier in London but was better known for his travel writing till his death last year (2006) at the age of 86. I had read his "Travels in the Hindu Kush" years ago and put him down as a kind of smart alek and I had also read the paperback of this book published by Penguin in 1971 but had not appreciated it till I got it down from my shelf of sea stories last week and read it again. He's a dmaned fine writer here and I take back what I said about him being a smart alek. His description of life at sea and the sea iself is as good as anything I've ever read; and you will enjoy it. For those who like sailing ships there's a lot of technical detail about rigging, watch-standing etc. and you can skip this and read about a storm at sea if you want but if you wade through the technical stuff you will be amazed at what you learn. I strongly recommend the whole thing to you.

I was ready to drive from Seattle to San Francisco when I stopped at the library for some road music and a book on tape. This particular day, I found a jewel by one of the greats, Eric Newby's "The Last Grain Race". Eric Newby has done so much, and has been so many places that it boggles the mind. This book chronicles the beginning of his life as a true adventurer, when on the eve of WWII, he shipped out as a complete novice seaman on one of the largest sailing vessels ever built, bound for Australia and back.
Though I've been reading his books for 20 years, for some reason I'd never run across "The Last Grain Race", and for well over 1000 miles I listened to the reading of this book, and when I got to Portland on my return leg, my first stop was at Powell Books to grab a hard copy of the book.
This is one of the finest books I've ever read. I was going to say "seafaring books", but that is too restrictive.
Eric Newby's commentary and sense of humor are first-rate, like always. While listening, and while reading, I was transported by this book. The conditions seem indescribable, but Newby succeeds in describing them, and paints cold, wet portraits of the days and nights in the rigging and the foc'sle of the barque "Moshulu". I subsequently found a book of the photographs of this voyage, Newby's "Learning The Ropes", which gives us faces to the cast of "Great Grain Race".
Old friends of my youth came to visit while I was engrossed in this book, Sterling Hayden's "Voyage", the film "Windjammer", and the loss of the sailing ship "Pamir" in the late 1950's. The "Moshulu" survives today, as a restaurant ship in Philadelphia, but she was interned on Lake Union in my hometown of Seattle during WWI, and her consort, the "Monongahela" was the last tall ship to pass under the George Washington (Aurora) Bridge before it was closed to tall-masted ships.
An interesting sidelight: While recently rewatching "Godfather II", I noticed that in the scene where young Vito Andolini (Corleone) arrives in New York, the ship he's on is the "Moshulu".
Eric Newby is one of a kind. Now that he is gone we'll never see his like again.

Unfortunately the unappealingly named "The Last Great Grain Race" might be left on the bookshelf if it were not for its companion volume of photographs more appropriately titled "Learning The Ropes; An Apprentice on the Last of the Windjammers," both by Eric Newby. Oddly these volumes were issued over forty years apart, Grain Race in 1956 and Ropes in 1999. (A recent volume of Grain Race was reissued in 1999, possibly to take advantage of the pictorial release.)

After a brief stint as an office clerk, Newby at eighteen signed on as an apprentice seaman for an around the world cargo voyage, with no nautical experience or skills other than a careful eye and superb memory for detail. "The Last Great Grain Race" is the story of one of the last four-masted barques, which in 1938 sailed from Ireland to Australia to pick up a cargo of grain and return to Ireland, a voyage which would take nine months. Ultimately it was to become the last voyage in such a vessel, as the impending war would change the world forever. We are fortunate that Newby was along to document the voyage. We are equally appreciative of his thoughtfulness in bringing his camera, as "Learning the Ropes" is the superb photo essay of this journey.

Newby apparently was a very skilled photographer. Oddly, he only briefly mentions his possession of a camera in "The Last Great Grain Race." He never lets on that his is so actively chronicling events and shipmates throughout the voyage. Though Newby does an excellent job describing what is like to climb aloft in all kinds of weather, the black and white photographs take the reader aloft as well and provide the narrative even with more impact and grace.

The crew is as varied and colorful as one might expect the conditions are harsh and oftentimes dangerous; the work is unrelenting, demanding and dangerous in its own right. Newby works alongside seasoned veterans and never shirks.

Grain Race however does have its limitations. There is a tremendous amount of technical detail that can often leave the reader literally at sea. For example "There were still the sheets of the topmast staysails to be shifted over the stays and sheeted home, the main and mizzen courses to be reset, and the yards trimmed to the Mate's satisfaction with the brace whips." Newby does provide a graphic of the sail plan and running rigging (79 reference points), but these are only of marginal assistance.

Another shortcoming is the language barrier Newby faces. This is a Finnish crew and commands are rarely given in English. Newby and the reader often have to work out the language; if the reader misses the first context or explanation then subsequent uses of the terminology will be lost, a glossary might have helped here. Newby does faithfully record dialects especially when he is being spoken to in occasionally recognizable English and these dialogues are often amusingly recounted.

Eric Newby should seriously consider issuing both in a single volume and one has to wonder why this wasn't done when Grain Race was first issued or at least when "Learning the Ropes" was released a couple of years ago. It is interesting to speculate on the length of time between the original release of Grain Race and the very vivid and informative photographs. Regardless it was worth the wait.

Grain Race the narrative and Grain Race the photographs make for an enjoyable double read.

In 1938 Eric Newby was eighteen years old. He left a dead end job with an advertising agency in London and signed as an apprentice seaman on the four-masted sailing ship Moshulu for a trip to bring back a shipload of grain from Australia. Moshulu was one of a dozen sailing ships still engaged in the grain trade and the 1938 trip was destined to be the last of the merchant sailing era.

Newby is undeservedly less well known than other writers who have imitated him. His books, "A Small Place in Italy, "On the Shores of the Mediterranean" and "The Big Red Train Ride" have been imitated by other authors. His writing style is spare and matter-of-fact; he doesn't try to impress the reader with overblown prose instead letting the facts speak for themselves without florid editorial comment.

There's a funny account a trick played by the Belfast stevedores on the sailors of Moshulu. Among the tons of rocks loaded into the hold were two dead dogs. The decomposing dog carcasses fill the ship's hold with an overpowering odor that plagues the men as they dump out the ballast and load the grain months later off the shore of Adelaide.

The Last Grain Race goes into great detail describing the operation of a sailing ship, complete with obscure jargon names for the sails and rigging. Newby seems to have been working too hard on the trip to completely enjoy and appreciate it. The books gives a glimpse at a lost world of merchant sailing ships and the quiet life of sailors at sea, now exchanged for sparsely manned giant container ships crossing vast oceans in a matter of days.

Moshulu returns to Queenstown, Ireland on June 10, 1939 after a pace-setting 91-day passage by war of Cape Horn. It had taken 8 months for a round-trip in which Moshulu brought 4,875 tons of grain from Australia to Ireland. Newby leaves the ship a full-fledged Ordinary Seaman. World War II will start in a few months and obliterate the peaceful world of merchant sailing ships.

The work of Dr Robert D. Ballard knows no bounds and is truly inspirational to those of us who read of his exploits and seek to emulate his standards with much lesser shipwrecks.

Once again, just as soon as I took delivery of "The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal" I knew I had a 5 Star Book in my hands and, once again, I found nothing within it's 220 pages to make me take away any of those stars.

This book will stand the test of time as a literary work and outstanding account of one of the major naval battle zones of the Pacific in WW2. There are modern photographs including a number taken from the air, historic photographs (American, Australian, Japanese and local) of the places, the personalities, the ships, aircraft and soldiers, some incredible paintings of the night actions that took place, pictures of Ballard's crew as they go about their work and his advanced equipment being deployed and used. There is also a picture of a very young John F. Kennedy in his PT-109.

The first underwater pictures are enough to make the heart stop for just a moment as you realise this man Ballard has done it again - not once, but in this case several times. Commencing with the 9,850 ton Heavy Cruiser HMAS Canberra (the "A" stands for Australian) we no sooner see the first underwater photographs of this once magnificent ship - which went down fight in the opening minutes of the Battle of Savo Island, then we turn the page to find a 3-page open-out spread of Ken Marschall's painting of the entire wreck.

On the opposite side of that 3 page spread is another equally outstanding painting of USS Quincy followed by her own set of underwater photographs. As the story of Guadalcanal continues, so we find more details of US and Japanese successes and losses and the trials and tribulations endured by the forces of both sides as the author carefully draws us towards that part in the overall series of battles that will bring us to his next discovery and Ken Marschall's next incredible painting - the USS Monssen.

With more underwater photographs of yet more of the "Lost Ships of Guadalcanal," and yet more paintings by Ken Marschall, the author skilfully brings the reader both to the end of the series of battles and to the end of his own journey of discovery. Whilst not one of the greatest works of art within the book, one of my favourite paintings is found on p.200. This is an aerial picture of the entire area called "Iron Bottom Sound" - painted as though the water had been removed and showing the location of no fewer than 13 warships, one aircraft and two beached freighters. As part of the caption states ".... that makes this one of the greatest submarine battlefields." Yes it is, and in this book it was all brought back to life by Dr Robert D. Ballard.

An excellent book by any standards.

NM

I will say that like most of Ballard's books this is nicely laid out; good sized and with excellent photographs & drawings.

Most of the book is taken up by short histories of the various battles that make up the 'Guadalcanal Campaign.' This didn't leave much room for the exploration of the wrecks themselves which gives you a rather rushed feeling despite the good background history.

Perhaps this would have been even better as an expanded two volume set.

The title above is what my great-uncle inscribed on the inside cover of this book. He is the Tommy Morris whose story is told in the pages of this book. Like many more famous sailors and soldiers, Uncle Tommy (who died only two weeks ago after a long decline, for those readers who might be interested)used to tell me and my grandfather (Tommy's brother) that it was impossible for him to think of people as "civilized" having seen how we turn our new discoveries and technology so easily to the unhappy task of killing each other. He also said to me once that his role in the Quincy sinking was that of a "damsel in distress".. which description was follwed by that sort of masculing deep-seated chuckle which only come forth from heroic men who have seen hell on earth.

I am biased, but I wer I not, I would still think this an excellent book!

Gary Morris

Dr. Bob Ballard discovered the Titanic in the mid 1980's using cutting-edge underwater technology. For this book, he turned that skill and knowledge to lead an expedition to examine the wrecks of one of the bloodiest naval battles of World War II, one so full of death and destruction that veterans of the battle gave the waters of Gualdalcanal the nickname of "Iron Bottom Sound" because of the number of ships and aircraft that lay underwater. Guadalcanal was the linchpin of American and Japanese military strategy for control of the south Pacific islands. The Americans controlled the airfield, but the Japanese controlled the island and the waters around it. The Japanese couldn't resupply its army because of attacks to its freighters by Allied aircraft and the Americans couldn't resupply its airfield because of attacks to its fleet of ships. In one single battle in the pitch-black darkness of night, the mighty Japanese fleet engaged a weaker American destroyer group where American guns were aimed by radar and Japanese guns were aimed by looking for the flashes from the American weapons. The American fleet was destroyed but it was a Pyhric victory because the Japanese supply ships failed to reach the starving Japanese troops on the island. Dr. Ballard does a remarkable job of capturing both the essence of the battle and the essence of underwater archeology to create a wonderful book filled with full-color pictures of the wrecks and period black-and-white pictures of the war. He also includes the fantastic paintings and maps in the style that has adorned his other books to show how the wrecks would look if there was absolute clarity underwater and with a "God's Eye". This book is one of the better ones I've found that deal with the ships of Guadalcanal and underwater archeology. I've noticed copies adorning the workbenches of many model-ship builders (including mine). Its a great gift idea and sure to please anyone interested in great battles, maritime history, WW2, underwater exploration, or tales of bravery (by those who fought and those who study the ocean).

Between August 1942 and February 1943, a land-sea and air battle was waged for an island in the south pacific called Guadalcanal. The six-month long battle for the island would be one of the definitive battles of the war. It was also one of the costliest. Thousands of Allied and Japanese soldiers died. And a channel north of the island had so many ships go down there that it was renamed Iron Bottom Sound.

It is possible that more men died in the waters off Guadalcanal then on the island itself. But for many years, most of the ships were out of reach to divers and eventually were all but forgotten. Then, in 1992, Oceanographer Robert Ballard, who had found the Titanic and the Bismarck, decided to explore the area using the latest in technology. It is quite an experience to see a past battlefield on land like Normandy, Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg or Guadalcanal itself. But the battlefields were obviously cleaned up afterward and don't look the way they did when the battle concluded. But time knows no boundaries in Iron Bottom Sound. The paintings by Ken Marshall and the photographs show many of the ships still upright on the ocean floor; Their guns and torpedo tubes still trained outward as if firing at a long gone enemy. But some of the ships are not so beautifully preserved. The Battleship Krishima, for example, lies upside down in two pieces on the ocean floor. And the Destroyer Barton is broken in half and lying on its side from two torpedoes. Nevertheless, most of the ships appear ready to rise up and continue fighting.

Lavishly illustrated and with a detailed text, The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal will make a welcome addition to the collection of any War, Naval or Shipwreck enthusiast (If you can find a copy that is).

My two-year-old loves many of the "Mr Men" books, and Mr Happy is one of his two favorites (Mr Quiet being the other). I love reading this to him as well. In this book, Mr Happy in Happyland stumbles upon Mr Miserable and teaches him to be happy.

Roger Hargreaves' story is short, simple, and easy for kids to follow, with just enough alliteration to make it fun. His pictures are bright and bring the story to life.

My son so loves this book that every time he sees a "smiley face" he exclaims "Mr Happy in Happyland!"

I read this book and all the other Mr. Men books to my children 30 years ago. My children loved them and now so do the grandchildren.

this is the best piece of literature i have ever read!!! simply marvolous

His jubilant expression welcomes you into the world of Mr. Men, and no one -- NOT EVEN MR. MEAN -- can occlude Mr. Happy from enjoying his day, nay, HIS LIFE.

Perhaps you are low on happiness? Perhaps you seek meaning in a world of war and sadness? Mr. Happy is for you. Will he make you happy? Perhaps not. Yet he will teach you the ways of the happy man, and that is all you can ask of a Mr. Men book. They are small books that tell a small story, yet somehow, they are more vast than the ocean.

call me heathen, or anything. But you don't need the Bible. This book makes me tear, it makes my cry of joy because I feel proud to be human. Proud to be Happy. I am glad that we as a race made a piece with so much hope and jo. This, in my humble opinion, is the single best piece of literature ever made.

It really is just Life. Joy, just plain, simple, happy joy. I will always keep this book with me. Im confident that it is the single best way to live a nice, drawn out and good life. So simple of a lesson, such a primordial concept is woven into this book, it really is the one true good book.

And really, to everyone under our bright star, I wish a sunny trees and rolling grassy fields under kind yellow sunlight.

My life is attributed to the Sun, Joy, Life and Mr. Happy

These books are great! I can remember 20 years ago when I was sitting on the floor of my 2nd grade class in Illinios, my teacher would read these books to us!!! They are really cute and I recommend them highly!!

Back in college I got a job as a summer janitor at the local elementary school. One of the things I had to do was clean up in the library. I took this time as an opportunity to catch up on some reading... in the form of the Mr. Men series. Mr. Tickle is a great book about a man who likes to tickle. If you like to laugh, this book is for you. If you like to tickle, this book is for you. If you are a mean spirited and grumpy person, perhaps you should try another book

Mr. Tickle makes you laugh WILLINGLY.

I know, I know. You are saying, "But I don't like to be tickled. And I don't want my children to feel that tickling is socially appropriate."

I had similar reservations before approaching Mr. Tickle, but I ordered it anyway. Mr. Tickle gets his just rewards, let me assure you, but in the meantime, he seduces readers into the world of Mr. Men. He does not just Tickle the people in his town. No, that is more...Sesame Street (The Tickler, The Man Who Starts with the Letter T, Volume 13, I think, of The Sesame Street Library).

Mr. Tickle helps the people of his town BOND TOGETHER. He is that slippery sort of antagonist who acts as a protagonist. Britain called for a hero, and Mr. Tickle answered the phone.

But BARELY #2.... (Mr. Strong being #1). For a while this was #1 though. Mr. Tickle is the hilarious story of a tickle (you didn't know that there was such a thing as a tickle did you?) on an adventure though town causing mayhem by tickling everyone! This is also a trip though memory lane for daddy as I grew up in England reading Mr. Men books. My copy of Mr. Tickle looks like in went through a war zone, lol.
The best part of the book is the game my son invented by asking me to tickle him every time someone in the book gets tickled. And by the last page he's ran of the bed hiding and giggling. You'll understand if you've got the book, it's got a GREAT ending!
If your kids like Mr. Men books and you don't have Mr. Tickle, what are you waiting for????

I loved reading this book to my grandchildren. Even my husband was listening and enjoyed hearing this cute story. I shared it with my neighbor and her grandchildren wanted her to reread it over and over. Little Miss Mischief mentions Mr. Tickle also in the story and a great follow-up book to go along with it. All of the Mr. Men books are great fun to read, and I will keep them on hand for any little one who will sit still to listen to me read it to them. I enjoy the stories as much as the children do.

This book is definatly one of the best. It is an adventure thriller, it captures you, and never lets go.The descriptions vivid. The night is for Hunting is about a group of kids, who in the first book of the series, learn after camping, their country has been invaded. there are 7 books in the series, along with a series after the war. I recommend you buy all of them. you wont be able to stop. Not only is it a Thriller but throughtout the series the main charecter has to struggle with emotions, and the growing violence inside themselves. These people stay with you, and you start to feel they are real, and you know so much about them. They become a part of you, youll hate to leave them. I know I did.

The book The Night is for Hunting is a sequel and an excellent, well-written book

by John Marshen. It is about a group of teenagers who are caught up in a war. The group

comes upon a Circle of friends that are starving, dirty kids who mug them. When enemy

soldiers envied the bombed city, they head for there hideout, hell. The kids that journey

to hell only to find it have been overrun with enemy soldiers. After the solders are

supposedly gone, the kids disappear. With one of them dead and the rest with gashes and

broken bones, there is no hope for them. Whale the teenagers are gun fighting with

Themselves and the remaining, growing treat of the enemy soldiers. With another kid

dead, they decide to find there back to hell. When they get back, they find bodies

in addition, one teenager dead. Together the teenagers and the kids team up and fight off

the enemy. Only ending in disaster for them. With little ammunition and even less hope,

they attempt to rob a food truck for food, but only getting them arrested. Now they

decided they have to break out. Will they survive? After all life is like a car chase, fast

and unpredictable.


I strongly recommend this book to those who thirsts for adventure. The Night is

For hunting is a truly awesome book.

This may be the weakest volume in the Tomorrow series. It is still a non-stop page turner, but it didn't have the action you'd expect after reading the first 5 volumes. The story is mostly about dealing with a band of feral orphans of the war. They cause constant trouble and frustration for Ellie, and the others. This is the only book in the series that leaves a cliffhanger at the end to get you crying for the finale...which I will start to read as soon as I finish this review.

I was first introduced to this serioes at school, we were assigned to read it for English, before this book all books assigned to us in school were all garbage and I expected the same, as did most the other students in my class, most wouldnt bother to read it, so the teacher read it aloud in class, for most of it upuntil the half way mark I ignored most of it, until it dawned on me that this book was actualy sounding o.k. When I got home i got my copy from the bookshelf and actualy started to read it, and I read at any chance I had, and when I finished I read the second and third and then had to wait while the rest were written and released
The amazing story starts off with a group of teenagers going camping, and when they return the find the Australia has been taken over by another country, they go to the bush again to hide, but can't just sit back and do nothing and decide to fight back in what ever way they can, although unconventional, when all is said and done and the series is over they made a huge impact on the war, sometimes planned, sometimes fluked, of coarse not all survive and with every loss you can not help but feel the emotional pain of the others, it is the best comming of age story I have read, and although it is listed as a young adult series, it will be unforgetable to all ages and you will develop a bond with Ellie, Homer, Kevin and the rest of the gang, I have never fell in love with any fictional charactors the way I did with these guys, not even in T.V series
A story like this comes along once in a life time, do not, and I mean do not missss this book

The Tomorrow series may be the best seven books I've ever read. John Marsden is an excellent writer, and he almost make me think that this war is real.
But this book probably is the worst of the seven. It wasn't such a thrill reading it as the others, as this book's just made to build up the tension for the grand finale in "The Other Side of Dawn". The only thing that really happens is that they run a daycare center for some feral kids, and that they get aware of soldiers lurking outside Hell.
Luckily, Marsden can with his spell-binding writing still capture the reader in this book.