Oceania Books

This is a great story by a spirited Lady, who isn't content with only dreaming of adventure. Her writing is vivid and makes you feel as if you are sharing the adventure with her and her husband. Lee's poems are a treat for the mind and the photographs are worth a thousand words.

Although the hikes in this book were numerous, I did quite a few and all were breathtaking. Bushwalking in Australia is an excellent guide to hiking all over the continent and seeing every type of terrain that this diverse place has to offer. This book made my time is Australia so much more valuable and was worth every penny. It even has instructions on how to take trains and buses to trailheads. One of the best hiking books I have ever used.

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 is an absolutely fascinating book. It tells how the men of Ilahita, a village in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea, consciously and deliberately destroyed their secret men's cult (the Tambaran) by revealing its secret artifacts to the women. The book describes in a detailed but incredibly readable way how a prophecy contained at the end the Ilahita creation myth (involving the local lake and a Cassowary Woman) foretold the destruction of the cult, enmeshing the men and women of Ilahita on a downward spiral that even involves the anthropologist author in the second coming of the Cassowary Woman's "youngest son". It also describes the resulting damage to the village's gender dynamics, its cultural destruction at the hands of the Revival Christianity (now run by the women in a similar way to the method used by the men in the old Tambaran system), and the village's final loss of local power and land. Quite a tragic story, and one which has relevance to our own society's gender dynamics.

This book is classic good company on a lonely evening; this is the real mccoy of survival story-telling

Catalyst: The Power Of The Media And The Public To Make Change by Madonna King (Senior Columnist with the Courier-Mail and broadcaster with Brisbane's Newstalk) is an in-depth presentation of the effect public opinion and the media has upon government policies, big business, as well as political figures and activists. Providing the reader with an extensive and comprehensive analysis media intervention and influence, Catalyst draws from interviews with over 130 people, including state premiers, attorney generals, Supreme Court judges, journalists, academics, social workers, and even convicted criminals. Catalyst offers a unique and conceptual grasp of politics, criminology, sociology, and the great exposure to media the general public still retains, granting them a decent perspective on their empowered those who govern them in the private and/or public sectors of control.

A wonderful book for anyone travelling in NZ and wanting a range of prices for their accommodation. Most stays have a map on how the find the B&B and lots of photos. Easy to use keys to the different types of lodging available.

".... The purpose of the book is to deal with the chemical and physical properties of cements and concretes and their relation to the practical problems that arise in manufacture and use.

As shch it is addressed NOT ONLY TO THE CHEMIST AND THOSE CONCERNED WITH THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF SILICATE MATERIALS, but also to those interested in the use of concrete in building and civil engineering construction......"
[from the book of the preface by F. M. L.]