Oceania Books

What an amazing book. Using the original source materials--Bligh's diary, the transcript of the Bounty Court Martial, Fletcher Christian's brother's defense of the mutineers, and other materials--the Editor R.D. Madison has put together a book which is impossible to put down. Indeed, the book leaves the reader wishing it were twice as long. Madison refuses to take sides in the Bligh v. Christian debate, and lets the record speak for itself. Since the record is contradictory and nobody is unbiased, the effect, in cinematic terms, is more like "Roshomon" than either of the two Bounty movies. William Bligh comes across as an incredibly brave man with an indomitable will--yet he has a tendency to whine, and worse, he stoops to securing affidavits which do not even pass the smell test. Fletcher Christian comes across as a 23-year old hothead who lets the men talk him into leading a mutiny--and can't control the situation after the mutiny. Christian petulantly refuses to have dinner with the Captain on the eve of the mutiny. Clark Gable, he clearly ain't. The moral world of the Bounty is painted entirely in shades of gray; the men of the Bounty are imperfect and all too human.

Not only is the reader treated to a great detective story, but it is a story with an absorbing and instructive sequel. The book ends with a contemporary account, first published in the 1830's, of the subsequent history of Pitcairn's Island as told by the last survivor of the Bounty, "John Adams" (an alias). Adams described a harrowing descent into mayhem and murder by the mutineers who made it to Pitcairn's Island along with their native friends. The disputes began with a dispute over--you guessed it--who would possess a native woman. Except for Adams, Fletcher Christian his gang were all killed, along with the native men. In the end, John Adams sets up a harmonious society based on Biblical principles.

I have been scratching my head for two whole weeks since finishing this book, pondering its meaning. And that is a high recommendation, indeed.

This book is a collection of early documents relating to Fletcher Christian's mutiny against William Bligh in 1789 on the HMS Bounty. The editor claims to have gathered together for the first time "the relevant texts and documents" related to this famous event that has intrigued readers for 200 years. In all, ten documents whose publication dates range from 1790 to 1870 are included. The first four documents make up the body of the book and consist of a series of published statements by William Blight and responses by Edward Christian, Fletcher's brother. Fletcher Christian died on Pitcairn Island and never put his story in print. These four sections are followed by six Appendixes. The first Appendix contains a transcript of Bligh's orders and a botanical description of the breadfruit that the Bounty went to Tahiti to obtain. The remaining five Appendixes are narratives of the lives of those who stayed on the Bounty after the mutiny.

All of these early texts are preceded by a delightful and informative Introduction by the editor that relates the early lives of both Bligh and Christian and discusses their relationship leading up to the mutiny. It describes the mission of the Pandora to seek out the Bounty and bring back any mutineers they can find. Also covered is the trial and disposition of those sailors brought back from Tahiti. Lastly, the Introduction goes on to summarize the history of Bounty documentation and scholarship, from Bligh's first published account right on through the famous fictionalized Bounty trilogy by Nordhoff and Hall. The Introduction is followed by a one page listing of suggested further readings.

The first section of the book is Bligh's 1790 account of the mutiny and subsequent voyage of he and 18 crew members in the ship's 23 foot boat. He quickly recounts the details of the mutiny on the first four pages and then spends the remaining 62 pages on his heroic and epic voyage across 3,600 miles of the South Pacific that took about a month and a half. Bligh depicts himself as a dedicated leader who saved the lives of all but one crew member in this fascinating and arduous journey.

The second section of the book is the proceedings of the court martial of those brought back to face charges of mutiny, published in 1794 by Edward Christian in an attempt to exonerate his brother. This text consists of a written statement by Bligh, a series of interrogations of the Bounty crew regarding the events of the mutiny, and an Appendix by Edward. A picture of Bligh as a tyrant emerges from this testimony. It is 86 pages long and somewhat repetitive, but still an interesting document to read. The 20 page Appendix at the end of is Edward Christian's attempt to show that his brother had cause for his actions. Although he does not try to justify his brother's actions, he tries to show the state of desperation that his brother was driven to by Bligh's actions. Bligh was at sea when this was published and, when he returned home, he published in 1795 "An Answer..." to the statements of the Appendix which is included as the third section of this book. To this Edward Christian wrote and published a "Short Reply..." that is the fourth section of this book. This interchange in writing between Bligh and Edward Christian is wonderful to read because it presents both sides of the story in a very balanced and fair manner. Without having Fletcher Christian to defend his own actions, this set of documents is the next best thing we have to a fair presentation of both sides of the case.

The above documents alone would have made a wonderful and enlightening book. The editor goes on to present in the Appendixes documents that tell the story of those men who followed Fletcher Christian to Tahiti or Pitcairn Island. The first Appendix is a copy of Bligh's orders to go to Tahiti and a description of the breadfruit he was to bring to Jamaica. The second Appendix is an 1870 retelling of a journal kept by one of the sailors who was taken by the Pandora from Tahiti as a mutineer. It tells of the harsh treatment these 14 received aboard this ship and how four died when the ship sank. The next two Appendixes are accounts written by crew members of a ship that visited Pitcairn Island 19 years after the mutiny in 1808. They tell the story of the crew that landed there with Fletcher Christian and their history and families. By this time only one of the nine members of the original Bounty crew that landed on the island remained alive. The last two Appendixes are the story of one of the Tahitian women who married a Bounty crew member and the story of the last surviving crew member himself.

Altogether these various documents pieced together tell what we can know of the Bounty mutiny. They make fascinating reading, more interesting than the fictional accounts. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in tales of the sea.

What an amazing book. Using the original source materials--Bligh's diary, the transcript of the Bounty Court Martial, Fletcher Christian's brother's defense of the mutineers, and other materials--the Editor R.D. Madison has put together a book which is impossible to put down. Indeed, the book leaves the reader wishing it were twice as long. Madison refuses to take sides in the Bligh v. Christian debate, and lets the record speak for itself. Since the record is contradictory and nobody is unbiased, the effect, in cinematic terms, is more like "Roshomon" than either of the two Bounty movies. William Bligh comes across as an incredibly brave man with an indomitable will--yet he has a tendency to whine, and worse, he stoops to securing affidavits which do not even pass the smell test. Fletcher Christian comes across as a 23-year old hothead who lets the men talk him into leading a mutiny--and can't control the situation after the mutiny. Christian petulantly refuses to have dinner with the Captain on the eve of the mutiny. Clark Gable, he clearly ain't. The moral world of the Bounty is painted entirely in shades of gray; the men of the Bounty are imperfect and all too human.

Not only is the reader treated to a great detective story, but it is a story with an absorbing and instructive sequel. The book ends with a contemporary account, first published in the 1830's, of the subsequent history of Pitcairn Island as told by the last survivor of the Bounty, "John Adams" (an alias). Adams described a harrowing descent into mayhem and murder by the mutineers who made it to Pitcairn Island along with their native friends. The disputes began with a dispute over--you guessed it--who would possess a native woman. Except for Adams, Fletcher Christian his gang were all killed, along with the native men. In the end, John Adams sets up a harmonious society based on Biblical principles.

I have been scratching my head for two whole weeks since finishing this book, pondering its meaning. And that is a high recommendation, indeed.

This is my first review. I feel that some of the 'rave reviews' I read for this volume did not adequately describe several flaws that I feel need mentioning.

I bought this book because I wanted to read the contemporary accounts of the Bounty mutiny to gain an understand of both sides of the issues involved, and to make a personal decision on what happened and why. This edition was touted as allowing me to do just that. However I found that the editor, in his introduction, tries to do some of my thinking for me. I feel that, in a book of this sort, the editor should not be telling us his version of the story, particularly at the beginning of the book. Mr Madison may well believe that Captain Bligh was the villian in this tragedy with Mr Christian the poor sensitive victim, but I wish he would keep it to himself and limit himself to background and supplemental material.

Another disappointment is that apparently, the chapter titled "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Court-Martial held at Portsmouth, August 12, 1792." is not the real minutes at all, but a partial transcript provided by Edward Christian (Fletcher's brother). I'm not sure I understand why the actual court transcript was not available and what is missing in the version we have. I do know we have to rely on a version published by the 'defendant's" brother. Is that really conducive to getting an objective picture?

That said, the book is still interesting and does give the reader a fairly comprehensive picture of the events of that spring morning in 1789.

After being yanked from high school and all her friends when her mom takes an assignment in Australia, Rowena (Ro) is naturally lonely. Her heart's cry is heard by a strange young man who is literally beyond description and lands on her balcony. Although she can never remember what Patrick looks like and can't even say or write his name to tell anyone about him, Ro finds herself falling in love. It makes no sense at all, but he gives her all her dreams. When Patrick is around, time stands still and she can walk in the clouds. Is he a dream or an angel? Though he claims to be real, and even gives her roses that people can actually see, there is something mysterious about Patrick. Maybe he is not a ghost or angel, but he definitely is hiding something spooky.

**** I am almost reluctant to categorize this as young adult; it has a depth that you will only understand after reading it, but a magical quality that perhaps you must be at least a child at heart to grasp. Everyone needs a Patrick in there life, even if it's only in print. ****

When Dr. Craig is hurt in a stateside car accident, his agent needs a viable substitute to provide the series of lectures in Down Under. He chooses another client Dr. Mold to provide the talks. Dr. Mold takes her teenage daughter Rowena "Ro" Maven with her.

In Sydney, Ro finds herself totally bored until a strange teen Patrick Carroll falls from the sky. He begins to take her places that she can only dream of, a departure from the Roach Hotel that is Ro's reality. With a blink they are alone on secluded beaches and though he seems ephemeral, his kisses are realistic. With her best friend too far away in the states to help her, Ro has her first boyfriend, who no one else can see or even mention him to anyone. When she finally does he vanishes leaving Ro to learn who is the enigmatic Patrick and where did he go for she does not want to be without him?

This young teen romantic fantasy provides readers with an intriguing tale as the audience will wonder if Patrick is just a figment of a lonely girl's imagination and if not who and what is he. Readers will enjoy the "dating" of Patrick and Ro as he escorts her to isolated places and never is seen by anyone but her. Teen readers will want to join Ro as she seeks to solve the mystery of the BOY DOWN UNDER that she cares about.

Harriet Klausner

Have you ever tried to explain something but you can't? Maybe you can't find the right words or maybe you don't really even know what happened. When Rowena (Ro) and her mother move to Sydney, Australia, Ro runs into a guy named Patrick Carroll. Actually, he jumps onto her balcony. Right away, Ro feels at ease around him, and she is having the time of her life. Everyday when she and Patrick go on a walk they end up in the most exotic places like, gorgeous gardens, outstretching deserts, and beautiful white sanded beaches. Wherever Ro goes, she sees Patrick. Ro is so excited about Patrick but scared at the same time. One day Hallie, Ro's friend from the United States, calls her. Hallie tells Ro she will be able to come to see her during Spring Break. Ro is ecstatic. She tries to tell Hallie about Patrick but her mouth won't let her. She is just not able to say his name to anyone. When Spring Break comes, Hallie goes to Australia to visit Ro. The first thing Hallie wants to do is meet Ro's unexplained boyfriend. While Hallie is in town, things begin to go wrong between Ro and Patrick.
I loved this book. It kept me wanting to turn the page and find the resolution to Ro's problem. The lesson is, if something is making you happy, other people won't necessarily share your happiness. This book takes you to the most exotic places while sitting your favorite chair.

All-American girl, Rowena - Ro - Maven, isn't completely excited when her Mother, Dr. Mold, informs her that the two of them will be heading to Sydney, Australia for a year, so that she can conduct a series of lectures in the great Down Under. However, Ro knows that she can try to make the best of it. After all, there are sure to be tons of hot guys with abs of steel, who surf daily along the beach in the bright sunshine. But boy is she wrong. In fact, everything in Aussie is completely boring - or gross, meaning the Roach Hotel she's forced to stay in - until she meets Patrick Carroll, who sppears out of nowhere one day. Soon, Ro has her very own boyfriend, but there's something strange about Patrick. In the blink of an eye the two of them are transported to secluded areas where they exchange ethereal kisses. But the strangest fact is that no one but Ro can even see Patrick, and she can't tell anyone about him, making her think that she could be imagining his presence completely. Then she does the ultimate wrong-doing. She tells her best friend Hallie, and suddenly he's gone. Leaving her to do nothing more than guess about where he could possibly have gone.

Sally Odgers is a wonderful new author to join the team of Smooch YA, as her vivid descriptions, and unique, yet magical situations and plotlines, are utterly unbelievable, and will draw readers in left and right. BOY DOWN UNDER is a lovely tale of first love, filled with a bit of paranormal phenomena, that will capture the hearts of romantics young and old within the first chapter. An absolute must-have for all.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Ah the island life...a wonderful memoir of a more nostalgic time. Great read.

The Confessions Of A Beachcomber is the fascinating autobiography of a man who left a high-stress, dead-end career to live the simple live of a beachcomber on Dunk Island off the northern coast of Queensland, Australia. An avowed disciple of Thoreau, Banfield sough as simple a life as possible and maintained that life on his tropical island for twenty-five years. He involved himself in observing the flora, fauna, and aborigines of the island, and through the publication of The Confessions Of A Beachcomber became one of Australia's highly regarded literary figures. Now available to an American readership through this Dixon-Price edition, The Confessions Of A Beachcomber is especially recommended reading for any one who has ever felt like chucking so-called "modern life" and return to a simpler, more basic existence in harmony with the environment and all that nature has to offer the contemplative life.

Under inauspicious circumstances -- failing health -- Banfield arrives on Dunk island off of Australia's northeast coast. But as island lovers everywhere know, more often than not islands have a way of reintroducing vitality to the soul and regenerating failing health. Consider Robert Louis Stevenson! Such was the situation of Banfield when he arrived on Dunk Island.

Banfield's greatest skill within this book is his journalistic training and keen powers of observation. His descriptions of island birdlife, in particular, present detailed glimpses of behavior and how individual birds interact with the rest of the island. "With the aid of a good telescope and a compact pair of field glasses, birds may be studied and known far more pleasurably than as stark cabinet specimens," he writes. It's no surprise to find out later that Banfield eventually persuaded -- similar to Thoreau and Muir in America -- the Australian government to set aside Dunk Island as a protected wildlife area.

Banfield also turns his attentions to other island life, such as the coral reef and fishes surrounding the island, and including Aboriginals living on Dunk Island. While sounding condescending now, nearly a century later, his observations offer interesting insights into times past.

Banfield's book reminded me of a non-political, "Desert Solitaire"-esque Edward Abbey turning his attention to a tropical island, in that the location is both a background and a source of detailed information. I enjoyed reading about the behavior of all island life and appreciated Banfield's obvious patience and skills as an observor. Being an island aficionado myself, I felt like I was enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of some of my favorite places revisited.

Overall, an excellent book to add to your library, whether travel, island, bird, or environmentally related.

Under inauspicious circumstances -- failing health -- Banfield arrives on Dunk island off of Australia's northeast coast. But as island lovers everywhere know, more often than not islands have a way of reintroducing vitality to the soul and regenerating failing health. Consider Robert Louis Stevenson! Such was the situation of Banfield when he arrived on Dunk Island.

Banfield's greatest skill within this book is his journalistic training and keen powers of observation. His descriptions of island birdlife, in particular, present detailed glimpses of behavior and how individual birds interact with the rest of the island. "With the aid of a good telescope and a compact pair of field glasses, birds may be studied and known far more pleasurably than as stark cabinet specimens," he writes. It's no surprise to find out later that Banfield eventually persuaded -- similar to Thoreau and Muir in America -- the Australian government to set aside Dunk Island as a protected wildlife area.

Banfield also turns his attentions to other island life, such as the coral reef and fishes surrounding the island, and including Aboriginals living on Dunk Island. While sounding condescending now, nearly a century later, his observations offer interesting insights into times past.

Banfield's book reminded me of a non-political, "Desert Solitaire"-esque Edward Abbey turning his attention to a tropical island, in that the location is both a background and a source of detailed information. I enjoyed reading about the behavior of all island life and appreciated Banfield's obvious patience and skills as an observor. Being an island aficionado myself, I felt like I was enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of some of my favorite places revisited.

Overall, an excellent book to add to your library, whether travel, island, bird, or environmentally related.

A wonderful book to whet your appetite for exploration of The Barrier Reef. Television does a superb job with fleeting glimpses of moving images but this book allows you the opportunity to slowly absorb minute fractions of true beauty. Like a photo of a wave, you have the chance to stop time and look at nature as no human could do back through history before the invention of photography. As we explore space with the Hubble telescope we should remind ourselves of the beauty within our world before we step away like impatient teenagers to the next world.

This series of guides has a well-established format - so it is difficult to understand why they have made this particular guide so hard to follow.

The Great Barrier Reef is over 1,200 miles in length and, thankfully, the book does not claim to be a definitive guide. Refreshingly, therefore, it is exactly what is says it is - a "Guide to the Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef" and, generally speaking, it is a good one at that.

The book is divided into the accepted geographical sections of the Great Barrier Reef and commences each of these chapters with an informative introduction followed by brief details of a fair and representative selection of the best known dive sites.

So far so good, but then they go and "spoil the ship for a hapenth of tar." With very few exceptions, the photographs are generally very good and include some that are quite outstanding. They lose a "Star," however, for blatantly "touching" and "standing on" corals. No photograph showing such bad practises should have been included - and this book features more than one. Furthermore, diving inside the Yongala shipwreck contravenes the "Laws" of Queensland and I was saddened to find a photograph of a human skull is used to introduce Townsville on page 95.

In the English Language, we read from left to right whilst working our way from the top of the page to the bottom. It is, therefore, quite odd to find a book that sets out to do things in reverse order. This book commences in the south and works its way north. Altogether, over 150 dive sites are included - but each chapter commences with "Site No 1" whereas it would be far more useful had they been numbered consecutively from beginning to end. Most unusual of all, however, is the fact that every map shows these sites numbered from the bottom of the page up to the top. Eventually this really does become very awkward to follow. One might also be forgiven for thinking that it is all a very poor attempt to poke fun at Australia - you know, the country being upside down and all that... Maybe not, but another star lost.

In Summary; a rather good book, but in dire need of some serious rearranging. Nevertheless, all the information is there and, when compared to other books on the Great Barrier Reef, this is a good option.

NM

I thought this was a great book for a fresh diver to the reef. It has great pictures and covers a number of locations and dives sites. I found it useful to learn a few tidbits about the places I was seeing while on the boat between dives. Would recommend to anyone looking for a general book on the Great Barrier Reef.

This book does a nice job of detailing major dive sites throughout the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. Dive sites are rated for both scuba and snorkeling. The book also has information on resorts, dive operators and facilities servicing the various dive sites. Information on various types of underwater life is also sprinkled in throughout the book. If you plan to dive the Barrier Reef or the Coral Sea this is an excellent guide to lay out your diving plans.

Dreamkeepers is subtitled, "A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia." That's important to emphasize because the spirit-journey is the author's, more so than the Aboriginals.

Harvey Arden is a former editor-writer for National Geographic and co-author of Wisdomkeepers, a book on Native Americans in the United States. In the prologue, he writes,

"I had hoped to garner a few stories from the Dreamtime on this `spirit-journey' of mine into Aboriginal Australia.'" (2)

With that quest clearly stated, he and his guide travel across The Kimberley to seek out and interview a dozen or so Aboriginals to glean from them an understanding of Aboriginal faith and practice, as well as current issues affecting the plight of Aboriginals in Australia today.

Arden is a seasoned journalist and, to his credit, he gives voice to individuals who would not otherwise be heard. This is the strength of the book: The people he interviews are real people with real thoughts and feelings and stories to tell. They deserve to be heard in their own words, and Arden is there to provide the opportunity.

The reader is apt to enjoy Arden's adventures in the bush; his impromptu conversations with Mike, his guide; and, throughout, his humility. He writes,

"I was no anthropologist or scholar or historian ... I wanted to relate to them as human being to human being, ... but no less." (3)

Having said this, the book lacks breadth and depth: The Kimberley is one of many vast areas of Australia, and the spokespersons singled out are but a dozen of hundreds Arden could have just as easily chosen to interview. What's more, the anecdotal nature of the book leaves one hanging. Where is the historical perspective and theological reflection?

The book is what it is - one man's spirit-journey into Aboriginal Australia. If you're willing to accept that, you'll find it worthwhile; if you're expecting more, you might be disappointed.

There is so much mystery surrounding the Australian Aborigines and white Australians seem to want to keep it that way, to sweep these people under the rug. This book doesn't reveal all but provides a window into the rich and ancient Aborigine culture. Best of all, the window is opened by the people themselves. They are not beautiful by western standards, but they radiate goodness and truth and it makes them beautiful. I offer much gratitude to Arden for searching them out and respectfully writing down their stories and showing their pictures. This book is side-by-side on my shelf with "Wisdomkeepers," Arden's beautiful book about our own North American Aborigines. The theme is the same: To honor and respect these ancient people.

Like any indigenous people who have encountered European cultures, profound disorientation has taken place amoung the Australian Aborigals. This book demonstrates the subtle continuance of their personal connection to something far greater than anyone can conceive. A centeredness, a natural power wiser than the intellect persists, is healing, gaining ground.

Dealing with the mysteries of communities other than our own is a delicate matter. Beyond the more obvious impediments to clear understanding such as language, there lies a world of hidden signs and meanings that only reveal themselves slowly, and only then to the sure-footed. Castaneda has written about such experiences, and others have tried with varying degrees of success. Harvey Arden has, all in all, written a remarkable book about the Australian aborigine and his attempt to find a means of expression after the drab interlude of cultural effacement that followed colonisation.

Are we really surprised that these folk have voices of their own? Some of the more remarkable native or aboriginal people of the late twentieth century, are former alcoholics and derelicts. Seen in another life, just a few years ago, most of Western humanity would have found it degrading to even go near them. And yet these were just superficial aspects of the person, which can be seen past if the intention to look is there. Mr. Arden is such a seeker, obviously. I remember thinking at the time I read "The Dreamkeepers," what an amazing thing it was for this to have been written by an American visitor to Australia. The author seemed to have such a grasp of the people and their environment that I felt, surely it must have taken a local writer to develop this degree of understanding. But no, relative stranger to Australia that he was, Mr. Arden had the human touch required and succeeded where, in my opinion, few others would have. This is a fine book and yet another that does not deserve, at all, to be out of print.

VERY informative. Perhaps too much info. At times I felt I was overloading. Better to have too much though than not enough. This book eliminates the need for any other.

There are some guidebooks which make a local cringe in embarassment! Not this one. It covers pretty much everything that a visitor to this city would want to see and do, and even leads people a little (but not TOO far) off the beaten track. There are suggestions for walks along some of the coastal paths, for example, and it includes places farther afield like captain Cook's Landing Place.

Like all the books in this series, it is lavishly illustrated and the maps are good. I use it for inspiration for weekend activities. It is a good general guidebook, which could be supplemented by more specialised volumes if you want to concentrate on one aspect of Sydney - eg guides to walks around the harbour, or activities specially for children, guides to national parks etc. but this book seems to cover just about everything at least in an introductory sense.

I didn't find this guide as useful nor as interesting as others in the series but I suspect it's because Sydney doesn't lend itself to guidebooks in the same way London or Rome do. I left Eyewitness at home, carried Frommer's Sydney guide, and winged it the rest of the way. Eyewitness has the best maps by far, though.

This is absolutely the best guide to Sydney. You must choose this above all other books! Complete, detailed informaion complete with excellent, useful pictures and commentary. A must buy!

Appears to be well written, easy to use.

Proof will be when I get to Australia next month.

I am planning on backpacking for an extended amount of time in Australia. This guide is invaluable in planning my trip. I love the series - it is perfect for a budget traveller like me. I don't know yet how accurate the info is, as I have yet to go, but the book itself is well written and organized.

i just recently took a 9 month trip to australia and this guide definately turned out to be my bible. i liked the layout of the book and would choose lets go over lonely planet in a heartbeat. i found lets go has more maps with better detail. in my opinion it fits the same amount of info in a lighter and more flexible binding book.

This was my 2nd time using Let's Go guides, my 1st being Let's Go Japan. I prefer them to the Lonely Planet guidebooks in general. They seem to have a less intoxicated following. As with my NZ review, I wish that the authors would've stressed the quarantine & customs issues regarding everything including food.

The book had all the basic info. you need for hiking in New Zealand. It's easy to read with a couple of nice pictures. Enjoy!

By far the best guide available about tramping opportunities in NZ. The track guides are pretty accurate and provide a good overview of what to expect.

This edition is far better than the previous editions. It's new organization and additional information sections are a marked improvement. A new section on Flora and Fauna gives a highlight of any New Zealand tramp. This book acts as an excellent reference book while tramping. Of course, if the book contained every piece of required information, (i.e. highly detailed maps and every step of the way instructions) it would require 1000's of pages. The authors surmount that difficulty by including instructions on how to obtain additional necessary information. The book is perfect for those that are looking into or planning a backpacking trek to New Zealand.

This is a great book for planning a tramping trip to New Zealand, although it's a bit too much to carry while actually hiking. The book contains good references and maps to the most popular tracks, and some of the lesser known tracks. If your tight on cash, I recommend going to the visitor centers in New Zealand and picking up the DOC pamphlets they supply. D.O.C. has detailed pamphlets on pretty much every track in New Zealand and they only charge about 50 cents (US) for each one. But if you want to plan a trip from home, this is the book to get, it's far easier to understand than the other New Zealand tramping books, and gives good information on what you need to bring. It also gives good info on the New Zealand back country hut system. Buy a hut pass, they're only 35 bucks (US) for a year. It even supplies some decent fly fishing tips for the rivers that border some of the tracks. But be warned that almost every other tourist hiker in New Zealand also has this book, so if you really want to get away from people, you'll have to do some bushwacking.

The book is an excellent overview of the Voyager missions sent to explore the largest planets of our solar system: Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus. The book gives a complete account of the spacecrafts' respective journeys and their discoveries but most important the author also brings up-to-date information that has been gathered since the Voyagers executed their fly-bys of those distant moons (information gathered via ground-based telescopes, Hubble and other spacecraft like Galileo). Although the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting planet Saturn will certainly add more information about the planet and its moons than the book contains, this work will remain as a true reference for a long time.
The books is solid account of what we know of our solar system.

The Voyager 1 & 2 missions launched in 1977 revolutionised our knowledge of the outer solar system. This book summarises the missions, how they were planned and executed, what when wrong and what worked better than expected.

Most of all it explains what we learnt about the planets that we never knew before. Except for Galileo's recent sojourn at Jupiter, and Cassini's introduction to Saturn, the Voyagers have provided practically all our knowledge of the giant planets of the outer Solar System and their moons. What the Voyagers provided just cannot be measured from Earth based telescopes, even telescopes like the HST in Earth orbit. There is just no substitute for getting in close with an array of instruments.

The book starts with a bit of history about mankind's discovery of the nature of the solar system with a specially good section on the discovery of the new planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The historical encounters of John Adams (who was one of two who predicted the position of the as yet undiscovered Neptune) with George Airy, the Astronomer Royal, who couldn't be bothered looking, were particularly of interest.

The exploration program was initially planned as a 'Grand Tour' with two launches to Jupiter, Saturn then Pluto followed by two launches to Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. However funding these missions was competing with the development of the Space Shuttle, and the inevitable happened, budget cuts. Even with the reduction in funds, the opportunity could still not be missed, as the optimal alignment of the planets for taking advantage of such a progressive gravitational slingshot would not reoccur until the twenty second century, the 'chance of three lifetimes' for sure. A reduced budget mission was eventually given approval.

Of surprise to this reader was that the final Voyager missions (the name was not chosen until shortly before launch) were initially planned as Jupiter plus Saturn missions only, due of course to funding restrictions. The final configuration of the space craft was very different from those of the earlier 'Grand Tour' plans which had included the drop off of a probe into the atmosphere of Jupiter, finally executed by Galileo decades later. The final Voyagers were closely related to the successful Mariner series.

While some interesting background detail is provided on the spacecraft themselves, their power, computer and instrumentation systems, and the intensity of the mission planning debates at the time of each encounter, the planets of course are the stars of the book. Evans & Harland spend over 50 pages discussing the discoveries at Jupiter, 40 pages on Saturn and its rings, and almost 30 pages each on Uranus and Neptune and their unusual collection of moons.

With Jupiter, both the Voyager's discoveries and the more recent additions to our knowledge from Galileo are covered. Cassini of course is in the process of re-writing the history of our knowledge of Saturn and its environs. But don't let that disturb you. Cassini will take at least four years to make its discoveries, and this book is such a thoroughly good read, you should read it now. Highly recommended.

This book, as was to be expected from a volume in the excellent Springer-Praxis series in astronomy and space sciences, is absolute quality. Although I haven't read its American `competitor' Voyager's Grand Tour by Henry C. Dethloff, I cannot believe that it could be done better than this. Especially if you're interested in the scientific aspects (planetary science, that is) of the Voyager missions, you won't be disappointed. It's all very well covered, extensively, with lots of interesting details and totally up-to-date (Galileo results are included in the discussions and there's a preview of the Cassini and JIMO (to Jupiter's moons) missions). The author may not be a planetary scientist himself, he is definitely an excellent science writer, offering an approach that's technical and detailed (and `problem-conscious') enough to satisfy even professional astronomers while he's writing in such a way so as to convey the sheer excitement of solar system exploration in every sentence. Very readable also, nowhere dry or dull.
The book is more heavily focused on the scientific results of the voyager missions than it is on the technical, engineering parts of it, but that is really not a problem. Most of the on-board instrumentation of the Voyager probes is explained well enough. The book has a lot of stunning black-and-white photographs and many illustrations and diagrams, and it even features a middle section with 13 colour plates. There's a bibliography and also a huge list of useful internet resources. All in all a great book. Very, very much recommended! Don't let yourself be scared off by its considerable price. It's worth every penny.

In the last decade Springer-Praxis has published a significant number of new titles on the history of space exploration. Some are better than others, of course, and unfortunately this is not one of the more notable entries in the series. Written for the non-specialist, "NASA's Voyager Missions" offers a general introduction to what turned out to be a stunning "grand tour" of the outer gas giants of the solar system in the latter 1970s and 1980s. The basics of the story are present including the mission's origins in the 1960s, its launch in 1977, encounters with the outer planets, and the scientific windfall that resulted from the mission. This work also discusses the individuals who devoted their entire working lives to them, from the planetary work of the 1970s and 1980s to the recent Voyager Interstellar Mission.

These missions, launched from Kennedy Space Center in 1977 were intended only to image Jupiter and Saturn as they flew by, essentially a windshield tour. As the mission progressed, with the successful achievement of all its early objectives, additional flybys of the two outermost giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, proved possible--and irresistible--to mission scientists. Eventually, between them, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 explored all the giant outer planets, 48 of their moons, and the unique systems of rings and magnetic fields those planets possess. The two Voyagers took well over 100,000 images of the outer planets, rings, and satellites, as well as millions of magnetic, chemical spectra, and radiation measurements. Without question, they returned information to Earth that revolutionized the science of planetary astronomy.

This work is suited for introductory history and science classes, but it is too unsophisticated for the serious student. It leaves unanswered a myriad of questions, and fails to explore issues of interest to historians. Unfortunately, the full history of this mission still awaits its historian. There are some other good works on the subject but those also fail to tell the story fully. Among those other books are Henry C. Dethloff and Ronald A. Schorn, "Voyager's Grand Tour: To the Outer Planets and Beyond" (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003); Robert S. Kraemer, "Beyond the Moon: Golden Age of Planetary Exploration 1971-1978" (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001); and David W. Swift, "Voyager Tales: Personal Views of the Grand Tour" (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1997). These other works should be read along with "NASA's Voyager Missions" to gain a more rounded portrait of the Voyagers missions and their accomplishments.

If only there could be more of these books, finally a book that you can read and that gives honest comments.

I found this guide to be a great introduction to palau and useful in my wanderings around the islands. Too bad the author is a redneck old guy without much of an interest in marine exploits, or he would have expanded much better on the best side of Palau, which is scuba diving. Also the maps are confusing as the keys to places are kind of mixed-up in the black and white reproductions. But I would nevertheless recommend the book to anyone going to Palau as a very good reference.

Very helpful in planning our trip. The book even gave details on the outer island besides the main island of Koror. Books on Palau do not exist if you want info buy this book

Having been to Palau,(and being fortunate enough to be married to a Palauan), I can say this little guidebook is excellent. The book is very accurate and I can tell the author took the time to visit all the inhabited islands in this beautiful archipelago; not many tourists will visit Anguar or Kayangel but those visits are worth the effort. The author aalso mingled with the locals which is also a very good thing to do if you want to see the really good stuff.
I plan to retire to Palau and this little book made me homesick, in a way. Palau is remote, difficult and expensive to get to. It is also a wild and unspoiled Eden and if you are into Botany, Zoology and the Natural Sciences in general, then Palau is a dream come true.