Australia Books

GLobal Consequences of the Butterfly Effect

Hawthorne, Susan. The Butterfly Effect. 2005. Spinifex Press. Melbourne, Australia

From the physical sciences comes the theory that all life is interconnected, that even the gentle movement of a butterfly's wing can connect to vast and distant changes and consequences. The pages of this book are like those frail wings; marks on delicate paper that connect and relate.

In Wild Politics Hawthorne explored the growth of wisdom and strength in a world of biodiversity and cultural diversity; a world where everything is connected and politics are best nurtured in their own home environment. She showed how disconnection is vital for the irresponsibility and immorality of growth-based capitalism.

The Butterfly Effect is the artistic complement to Wild Politics. In poems that range through history and space, Hawthorne makes the same connections. She gathers with Indian women in the feminist organization of Jagori where...we could not share a language, but we could share lunch...but as they read, listen to the / rhythms of their voices. It's / not only words we read.

Words are important for poets but feelings are also important. Hawthorne re-iterates in Greek - about Virginia Woolf...this girl who would change the shape of English literature... could not learn Greek -she was a too young and she was a girl ...she listened to the birds singing in Greek/ but she could not understand them...the connection to life was stronger than language and Woolf...returned to the song of birds / to their healing sounds...

Woven into her beautiful lines about discovery and community, the destruction of life, cruelty and the intimacy of her mother's death, Hawthorne is telling us that love and courage do triumph; love in all its forms, including the punishable love of lesbians. Only connect and the understanding will spread; we have beauty to contemplate in these poems, but the thread of urgency, of the necessity of witness is strong and insinuating. Be enchanted, be moved but also the poems speak - acknowledge and be moved to action.

Throughout the poems is the underlying tribute to Sappho: the joy and right of women to love women. In her opening conversation with Sappho, Hawthorne muses...we have been violated and vilified. And yet there is a chorus just beyond the limits of audibility, we know it exists, but who will praise it? The Butterfly Effect is part of that chorus and we need to tune our ears to hear it and help its journeys because...

We women.
our lives are like vines threading
The eye of the needle holds more than the camel.

We also are butterfly wings, with no pre-knowledge of the consequences of our actions and creativity. Theresa Wolfwood

I discovered this book as a kid, and now that I have over 500 volumes on WWII, this is still one of my favorites. The author was a draftee at about the time of Pearl Harbor, and this is his story from the end of boot camp, through being rushed onto a boat for the Pacific, to his arrival and first several months in Australia in early 1942. It's funny, it's touching, and there is so incredibly much detail. Some of the commentary is dated and hard to understand now, but for a historian, that's part of the fun, looking up the references.
The author was part of the 32nd "Red Arrow" Division, and I've been able to trace his unit's actual movements from the description in this book. None of the names in the book are real, of course, due to wartime censorship; actually, some of the references to censorship are the funniest parts of the book. I strongly recommend anyone interested in WWII in the Pacific to check this out; it's as good as listening to a vet's war stories over a beer!

This is a hilarious book to read aloud to a younger child (my son is 4) or to be read independently by an older child (eg, around 7-10yo depending on ability). All Paul Jennings books are deliberately written to be accessible to children who are either reluctant readers or struggling with reading but can also be enjoyed by children who love reading. The situations certainly push the boundaries with regard to "good taste" but my experience is that kids, especially boys, love this!

I share the author's name, which was the way I heard of this book. It is an amazing story, and I very much enjoyed reading it. Intense, emotional, and an overall great book. I liked it better than Elie Wiesel's Night; Caged was more in-depth, longer, more interesting to me, and a story of what life in Europe was like outside of the death camps.

I am completely in love with the archaeological action series written by Geoffrey McSkimming that is Cairo Jim. They are bright, funny and full of personality that remind you how strange and funny people can be.

In this adventure the protagonist, the poet-archaeologist Cairo Jim, is excavating a site in Turkey with his sidekicks, Doris the macaw (who is Shakespeare's biggest fan) and Brenda the Wonder camel, who is very intelligent, though unable to speak. Together they discover and uncover mysteries of the archaelogical world with the reader pulled aliong enthrallingly. All the characters are cute, charming and unique, even the bad guys who are mean but never sinister.

You finish the book with a warm feeling in your heart and a greater appreciation of archaeology. By the way, this review is aimed mainly at readers from a different country to me (Australia). I can see that there are only two newly-added Cairo Jim books on sale here at Amazon, and as yet I am the sole person to review them. I want to let all international readers know that here in Australia, where the Cairo Jim series has been going for nearly two decades, at the rate of one book per year. Here, Geoffrey McSkimming is a GOD! He really deserves to receive international attention.

I just finished "Caitlin's Country" and I REALLY liked it! It was nicely paced and kept me wanting to know what was next so I couldn't put it down! What a pleasant surprise from a new author! Although as an adult, I could have used more detail, I think it's very well paced for a teen or young adult reader. I'd think it would be especially appealling to teenage girls who have recently been forced to move or to live with a different parent. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to any teen.

As a side benefit, some of the English/Australian terminology explained in it helped me as a Texan to understand some of the terminology used in the "Harry Potter" books that I've read. Quite an unexpected benefit!

The Call Of The Osprey by Norman Jorgensen is a picturebook about the challenging and rewarding task of restoring an old, broken sea boat. A young man befriends and forms a bond with a grizzled old captain, as together they work hard, and the young man learns the importance of carrying on a meaningful legacy. Illustrated by Brian Harrison-Lever, The Call Of The Osprey is an especial delight to share with young readers who are fascinated with ships and the sea.

This specialized coverage may find a place primarily in collections strong in Australian writing, but any such collection will find the Cambridge Companion To Australian Literature to be an invaluable compendium blending Australian poetry, fiction, biography, and drama from the last two centuries. Contributors analyze classics, trends, and significant historical and literary influences, providing an important survey of Australian writings. Essential college-level reading for any serious and dedicated course in Australian literature.

This book is a comprehensive design history of Canberra, Australia's capital, covering nearly 90 years history. It focuses on the landscape design of Canberra prepared by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin and his partner, Marion Mahoney Griffin. The 386-page book, which is lavishly illustrated, explains how the Girffin design was revised, partially implemented, and later resurrected to create the beautiful city that Canberra is today.

Canberra, along with Washington, Brasilia, and Ottawa, is one of the few capital cities in the world that was deliberately planned. In 1911 the Australian Government ran an international design competition to obtain a design for its new capital. Chicago archtect Walter Burley Griffin, who had worked in Frank LLoyd Wright's studio, won the competition -- even without ever having visited Australia or seen the site for the proposed new capital.

The design was an inspired one but Griffin met much resistance in its implementation. The author, Paul Reid, meticulously reviewed archival records to dicover why the building of the capital was such a fraught process. He explains in detail what was intended and what was actually built. The position of the Parliament buildings and other key buildings, the growth of two city centres, the placement of roads and thoroughfares all deviated from Griffin's plan -- sometimes for good reason, but at times to satisfy the whims of various bureaucrats.

The book covers a vast expanse of design history in a very readable style. The many pictures and maps help to guide the reader.

The book is still in print and available for $90 from the National Archives of Australia, its publisher. Contact naasales@naa.gov.au - that's where I got my copy.

I found this book very useful and informative in that it explained cancer in simple terms for non-medical readers. It is a topic that can be very frightening, but Fred Stephens manages to be truthful and dignified in this book. He also discusses not only cancer treatments, but also preventative measures, so it is a book that everyone concerned about maintaining their health and lifestyle should read.