Australia Books

This is one book where you must read the introduction. and then when you read the book you find out thatthe book can be interpreted in at least one other way. i think everybody would take out something different but that would always be refreshing. i could not stop myself from saying 'aha' at many places. still, i think he sometimes is contradicting himself. he thinks that socialism and liberalism can go together. maybe he is right. i dont think so.

Russell became famous as a mathematician and philosopher.

But when he won the Nobel Prize, it was for Literature. When you read this book of essays, you will see why.

It is beautifully written and has all of Russell's virtues: clarity, wit, humor, forcefulness, simplicity.

Even better, it is a brief education in itself. Most of the essays were written just as the Great Depression was beginning, and Russell gets right to the heart of a problem Capitalists and Socialists do not usually address: How much work is needed, and what is the ultimate point? He constantly stresses that we do too much work, and most of it is unneeded, and makes life grim. He never ceases to remind us that we should work to live, not live to work.

He addresses this point in many ways--through economics, through architecture, through the then-raging problems of Fascism and Communism. And though he treats serious problems seriously, he always has time for the breathtaking perspective and the ligtht touch--as with the essay, "Man Versus Insects."

A wonderful, even life-changing book.

Written by a very advanced thinker, this book represents a shattering statement against the Christian petit-burgois morality of work, a true revolution and evolution in man's thinking.

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Controversial philosopher and Nobel Prize winner Lord Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) has written fifteen scintillating essays on which to whet our intellectual appetites. These short essays were written between 1925 and 1935.

Russell writes in an elegant, readable, and understandable style. His arguments are well thought out.

These essays consider social questions not discussed in politics. The general theme that ties these essays together is that the world suffers from dogmatism and narrowness; what is needed is the willingness to question dogma.

These essays are a blend of philosophy with other disciplines such as psychology, economics, science, and history. All the essays are brutally honest and forthright. Each is packed with loads of wisdom. What's amazing is that these essays are as current today as when they were first written and their messages will probably remain relevant in the future.

My five favorite essays in this collection include the following:

(1) "In Praise of Idleness." Discusses work and the importance of leisure. In order to get an idea of Russell's insight that permeates this book, here's a sample sentence from this essay: "The morality of work is the morality of slaves, and the modern world has no need of slavery."

(2) "'Useless' Knowledge." Points out that all knowledge is useful not only that which has a practical value.

(3) "The Case for Socialism." Russell gives many arguments in favor of socialism, most notably the need for preventing war.

(4) "Western Civilization." Discusses its characteristics. Sample sentence: "I cannot escape from the conclusion that the great ages of progress have depended upon a small number of individuals of transcendent utility."

(5) "Education and Discipline." Sample sentence: "Education...must be something more positive than mere opportunity for growth...it must...also provide a mental and moral equipment [for] children."

In conclusion, this book is Bertrand Russell at his best. Enjoy!

+++++

As an avid reader, I was entranced to find this hiddent gem among my collegue's recommendations. It is a beautifully written intellectual soujourn that probes the past advances and compares them to the current day technological advances. Sounds dry?? It's not. It's a poetic journey about what inventive advancements have meant in the past, and what they mean to the modern day intellectual. If you are in the mood for something that stretches your mind and enriches your soul, treat yourself to this rare gem of a book.

This book is a direct relative of Pirsig's "Zen etc" although neither author may agree. This author pens the words that are already in your mind.

This book was a beautiful read. The subject matter,comparing the Computer Age to the Industrial Revolution, was extremely interesting. It was fascinating to see the economic, cultural and technological similarities. As an added bonus, the author has a beautiful way with words, and therefore reading this book was a pleasure as well as being intellectually stimulating. I was captivated from the opening chapter on Alexandria. Highly recommended, and I am hard to please!

With careful research and amazing insight this author details for us, through the work of various people through the caenturies, how our present day computers were born. Through charming and poignant vinettes we learn of their lives and their work. From there, the author brings us to the delimmas the Information Revolution poises for us. A delightfully good read; an excellent liberal education. The vignettes are inspiring; the dicussion of the economics involved is thought-provoking. An outstanding first book.

I have made several of the necklaces from this book and have received raves everytime I wear them. It takes a little effort to understand some of her terms for beads but once you get past that, the instructions are excellent. These are beautiful, wearable necklaces, mainly based on peyote, that take time to make but are worth it.

This book is really unique as far as the beading techniques go. The written instructions looked rather daunting at first but were fairly easy to follow once you get started. Good for advanced beaders to add to their beading repertoire!

I was looking for something new and different. When I received my book I found that it is exactly that. Beautifully different beaded jewelry technique than what I have been doing. Good diagrams and wonderful colored pictures. This is an English translation from Dutch. Therefore you might be confused at first with the size of the beads but I just go with what I have and try to follow accordingly. I don't think it will be a problem for most beaders. Non-beading friends that have seen the book love the jewelry displayed in the pictures. Directions for all shown are provided. I believe this will keep me in beading heaven for quiet some time. The technique is versatile and the jewelry looks dressy and expensive. Various beads and sizes can be used. If you like to be creative then don't miss the opportunity with what you can bead from this book.

This is an excellent book for medium to advanced seed beaders who are looking for more than another peyote pattern. The author opens up completely new directions by using seed beads with bugle & cut beads, crystals and other small decorative beads to create exceptionally unique tubular beadwork. The techniques are simple, the results are beautiful and stunning. I recall someone mentioning to me that this book is an English translation of Dutch, and there are a few minor awkward grammar remnants but nothing that would inhibit a beader from figuring out how to do the techniques. I give this book a high rating because it is the seminal work on the "Dutch spiral" use of seed beads and inspires you to move your own seed beadwork in a new direction.

Down under, in Australia, there is a creature who doesn't know who he is or where he belongs. His friends, Bushtail Possum, Wallaby, Blue-Tongued Skink, and Kookaburra kindly try to help him, but he just keeps falling "KERSPLAT!" Old Bandicoot says he's a Platypus, but where does he belong? Young readers will enjoy following Kersplatypus' adventures as he searches the Australian landscape for his identity.

Author Susan K. Mitchell has brought some of the animals and the geography of Australia alive for children in a most delightful way. The illustrations by Sherry Rogers highlight the story, plus give an extra depth and richness, so that you feel as if your are right there with the animals. The story is not only fun to read, but also informative. The activities in the back give children and classrooms added fun in animal recognition and geography. This book is highly recommended for children ages 3-7.

Sherry Rogers has done it again: another beautifully illustrated children's book that teaches a little about wildlife, this time in a unique ecosystem that not many children are lucky enough to visit: Australia! Her drawings are infused with a joyous energy.

Kersplatypus is a children's picturebook about a young platypus who doesn't know where he belongs. Other Australian wildlife try to introduce him to climbing trees, flying the skies, or bounding along the ground, but the platypus just doesn't take to it. At last he discovers his natural home - in the water with his beloved mother. Additional pages of fun facts about the platypus and other animals native to Australia round out this delightful, enthusiastic, and educational picturebook.

Sylvan Dell Publishing publishes the best in children's literature. Their books are entertaining, tell a grand story, educate children (and adults) and are oh so appealing to the eye with their fun, quirky, colorful and delightful illustrations.

Kersplatypus is the exciting adventure of a strange little creature that suddenly appears after the big rains in Australia. The animals wonder what `he' is (even the little creature doesn't know what `he' is). But the animals do know he has fur, a tail, feet and a duck-like bill. With the clues they have, the animals band together to help the little creature discover who he is and where he belongs.

Sometimes good friends, tenacity and spirit go a long, long way in finding the answers to the questions that don't seem to have answers.

I love Kersplatypus. He's the cutest little platypus. And I love the cozy, caring feel of the story. The illustrations add tremendously to the flavor of the story and are so beautiful that children and adults will be drawn to them.

I also love that the book contains some fun facts about the platypus-and that there are activities for the children.

This book is also a great gift to give those special little ones in your life. I suspect the kids will wear out the book from use. It's that good.

Armchair Interviews says: Kersplatypus is a must have!

a great read of this do or die battle that helps form part of the Australian pysche - as it says at the kokoda/isurava memorial 'mateship-courage-sacrifice-endurance'. Well woven together, with a good appraisal of the large-scale context for the battle that is bought to life by numerous anecdotes and vignettes of the men fighting and dying along 'the track'. This is my favourite read for the kokoda campaign and in my opinion much better than the similarly named and dated competition

The research Peter Fitzsimmons undertook to produce Kokoda brings one as close to the realism of brutal war as one could possibly experience from the printed page. Yet in all his expose of such brutality, suffering and carnage, Peter brilliantly exposes the courage, the comradeship, the inner spirit of what made the unbreakable wills of these nondescript under dogs, into the unbreakable men of iron they were. Kokoda is not as such a book about war, though it does cover the activity in vivid idiom, but about a small vastly out numbered and out gunned group of men, commandered by inept arm chair superiors, who through sheer guts and humour faced unbelievably crushing odds and won. Forever will the free world be in their debt.

This book is an archive of little known WW11 history. Guaranteed to provoke emotions of those who know the Kokoda track. A classic in the true sense of the word.

Indisputably worth the time it took to read and reread it.

Knowing nothing about the war in New Guinea, I was engrossed by the powerful story of the Kokoda trail and the battles of the small group of Australian soldies who fought there.

This is a well researched and written account of the battles and the people behind the scenes. While less than flattering to the myth of Douglas McArthur, it puts into stark perspective the courage and steadfastness of the Australian soldier under terrible conditions.

Well worth the read!

It is perhaps very timely to be writing a review of Peter FitzSimons "Kokoda" only days after Anzac Day. This is the day when Australians and New Zealanders commemorate war dead in general, and the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, in particular. Although "Kokoda" covers events of World War II in Papua New Guinea there is still an eerie resonance with Anzac Day and all that it commemorates.

Peter Fitzsimons is a well regarded Australian journalist who well covers the events of 1942 when Australia was under direct threat from the armies of Imperial Japan. Indeed, it can be argued that the events of Kokoda are far more important to Australia than the Gallipoli disaster of 1915. In Gallipoli, Australia was simply falling in line with Britain by waging a war against Turkey which represented no threat to Australia on the other side of the world. By contrast, in 1942, Australia was well in the sights of Japan as it moved ever further to the south. The Kokoda campaign is thus a story of great efforts where a handful of Australian heroes defended their homeland against a seasoned army that significantly outnumbered them. And, of course, they won. Japan was turned on its heels and eventually driven back across the Pacific. Gallipoli, by way of contrast, was a bloody mess and Australia and its allies were defeated.

The style of "Kokoda" the book is truly Australian. FitzSimons is a wonderful exponent of the Australian vernacular. This may confuse or even offend foreign readers. Do not, however, let this put you off. The book is a majestic tale.

If I could find a fault in the book, there are two. Firstly, FitzSimons uses the term "native" far too freely. It sounds very condescending when he talks of the tribesmen of the Papua New Guinea highlands. Secondly, the book would also have greater clarity if maps were included. The reader would then gain a greater appreciation of the course of the various battles.

Yet, in finding these faults, I am being churlish. Peter Fitzsimons has written a great book that I recommend highly to all those readers seeking knowledge of a vital piece of World War II that needs to be more widely understood.

Geddes' book, A Labor Of Love, is truly inspirational. There's a softness to her tone that is warm and inviting; like having a cup of java with a friend. She talks a little bit about her life, but mostly this is a journey about her rise to fame as a renowned baby photographer. She talks a little about her struggles, a little about how she achieved certain looks, and why she chose the path she chose. The photos, of course, are phenomenal!

I truly enjoyed the Labor of Love: An Autobiography by Anne Geddes. I have always been fascinated with the pictures of the babies in the yearly calendars. It is so great to read the stories about the babies and to see how some of them have grown over the years. This booklet is a treasure to have and it sits on my coffee table in my living room to be easily accessible to my family and friends. I purchased the book as a Christmas gift to myself and it was truly worth it!!

Anne proves she's not only fantastic with a camera, but now with the written word. Throughout the book she offers insights into how she's been able to accomplish the incredible photos; while even sharing photos from her own childhood.

...you will love this book as you recall your first experiences with the craft. You will appreciate her openness, lack of pomposity, and willingness to share her doubts, passions, and how-tos.

Simon Nasht's book is like an icebreaker charting a course through the Antarctic and revealing one of its greatest explorers. It is hard to believe that one person so "aggressively modest" could have done so much with so little. Up until now, few had remembered him. What a pity. Thanks for bringing him back to life. Now, when is the movie coming out?

This true account of one man's lifelong exploration
of the polar regions makes history come alive. Yet for some reason Hubert Wilkins amazing exploits have faded from public memory.
This biography about a far-sighted adventurer who understood the importance of polar ice caps on global climate. It is a page turner that deserves a place on every bookshelf,an inspiration to the youth.

THE LAST EXPLORER: HUBERT WILKINS, HERO OF THE GREAT AGE OF POLAR EXPLORATION tells of the most successful explorer in history: a self-taught farm boy from the Australian outback who became a cameraman, reporter, pilot, spy and adventurer. His surveys were captured on camera, he helped map the Canadian Arctic, and his amazing life has only not received much in-depth coverage in past because he avoided publicity. Author Simon Nasht discovered Wilkins' journals, records and photos and used them to recreate his life and achievements: any library interested in adventure biography will welcome this vivid account.

The fact the Sir George Hubert Wilkins is a virtual unknown against the supposed greatness of his contemporaries, Hurley and Mawson, is due mainly to his "aggressive modesty".

Now Australians are rediscovering this truly remarkable man's life and Simon Nasht does him an immensely great service.

Simply a 'must-read'!

This is one of the best travelogues you will ever find about any place, anywhere!
Not to mention about countries as obscure as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands - two rarely visited, but fascinaing archipelagos indeed.
The author does in-depth research about the history and culture of these places before setting out on a personal voyage retracing a route that was taken by his great-grandfather who had been a missionary in these parts. His homework pays off very nicely: not only does he succeed in getting everywhere he wants to, but also writes a book rich in background info in addition to his personal impressions and adventures. And he certainly does get to some remote parts of these remote countries: the Banks Islands and Maewo in Vanuatu, or Temotu province in the Solomons are out of the way places visited by very few.

Why only 4 stars then?
Well, even though the author claims to be an atheist and thus tries to examine the role of religion in local cultures objectively, he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of finding "magic" ("true" magic, that is) in these islands. He is hoping to find it performed by everyone and anyone from traditional medicine men to the local Anglican clergy, undeterred by the fact that he himself admits every single incident he has managed to observe was either a very obvious trick or at best the result of what could well have been a natural coincidence. This change in focus of the book became a bit annoying eventually.

But all in all, an excellent, amazingly well researched account.
Definitely recommended if you are interested in this region at all.
I read the book just before visiting Melanesia, and it was as good a reading as any to prepare me for my trip there.

And a tip: the book is still available in new copies on Amazon's Canadian site - have a look there if you can't find it here.

This book is a fascinating journey that explores the power of simply believing in something, whether it be religion, myth, an icon or people themselves. It presents facts without prejudice yet reveals fascinating details of the author's personal, emotional and geographical journey as he follows his great grandfather's footsteps to the other side of the world. It combines stories of academia, theology, history and contemporary issues in a non-confrontational yet intriguing presentation of generations and cultures colliding in our ever-shrinking global community. I highly recommend reading Charles Montgomery's "The Last Heathen". It is an exceptional story which deserves a captive audience.

Fabulous book. Part travel, part history, part meeting of two cultures, the author lays it all before you with a delightful sense of humour, a discerning eye, and a sincere respect for the people of Melanesia. It opens up a window to a world most people know nothing about and are unlikely to ever encounter. For me, as a frequent visitor to that part of the world, it was wonderful a trip down memory lane.

By the time a little packet of sand gets opened on page 2 of the book, I got swept up in a tale much grander than the postcard idyll of the cover seems to suggest. The narrator travels tough terrain and has adventures of the kind best experienced in an armchair; he tells them eloquently and passionately; but the real magic of the book is how these experiences are woven into larger and deeper ideas that elevate it past almost all travel writing.
It is beautifully written, it is a great book and like all great books, it transforms the reality of the reader; in the end it is their world that has changed, that has become less familiar, less certain, and strangely more alive.

I thought I'd buy this to help teach history in school to my middle school ESOL students, I also am a fan of Diane Stanley, the illustrator. I didn't count on how absorbing the story would be and that I would be drawn into a world I barely knew existed. I had never heard of Princess Kaiulani before. I thought I would be reading about Queen Liliuokalani and it took me back a bit when I found out the story was about her niece. Kaiulani has a touching and very short life. I really want to read more about her. What more can an author hope for if they spur an interest in the subject they wrote about?

My daughter and I loved this book, even though the text was challenging for her as a 4-year old. The story of Princess Ka'iulani's childhood, and her bravery, poise, and eloquence in defending Hawaii when the Haoles brought in an army to depose Hawaii's queen, is beautifully told and made a deep impression. Also beautifully illustrated.

Gives children a real look at the history of Hawaii. A beautiful, sad and true story. Would like to buy a bunch more and give to children for gifts.

Fay Stanley's very worthy true story, "The Last Princess," is the tale of the life of Princess Ka'ilulani of Hawaii (or "Hawai'i" as it's more correctly spelled throughout the book). The book is illustrated by Fay Stanley's daughter, Diane Stanley, and this mother-daughter team has come up with a captivating and sad true story about a portion of history little of us know anything about.

Princess Ka'iulani was the niece of the king of Hawaii when she was born towards the coming of the 20th century. Great rejoicing attended her birth, as the king himself had no children. By all accounts, Ka'iulani was cheerful, beautiful, polite, kind, intelligent, and more than worthy of taking over the throne when the time came. Unfortunately, Americans intervened and little by little usurped the king's power. By the time Ka'iulani returned to the island after her schooling in England, the Hawaiian islands were an entirely different place--and not for the better.

Ka'iulani appealed to President Grover Cleveland's better nature and although he did his best to help her, upon leaving the White House after his presidency, Ka'iulani now had no American political friends. It was far more in America's interests to annex Hawaii to America than it was to help this charming, serious princess regain her rightful access to the Hawaiian throne.

This is a terrifically absorbing tale. Ka'iulani is presented beautifully by the illustrations, which show different aspects of her personality while always emphasizing her dignity and popularity among the Hawaiian people. The two Stanley ladies have taken a little-known subject and presented it to us with power and handsome decoration, and the end result is highly compelling.

For a good summertime read, books don't get much better than this. The plot keeps you guessing how things will turn out and the ending is truly a surprise. Particularly well-drawn are the wartime descriptions, especially the fire-bombing of Dresden.

Read Sole Survivor which we enjoyed immensely, trying to find other books by this author; none are available in the US library system as far as we can tell.

If you are tired of the mundane and looking for fresh and stimulating reading, then this is the one! From past and present day Australia to a European mystery set against WW2, the story within a story will keep you entertained and spell bound.

This would have to be one of the best books I've ever read. Gut-wretching, compelling and impossible to put down. I paticularly liked the characters of Cecilia Ortelli and Friedrich Eigenwill. It was to good to see the Second World War through a German pair of eyes and realise that the Oberstleutnant was not a bad man but, in fact, a very decent man caught up in an impossible situation. I found the detailed description of the bombing of Dresden extremely distressing and it showed that, truly, there are no 'winners' in any war. This book is a must read - Derek Hansen is brilliant!!