Oceania Books

This coloring book turned out to not be quite what I had expected. It included many pictures of old Hawaiian gods and homes, and I was hoping for more pictures of ocean and beaches and more sweeping colorful pictures of what old Hawaii must have been like, and for more pictures of people from ancient Hawaii. It seemed more for adults than a kids' coloring book. Still, it is an interesting book.

This is a small, pocket sized booklet detailing more than 100 buildings and urban projects completed since 1985.

It is not confined to the harbour sized precincts, which is the more usual focus of more tourist-oriented books. It includes, for example, a library building in the western suburbs University of Western Sydney, and the Joan Sutherland performing Arts Centre in Parramatta. It covers both public and private buildings, large scale and small - and some private domestic architecture and restaurants.

This would be a handy guide for anyone with a serious interest in the city's architecture and redevelopment. However, the print is small. There is a smallish black and white photograph of each project as well. Some are a little too small to fully appreciate the work. That is my only criticism of the book, which otherwise is authoritative as well as accessible to the general reader.

The text is excellent for anyone desiring to research the various arts and performances described in the book. There are numerous photographs that enhance description, and a variey of information that helps to better envision the Pacific Arts, artists's encounters and their struggles to maintain their native arts.

This volume of drawings with brief commentary By Bernard Smith, the foremost historian of Australian art, is of interest to students of both Australian history and art. Whilst not to everyone's aesthetic taste the early work of the very first European colonists in Australia has an undeniable vigour. It's the directness of their work that makes these images captivating - the collision of two irreconcilable cultures is captured here with an almost hullicanatory strangeness. Unfortunately the text is sparing, this is primarily a visual source, but as an object of beauty this book should be owned by all interested in the history of colonial Australia.

Wilson wrote the book on occasion of the second centennial of the Australian Federation. He is a conservative British-Australian historian. His objective is twofold: Giving an introduction to the crucial events and periods of Australian history, while, at the same time, demystifying some of the legends that dominant post-modern historiography has created. Wilson offers chapters on political, cultural and social history, as well as on aspects of modern day Australian life. The author is highly critical of leftist approaches. With the full authority of a well-read historian whose classical education sharpened the view for the real issues, Wilson marks the follies of deconstructivist thinking. At the same time he avoids cheap simplifications and instead disects the crucial underlying principles of Australian history. This might seem a bit unfashionable these days. But the insight gained from this book of medium length is profound. His book is highly entertaining, nevertheless, and his description of the peculiar traits of down-under culture is full of sympathy for the object of his studies. Wilson's book is recommended to everyone interested in a no-nonsense, anti-relativist introduction to Australian history and society. Despite the fact that is more than ten years old it remains one of the best works in the field.

"Australia -journey of a timeless land" is a great book about a surely great land. The texts by roff smith present all the territories of the continent, góing from the north to the west coast, the southern vineyards to the eastcoast. Smith writes about the historical development, the social and political status quo, every time in a interesting way, often using a personal point of view, areporters point of view. The aborigines-tragedy has room as has the cruels of Tasmanias prisons of the 18th Century Really marvellous and overwhelming are the photographs of national-geographic stuff-member sam abell. Great landscapes, the special light of morning or evening gives the land a structure. Abell is able to bring the feeling of space on a simple sheet. And he captures with his mostley wide-angle optics decessif moments, where time and space meet at an certain point. And I think, time and space, open space are specific for Australia, that i have not ever visited. Sam Abell is a great artist, more than a photojournalist. You should read his "stay this moment"-book also. This australia-book is worth every dolllar.

Although I have not yet traveled with this book, I purchased it in order to help plan my upcoming vacation. This atlas contains quite a bit of additional information on Australia that I found to be helpful. I was particularly impressed with the detail pertaining to the description and quality of roadways and the available faclities for travelers. I found the format, photography, and writing style to be pleasant; the legends were clear and easy to interpret. However, as an atlas, I would have preferred that the larger maps be printed in such a manner that they would be displayed in their entirety by simply opening the book, as opposed to be divided between different pages.

This is a decent map. Has large scale views of the urban centers but it could be a little better in a couple of respects. There are no longitudes and latitudes on the map. This is not the 1st map I have run across with this problem. With all the GPS devices in use, you would think the map makers would have provided this helpful information. There is no index to the national parks. Trying to find them on the map is a real hunt and search task. Also rivers are not indexed, only towns.

I enjoyed navigating through this book and found it useful. The book gave me ideas and hints to make my trip more enjoyable

We used this guide to plan our 3 week trip to Australia because we were so impressed with the South America edition which we had used previously. It was very helpful and accurate regarding various costs. It even gives planning tips depending on how much time you have. It is definitely a good alternative to the Lonely Planet which I sometimes find the info to be outdated.