Australia Books

This book is a color, well-written, no-nonsense look at the many Bali sites by two Bali veterans. Rock is a veteran Indo-Pacific photojournalist who published Bali's first guidebook back in the late 1980s. Hinderks is a professional instructor and divemaster who has worked in Bali and Indonesia for years. A good combination that allows thoughtful insights to each site and the choice of many locales to dive. Bali is covered well from east (places like Sanur, Candi Dasa, Padang Bai, Tulamben) to west (Pemuteran, Menkangen, etc.). Nusa Lembongan, Ceningan, Nusa Penida and the wonderfully laid back Gilis in Lombok are also included.
The superb photography shows the great variety and color of the Bali marine life. This island may be one of the most overlooked dive destinations in the world as it has so many other things to offer. But muck divers love this place for its macro life and rare sea creatures ranging from the big like the odd mola-mola sinfish to the small in wierd fish like the Pegasus sea moth or a pygmy seahorse.
And there's even an ode to the tank carrying ladies of Tulamben.
This is a must have book for anyone venturing into Bali's waters on snorkel or on scuba.

We took Tim's advice to heart, and spent a great month in Bali. We toured the island anti-clockwise and dove and photographed all the sites Tim highlighted. We dove with the operators he suggested, as well as some others, and found that his suggestions were always always best.

Truk offers about the best u/w photography in the world, and this book gave me an idea of what to expect, and how to get ready. And was a great help in identifying some of my shots when i got back. Can't wait to go back. More wrecks are discovered every day there i hear, so i hope the author writes an updated version soon.

Uninformed skeptics may attempt to marginalize the effects that dolphins have on humans, but therapeutic human-dolphin interactions cannot be dismissed lightly. Dr. Olivia De Bergerac applies a keen, trained eye of compassionate observation, uses biofeedback tools combined with psychometric methods, and takes an approach that is respectful of both humans and dolphins. After scientifically identifying the effect of this species on human brainwaves and thereby illuminating the dynamics underlying dolphins' impact on the human mind and psychology, she scrupulously carries out long-term followup on her human subjects, an element missing in most conventional animal-assisted therapy programs. Her interaction studies are conducted in the wild, another unique aspect of her work. The result is an important and highly signficant piece of the puzzle that explains the science underlying dolphin-assisted therapy, as well as much-needed advocacy on behalf of the dolphins and the ocean. All of these elements combine to make "Dolphin Within" one of the most important books yet to emerge on this much-debated subject. --Ryan DeMares, author of "Dolphins, Myths & Transformation"

I received this book this morning - and have not been able to put it down. I am going to Florida next month to have my first dolphin experience - I wish it my trip was to Australia to be with Olivia and her group. Maybe later!! It inspired me to go back to my passion in life - I work with fused glass and design jewelry and have made a few dolphin designs before - but I started at 11pm and designed a whole new batch of dolphin designs - in honor of the heart-felt opening this book provided. And my mind is racing - but in a quiet, peaceful way - of the connections to her book - and what I need to do with my life. Thank you Olivia.

This warmly-written book portrays the story of receiving a gift from dolphins when befriended by them. Their behavior, emotions and intelligence are all well-documented and touching. An interesting piece in cross-species communication. Besides being a great page-turner for a myriad of ages and interests, this book can also make a special gift.

A sad commentary on accountability in the contemporary Australian Public Service. Using 'A Certain Maritime Incident' (the children overboard affair in November 2001) as a case study, this book raises a number of questions about the Australian political system.

How, for example, are ministers 'informed'? Should all advice be in writing? What records should be kept? What constitutes effective briefing? How strongly should officials insist that advice is acknowledged, even unwelcome advice? What is the role of ministerial staff?

These are issues not just for the Australian public administration: they are issues for all in public service.

Somewhere there is a balance between effective record keeping and responsiveness: the two cannot be mutually exclusive.

Sadly, though, reading this book would lead you to conclude that some senior managers - at least - think they are.

This is a short book (around 100 pages) but it raises some significant issues.

Highly recommended to all who care about some of the contemporary public sector issues.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

In DON'T YOU SING, author Dick Huges unabashedly analyzes his tender Catholic boyhood, in a book that is both clever and deeply felt. As the title suggests, the book leaves no minutia unturned; no subject is too tiny, from napkins to psalms to long trousers. In the end, the reader feels he's been deeply touched. This is a wonderful portrait of a simpler and more trusting time, without any scandals of controversy. If you're expecting this to be some racy, smutty exposé, then you simply don't know Dick. His experience is often very mundane, and even comforting, especially in such troubling times. Catholics like myself need good, calm voices like this in the world; and I've begun to harken back fondly to my own Catholic boyhood. Five stars!

This is an excellent picture book about Aboriginal life in modern day Australia. Actually this follows the Tiwi tribe of Aboriginal peoples who live on a small island off the coast of Australia. High quality photographs accompany the text.

The format is "a day in the life of a child", and we follow a tribe who is doing their walkabout. The Tiwi tribe is nomadic and they take journeys called walkabouts, the same journey on foot that their ancestors walked. We see photos of, and text explains, such things as a mother telling a story to her daughter before bedtime near the fire, hunting for snakes and bandicoot. We see how children are equally responsible for hunting and gathering as their parents and grandparents. As the book progresses we learn of certain animals and reptiles that live in the area. We share in a ceremony to honor the dead and see the adults playing with the children at the beach.

The author learned this information by personally traveling with this tribe on their walkabout. The introduction and an afterward explain more details about that to the adults who are reading this book.

This is a wonderful book and it rounded out our studies of Australia. It is not easy to find great books Aboriginal people for this age range-this is a great one! This is one of a series of books about "vanishing cultures" by this author.

This beautifully produced book captures the vivid impressions and sharp visual statements about life in Australia in the mid-nineteenth century, by the artist and adventurer S.T.Gill. It reproduces the original watercolour sketchbook in the State Library of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Limited to an edition of one hundred, the text is printed by letterpress in the facsimile of a 1798 type face, on acid free rag paper with each of the forty-five watercolours printed in fine screen color lithography, and is quarter-bound by hand in goatskin. This book is a fine tribute to the frontiersmen of the nineteenth century.