Oceania Books

I had been trying to get my son to read for months, trying out different authors and styles, and FINALLY, he read this book in three days, couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended.

"To the Outskirts of Habitable Creation" by Stuart Scott is a very readable, and scrupulously researched account of the actual armed invasion of Canada by Americans. The story covers events leading up to the Rebellion of 1837, as it is known, through to the capture and punishment of both the Canadian "patriots" and American combatants. Following their capture, trial and numerous executions, ninty-two US citizens and Canadians were transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) for a life of penal servitude. The story ends with a recounting of the efforts undertaken by many to secure the release and repatriation of the US citizens, which was accomplished after 4 long years.

Events during this period actually began along the Canadian/American border from Michigan in the West to New England in the East. Specific military action took place along the Great Lakes in Western New York. Having lived there myself for quite a few years, it was fascinating to read the story, considering many of the places, and buildings are extant. This account contains a wealth of information about the participants, including family relationships, names, and their final resting places. As such, I believe this book is a valuable resource for anyone from the Great Lakes region interested in geneaology. "To the Outskirts..." contains copious footnotes, references and explanations that allows the reader to find out more information and sources on particular situations that may be of personal interest.

I enthusiastically recommend anyone interested in this eventful period of Canadian/American history to read Stuart Scott's fine work.

ALL of these novels are gems. This one is one of his best. Set in the early 1900's, Prohaska is a cadet seaman on a voyage of discovery. Like all the novels, this one exposes the rotten core of the Austrian civil and military systems in a way that will have you rolling on the floor. I've loaned these books to my friends and they won't be coming back anytime soon. They have become a regular topic of conversation in my historical group. Highly recommended even if you aren't interested in the period.

A wonderful read, and the recipes aren't bad either. Actually the recipes are excellent. Brennan's writing is excellent and transports you to the exotic Far East if only in your dreams.

Not only does this collection of essays inspire one to travel to Australia, it inspires one to come back and write about it. The quality of the pieces is top-knotch and the selections hone in on specific and surprising aspects of Australiana. Stories of travellers who spear-fished with Aboriginals and trekked through the desolate Red Centre ignite a sense of adventure and offer appealing travel alternatives. The material is always vivid, clear, and exciting, but is not just a travel brochure. Authors certainly portray the bad with the good (although good usually prevails) and the mixture of sources ensures a good variety of serious, humorous, and romantic styles.

For anyone interested in the history of travel or of the early contacts between Europeans and indigenous peoples, this is a wonderfully stimulating book. Liebersohn brings together a deep knowledge of European intellectual history and a very perceptive reading of travel accounts written by some of the lesser-known early voyagers to Tahiti, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands. The real success of the book, in my view, is how he situates these accounts within networks of patrons, local island collaborators, and a reading audience.

He writes beautifully, in prose that is never cheapened with too easy judgments or clogged up with jargon. His book would be difficult to summarize, but suffice to say it will make you want to go back and read early travel literature.

Very highly recommended. I am going to track down Liebersohn's earlier book, "Aristocratic Encounters," in hopes that it will be as good as this one.

Treasured Islands: Crossing The South Seas with Robert Louis Stevenson by Lowell Holmes (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Wichita State University) is a personal look at a beloved and renowned author of classics in terms of his high adventures on the South Pacific between 1888 and 1890. Life on the islands, European religious influence, and the saga of indigenous populations are all covered in this dramatic, exciting, and well-researched account. Biographer Lowell Holmes draws upon his impressive expertise regarding the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson (he produced a documentary film on Stevenson in the Pacific) to deftly craft a work of historical accuracy and insight. Treasured Islands is a very highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections, and a "must" for admirers of Robert Louis Stevenson's literary works.

This was well writen book as well as very interesting.I would recommend this story to any one over 50 and under.

Almost any other book on Australia's Aborigines that you can find will be an anthropological description of Aboriginal life as seen in its declining years or modern Aboriginal problems in the 20th century. Some may record the awful history of injustice, the fatal impact of alcohol and white police---maybe even the deliberate policy of breaking up cultures and families that existed until recent times. There are a lot of books out there and I certainly am not familiar with all of them. Geoffrey Blainey wrote this highly original book back in 1975. I first read it a couple of years later and have kept it in mind all these years as a book that looked at the whole picture of Aborigines and their life in Australia in an entirely different way. I am basing this review on the original edition. He begins by pointing out that Australia was the only continent to be discovered by sea---and not by Europeans, but by pre-neolithic, island-hopping peoples of the distant past. When in later ages, much of the low-lying area north of present-day Australia was flooded by rising seas, the continent was isolated for millennia. Blainey tells how the Aborigines "terraformed" Australia by fire, how they learned to exploit every plant, insect, animal, and water source, how they coped with the volcanic eruptions of five to eight thousand years ago, how they developed the technology they needed, using all the materials available. Without any domesticable animals except dogs, which had come with them, and without any metals, they managed to maintain a stable lifestyle for thousands of years. Neither were they totally ignorant of the outside world, as northern Aborigines had contacts with Indonesian sailors, traders, and slave-catchers long before Captain Cook "discovered" Australia. Some of the materials bartered found their way far inland.

Though infant mortality and incidence of violent death in war and quarrels was higher than in Europe, in the year 1800 it was probably true that the average Aborigine had as good a standard of living as the average European---or better. They may not have had houses, but they felt no need for them in most parts of the country. They were nomads who didn't have sheep or cattle, but who wandered their beloved country in conjunction with natural seasons of plenty. Their diet was better than that enjoyed by many European peasants or factory workers, they had more leisure time, working fewer hours to get what they needed to live (and did not rely on child labor) and a richer cultural life in which all participated. The way in which the Aborigines conquered their environment and managed to wrest from it such a standard of living is indeed nothing less than a triumph. If you tend to think of Aborigines in terms of losers in the battle for survival, read this book. If all you know about Aboriginal triumph is Cathy Freeman winning that gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, read this well-written, interesting volume to know she came from a tremendously long line of tough, successful people.

Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded fifth edition, Trout Fishing: A Guide To New Zealand's South Island by conservationist and expert angler Tony Busch is a thoroughly detailed guide to over 400 fishing spots and some of the best trout waters to be found. General tips and tactics for seasoned fishermen, black-and-white photographs, maps, and in-depth knowledge and love of the fine trout fishing waters to be found on New Zealand's South Island characterize this handy and expertly written resource. As enjoyable to read for armchair fishermen looking to experience an impression of New Zealand's waters as it is for dedicated enthusiasts who live or plan to vacation there.