Oceania Books

I can't say enough about the honesty in this book. This book does not sugar coat, living in Paradise. When we decided to move to Hawaii, we bought the book, and read it cover to cover. It gave an excellent summation of cost of living, cultural factors, and the thing that helped us the most to cope when we did move here, was that we were warned in the book about the large centipedes and roaches that fly (both are up to 6" long, and spiders as big as your fist....it's true!! Once you get past that, life is good here, and well worth the move. If you're seriously considering moving to Hawaii, this is a must read book.

This is a really thorough compilation of information. Ms Polancy has done her homework. Like others, I found the book to be a bit negative, though, almost like the author was trying to convince her readers to look elsewhere for a place to live. The general ambiance of the book seemed to be well characterized by one reviewer, who said, "Hawaii's still lovely, but is fast becoming a crowded place for very rich people, leaving the rest of us to reconsider our options."

This reviewer, like Ms Polancy, speaks mainly about Maui and possibly Oahu. There is another option, where Aloha is still very much alive, people are friendly, employment opps abound and the whole Island is not on its way to being paved. It is covered in another book, "Affordable Paradise," that projects pretty much the opposite attitude from Polancy's book. Reviewers have said that they were disappointed in that it is mainly about the Big Island of Hawaii. Well, it's about "affordable" Hawaii, and that's the only part of Hawaii that still is affordable. Anyway, to read both books will give you a well-balanced view of the reality of living in Hawaii. The author of "Affordable Paradise" also devoted a whole chapter on reasons why not to move to Hawaii, pointing out that Hawaii is clearly not everyone's Paradise. We've seen enough recent transplants turn tail and return to the mainland to know that it's true.

Polancy's book includes lots of charts, statistics and other data you won't find in "Affordable Paradise."

If you add "Affordable Paradise" to your Hawaii collection, be sure to get the Third Edition. It has a lot more info and the real estate prices are fairly current.

Wow - My mother purchased this book for my husband and I when we were in Hawaii getting married earlier this year. It is a fantastic book that focuses not only on the good, but also the negatives of moving to such a beautiful place.

I agree with one of the other writers who left a comment - if only every place had a guide book like this!

It's cute how the new comer wants to know how only they will be affected or inconvenienced when they move to Hawaii, and not how they will affect, Inconvenience
or why most of the people of Hawaii feel or treat them the way they do!

Why not investigate why the Hawaiians and local people of Hawaii no-longer invite or welcome new-comers to Hawaii with open arms and lei?

Could it be because there are already too many that have came here that changed and impacted Hawaii's Aloha life style (that once did exist) for the worst?

In the early plantation days when the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Puerto Rican and Portuguese came during these hard-times, they worked along-side, blended in-with and learned from the Hawaiian people, their culture and beliefs and were accepted and treated as equals without being a threat of change or being taken advantage of.

Later and present people coming to Hawaii are educated, financially well-off and flexing their U.S. rights, most being arrogant and taking advantage of the situations, resources and the now easy-times for the rich here, making the Hawaiians and local people second class citizens in their own home State.

Most new comers have no respect for the Islands Aloha and life-style and start making changes to Hawaii (by voting or complaints)

Hawaii is probably a wonderful place that I hope to visit someday like other destinations. I remember somebody I went to college with who told me that she planned to teach English in Hawaii and her husband would work in the construction trades. Once they got there, they learned that their jobs weren't enough. They started a business on the side which took up their evenings and weekends. They don't regret moving for a moment. She never finished her college training to teach and never got her bachelor's degree. As beautiful as paradise is, it is still far away from the mainland. I know people who want to pack up and move there from New Jersey but the reality is that even Hawaiians have moved to the mainland for work and more opportunities. I'm not dissing Hawaii for all it's beauty. It's paradise on earth but I don't think people think things through with such a move. For starters, you have to have money to live there or a job that pays well to afford the high cost of living. Do research in moving there, don't expect that it'll be easy. It won't. Don't think your problems won't follow you there because they will. Most important, you must take classes to be able to find work in any field. Retirement is another story but if you move anywhere, you have to do research. The book describes people who have made the move there. It's like an "aaliyah" that Jewish Americans do when they immigrate to Israel with their families. DOn't expect it to be easy, nothing in life is ever easy. Visting the islands is one thing, moving is quite another drastic step.
As far as negative, the author puts a realistic view of moving to paradise. People uproot and move thinking it would be easy. I knew a postal worker who transferred there from New Jersey only to share an apartment with four other roommates. I'm sure Hawaii is truly paradise but maybe for those who have money to afford to live so far away.
This book gave me a better understanding of the struggles even for those who have white collar jobs for less money. The cost of living in Hawaii is higher than most places. I live in New Jersey and it's just as expensive but you have the choice and opportunity to find products cheaper elsewhere.

The author interviewed over 140 residents for her book. She does not leave out crime, violence, homelessness, poverty, etc. out of this book. You won't find that information in any guide book about Hawaii. Those books are designed for tourists. This book is designed for residents or prospective residents of the islands. I think the author tries to show a realistic point of view rather than an idealistic point of view. Yes, some of us would love to pack up and move and leave our troubles behind.

But the author points out that things are not always easy on the islands.

give a review on something I havn't read, whoever made an idea like that, I give a review after I've read the book.

I love this movie, so I decided to read the book. As with any book on which a brilliant and well-executed film is based, it's a challenge for the reader to fall in love with the original story. The film was very faithful, and so it wasn't difficult to love this novel as well. But there are some deficiencies. First of all, the characters seem more real and dimensional in the film than the book. This is especially true of the heroine, who seems a mystical and distant child in the book, but comes off more real through Keisha Castle-Hughes' portrayal. Second, the film is much more realistic, only slightly testing the boundaries of reality and disbelief. The book is much more fantastic, though it contains more insight into the tribe's culture. And yet, the book is utterly powerful, honestly moving, and incredibly beautiful. It's a brilliant modern folk tale of a Maori tribe threatened by the modern world to hold onto its traditions. The chief (Koro) rejects his great-granddaughter Kahu who has broken the male line of succession. Koro tries desperately to maintain his tribe, reinforce the old traditions, and keep their connection with their totem animal, the whale on which their ancestor traveled to their lands. Meanwhile, Kahu desperately seeks her great-grandfather's love, not to mention acceptance. It slowly becomes obvious that Kahu--despite her gender and great-grandfather's rejection--is deeply connected to the whales and the sea (which is actually a taboo for a female to engage in), and is the salvation of her tribe. Obviously, fate and destiny care not for gender and traditions, as this girl is apparently destined for great things. It's an incredible story of family, destiny, strength, girl power, expectations, traditions, and culture. Grade: A

Witi Ihimaera, Whale Rider (Harcourt, 1987)

This relatively obscure little book exploded after being adapted into an award-winning film. The book still hasn't gotten as popular as the movie, though, and that's something of a crime against nature. I have not yet seen the movie-- I wanted to read the book first (and will likely see the movie next week)-- but I know how the whole book-to-movie thing usually goes. And it's usually a crime against nature when the book doesn't get popular even after the movie's a big hit, so I'm playing the odds on that one.

As for the book itself, it's quite a good little tale, full of a young adult kind of magic realism that's likely to make the reader, if he hasn't already, consider the link between magic realism, the literary cliché du jour, and folktales. Ihimaera gives us the Whale Rider creation myth while telling us the story of a Maori chieftain who refuses to see that his granddaughter Kuha is developing into the new chieftain before his eyes because of his traditional beliefs that a male must take the position. (Despite, we find out, the fact that women have held the position in the past. Hard-headed old sod, eh?) We spend much of our time just learning about the characters, with Ihimaera throwing in some interesting perspectives at times; for example, narrator Rawiri, Kuha's uncle, leaves New Zealand for two years to run a coffee plantation in Papua New Guinea (and this allows for some rather odd humor, as well as a blistering excoriation of modern racism in the region), and we find out about Kuha's development only through letters and phone calls for a while. Yet it is rare that Ihimaera takes his focus off Kuha for more than a paragraph or two at a time.

A lovely tale, well worth your time, whether you've seen the movie or not. *** ½

Like most people, I bought the book after watching the film... in fact it took me ages to find the book because here in Spain it was called "the legend of the whales". Anyway, I thought the film was very moving and since when I'm obsessed with a movie I buy also the book, I did.

The first thing that surprised me was that the girl is not called Pai, but Kahu, and second, that it was told from the uncle's perspective rather than the girl. I though it wouldn't be good because on the film the uncle is a rather minor character... and in fact, it isn't.

I found the story dull and had to make myself keep reading. The only good thing I can say is that at least it explained a lot of the myth of Paikea, which in the movie wasn't explained that much. Other than that, there wasn't anything to keep me hokked to the book.

Niki Caro is a great scriptwriter because she made a fantastic film from this rather forgettable book.

This is an excellent coming of age story for a young girl, or boy! Readers will find delightful lore and learn something of New Zealand. The movie wasn't a disappointment, though I'm glad I read the book first.
Chrissy K. McVay
author of 'Souls of the North Wind'

James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" is one
of those unforgettable books that take you into the heart of
a time and place and make you really feel it.

Written during the early dark days of the Pacific War against
the Empire of Japan (1942), it follows the adventures of
a U.S. Navy liaison man as he island-hops around American bases
besieged by the twin perils of jungle rot and marauding
enemy planes. Interesting characters abound, playing out their
roles in the great drama of war and history.

It's a winner.

I loved the movie and wanted to read the book. It answered my questions.

The book is a good read, I quite like the format of a collection of 18 loosely related stories, each independent in its own right, but some characters reappear. This format allows one to read more leisurely and skip some if one wishes.

The writing is pretty good, with lively conversations, vivid description of the Pacific islands, and sometime humorous delivery. Literarilly I can only find two blemishes: 1. the excessive use of exclamation marks; 2. the use of military acronyms without explanations. But overall the writing is crisp, it is hard to believe it was written more than 60 years ago, it really feels very contemporary (except for the following aspect, see below). It is also hard to believe this was the author's first novel, it is quite sophisticated.

But what marred the book is the prevalent prejudice throughout the book. The other races (other than white), especially the native Pacific Island, are stupid, lazy, devious and indolent under Mr. Michener's pen. Even considering the time and circumstances, these things are not easy for one to gloss over. For this reason I cannot give it more than 3 stars.

I read this book for the first time in 2006. It is a wonderful book, very valuable in learning about daily life for American soldiers during World War II. You also learn what the South Pacific Islands were like then. I have been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand so I know what is like to have left a life behind in the United States and to live in another country. When you are signed up for a certain period of time, you always have to keep in mind that you are going back to the life you had before, but you are living a totally different kind of life now. People back home will never quite understand what you have experienced and many will not care. Most will only want to know a shallow version of that life. A person keeps most stories to themselves. I feel that Michener understood the life he wrote about in the South Pacific and was able to fictionalize many true stories. The book has insight, compassion and wit for it's protaganists. Just a wonderful book and I'm glad I read it.

I admit I had very little idea what this book was about when I bought it, but it seemed like something I should read while on vacation in the South Pacific last fall. It wasn't quite the island paradise novel that I thought it would be - it really is a book about WWII, in which the islands of the South Pacific are characters, but despite not being what I thought I enjoyed it thoroughly and didn't put the book down until I was done. My reading experience was definitely enhanced by the view of the ocean that I had from my overwater hut in Bora Bora where I was when I read the book, but even if you aren't on vacation in some exotic locale, South Pacific is a classically entertaining novel well worth the read.

Not a read I will repeat. Mr. Condon has too much angst and spends faaaaar too much time telling readers that he and his traveling partner David have girlfriends and therefore aren't gay. He's a little too concerned in getting that message across and not all that interesting when telling the tales of his trip.

This book is like no other. It's real. It doesn't try to be incredibly intellectual or to preach a life lesson but it is still intelligent and wonderfully humorous. It reads fast and will pick up anyone out of a bad mood. Sean Condon is my hero. I love it.

This book is quick, quippy, and masterfully done. I swear fealty to Mr Condon as I LOVE this and his Drive Thru America. Absolutely brilliant!

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. I kept waiting for him to tell us some interesting stuff about the places that they drove through, until I realized that this is more a diary of Sean's trip (and I do mean "trip," this guy is so neurotic and tripped out) than an actual description of the people and places they visited. I've read lots of books about travels to exotic and interesting places, but none has captured the innermost thoughts of the writer like this one. Thanks, Sean. I can't wait to read your book about America.

Sean fills his debut novel with enough wit, information, inaneness and Condonia to keep you smiling throughout this lengthy travelogue. I loved this book the first time I read it and my opinion hasn't changed yet.

A lot of us readers will never get to visit many or most of the places Sean and David do so we have to rely on what Sean writes as a sort of (occasionally very) offbeat guide to Australia and Australians.

Driving through the snow in Northern New Mexico I read then re-read a line in this book (Fossey Sisters in case you want to read that bit). I could not utter it to my girlfriend for laughing so much.

I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in travel.

Much, but not all, of the information in this book is difficult to apply to my wife and her siblings being, what I would consider, "modern" Filipinos. However, it does provide a great deal of insight into where many of the current social mores came from. Just because they may not apply in every case doesn't mean a visitor should be unaware of them altogether. I've not had a problem with being "too polite" yet and you're not going to be dealing with "modern" Filipinos the entire time unless you never leave Makati. Even then, some of the older Filipinos place great value on some of the old things. What it did for me, more than anything, was give me more appreciation of the Filipino culture; where it came from, what it lost, and what has been kept. Just keep in mind this book is only a primer, not a bible. The key to being a visitor in any country is always, be polite, be flexible and stay positive.
As for comments some may consider "anti-American" it may be culture shock to those who think the U.S. has always been fair to the Filipino. Even 100 years after the U.S. occupied the Philippines there exists a state of denial among many. Read Renato Constantino, THE MISEDUCATION OF THE FILIPINO.

Truthfully, I wouldn't even give it a 1 star! This stuff ain't true about us new breed of Filipinos. This book is a bit outdated. Don't even read it!
Just for example about the opening of present issue. It may be true to some but not all of us. And so does any other country. This is not a very helpful book.

I am a Filipino-Canadian, and I'm grateful for this book because it gave me valuable insights into Filipino culture (and myself):

- hiya = shame. Much of what Filipinos do and don't do is motivated by the avoidance of hiya.

- amor proprio = face. Filipinos try very hard to avoid making other people lose face in the slightest.

- utang na loob = debt to another after receiving a gift. Receiving a gift is bittersweet for Filipinos because the giver has some control over you now.

The book contains a lot of useful information and the authors are obviously knowledgeable about Filipino history and culture but I found the presentation to be somewhat monotonous and uninteresting. The pictures also seem dated.

The book is very useful mainly for it's practical tips. My Filipina partner agreed with most of the issues I looked up for advice. If you get asked to be a godparent for a filipino child read this book before you say yes or no! The writing is down to earth and we found it quite funny though friends in the Philippines said some of the ideas were a bit old fashioned.

received above book; correct cover, but inside is another book by name of 'the glass key' by dashiell hammett. tried to contact you by various means, to no avail.original packaging long gone. how do i go about getting the book i ordered???

Yes and no. Yes, because these two old British stuffies set off on this journey just the way most "inexperienced" travelers would -- by the seat of their pants. No, because I think I would like a better idea of cuisine before I went.

This charming narrative of two British amatuer travelers inspires humor and awe. Of course they get into all sorts of problems and handle them with dry wit. But they also give stunning and lyrical descriptions of the people and the places they visited.

This was a living travel adventure without a tour-guide in sight.

Best of all, our intrepid souls showed respect and genuine affection for the native peoples they met. I didn't see any bigotry in this book -- except that which they found in themselves and discarded with ease.

Readers should be warned that many of the descriptions of the cultures they visited are very vivid and weak stomachs may not enjoy the unflintching pictures the story evokes.

If a book has Redmond O'Hanlon's name on it, buy it. While reading this book, when I wasn't laughing out loud (and I never laugh out loud) I was enthralled with the subject matter. I hate to compare writers, but think Paul Theroux (but not mean), David Quammen and throw in a little Tim Cahill for good measure and you come close to Redmond O'Hanlon. I've read a quite a few travelogues and Redmond O'Hanlon represents the very best of the genre.

This twenty-five year old tale of two Brits being transported by their faithful guides into the deepest jungle of Borneo is amusing and interesting.

Redmond O'Hanlon and the smoking (as in smoking) James Fenton (improbably) the Queen's Poet Laureate embark on a journey to discover the highest mountain of Borneo and hopefully the white Rhino, possibly an island dweller and certainly unseen in decades.

O'Hanlon takes a whimsical approach to this travelogue. The stars are his faithful tribal guides and the locals he meets as he journeys up river and away from modern life. Particularly enjoyable are the village stops where he and his crew are (usually) met with feasts, libations, dance and the occasional memory from the local chieftain's female relatives. The clash of cultures provides many funny moments without slipping into condescation.

Although there is a lot of discussion of birds and waxing about the various properties of rushes, finches, yellow-bellied-sap-suckers and the like, the book is informative and interesting with the occasional chuckle thrown in. Altogether an enjoyable arm chair trip.

Long before Bill Bryson set out to take his walk in the woods, London Times' literary reviewer, Redmond O'Hanlon, and his friend, poet James Fenton, trekked deep into the heart of Borneo in search of a rare, albino rhinoceros, accompanied by three Iban natives, Dana, Leon, and Inghai. Romping through jungles, traveling by river, and doing the seven-step disco in late-night villages, the two aging academics tried their best to avoid 1,700 different species of parasitic worms, snakes, wild-boar ticks, leeches, amoebic and bacillary dysentery, yellow and blackwater and dengue fevers, malaria, cholera, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis, tuberculosis and crocodiles. O'Hanlon writes with a naturalist's eye for detail, noting the various birds, insects, trees and critters he encountered along the way. Equal parts travelogue and memoir, and with a generous measure of Monty Python-like humor, INTO THE HEART OF BORNEO relives O'Hanlon's 1983 quest into "the heart of twilight, the home of 'old mankind'" (p. 129). For me, life couldn't be much better, sitting in a Boulder coffeehouse, reading about O'Hanlon's adventures in Borneo.

G. Merritt

Lots of good information. Will be bringing it on our trip. Print is very small. Needed my extra strong readers.

So far what I've read the book has a wealth of travel info.

For years I have relied on Lonely Planet guidebooks as one of my primary travel sources for information. After returning from a self-guided 2 week car trip through New Zealand's north and south islands, my wife and I were both in agreement that this guide was not up to par and disappointing compared to other LP guidebooks. Restaurant information in Christchurch and other towns was already outdated. Hotel information was not comprehensive and I found better information for planning our lodging on the internet before we left home. Things to see and do in towns besides nightlife and museums was sparse, and excursions to interesting places off highways was sketchy. We finally put the book away and stopped referring to it since we were better able to explore on our own. New Zealand has one of the world's best tourist information systems throughout the country which helps travelers find or plan lodging, activities, transportation, virtually anything that would be helpful to the tourist. Offices are located throughout the country under the "i" signs for information, even in the smallest towns. Maps are freely available everywhere, as are also helpful free booklets and brochures for each region you may visit. For general information, this guidebook will answer many of your basic questions, but I would suggest looking at several other books for planning your journey and guiding you along your way in New Zealand.

NZ definition of luxury is different from USA definition. Stayed in Victorian Hotel in Rotorua that got rave review in this book, the room we had was very ordinary and the bathroom was very old and run down. Very disappointing. Even though the hotel is about 100 yrs old, it does not have to look rundown.
Stayed in Boutique hotel in Hamilton, very nice but not up to US Boutique standards. Best hotel on the trip was in Auckland by the sailing harbor, room modern but parking situation is pathetic. Only have room for 10 cars or so, for a large hotel. Except for the first night, had to park several blocks away in a municipal parking garage (car park), at the same price as at the hotel. Very inconvenient, we were there in summer, would be a miserable walk in the winter.
Great information about things to do in each city.

Great book, the information is accurate, complete and extremely useful at the time of choosing NZ as a travelling destination. plus, its ad free. just excellent.

Eyewithess Travel Guides give the most complete overview of any travel book or other travel product - good organization; great pictures, maps and other graphics; interesting & concise text and descriptions about history, national foods and beverages, etc.; good suggestions for lodging and eating. They are excellet resource and reference books, but they are concise enough to give a relatively complete overview but short enough to quickly convey information, especially if you do not have a lot of free time.

I believe that carefully reading about a desination is important for planning any trip. The Eyewithess Travel Guides are the best way to obtain that overview and prioritize where you want to go. Australia is a large country and this book covers alot of territory. The Australia guide is enormous help to us with our planning.

I live in Australia and wanted a nice guide, and have always been drawn to the DK travel books with their lush photos, beautifully illustrated maps, building cut aways etc. In addition, this book was the 2006 version, latest update and later than many of its competitors.

As another reviewer has noted, all these photos and illustrations come at a price, which is lack of detail. In addition, I am not sure how rigorous the update process is. For example, the 2006 version does not cover the most significant new building in Brisbane, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), which cries out for inclusion in such a guide. This building was completed in 2006 and under construction for some years before.

Probably best as a supplementary guide or photo history of your travel.

I love the DK eyewitness travel series because of the fine detail in describing geographic regions of the world while also including useful information about accommodation based on your budget, how to get around etc. The books have valuable information about each country ranging from culture and history to government and natural beauty.

The Australia book was very useful on my holiday over to Queensland and New South Wales. I had never been to Australia and so it was nice to have a guide that provided not only visual appeal with its pictures of the landscape and coloured maps but also had info detailing places to stay and see. I highly recommend this book and any other DK books offered for your next trip because unlike other travel books they not only offer an insight to the history and culture of the region but also offer info on the sights you may want to see. The thing I love the most is unlike other travel guides DK isnt just in black and white (thin pages) which are sometimes difficult to read and not as appealing to the eyes. DK books make you want to engage and get you excited to travel.

Only downside to the series is that they can be a bit more expensive than other books though amazon has good prices compared to other stores. Also they havent got books for many other countries/regions of the world, so Ive had to use other brands, I recommend Fodors Exploring series, theyre also colourful and affordable.

The DK Eyewitness Travel book for Australia is a decent travel guide, which includes a lot of pictures to help the traveler see what the attraction is while doing their planning. This 2006 revised edition runs over 600 pages, and includes an introductory section as well as 8 sections on the various areas of Australia, including one for Sydney by itself. It also has a section for Travelers' needs, which include accommodations, restaurants, and shopping information, and a section titled "Survival Guide" which contains a lot of useful information for travelers.

While the pictures are quite striking, they do seem to come at a price of more information about each of the attractions as well as the general areas. For my trip, I found the section on Tasmania to be rather sparse. The section on Melbourne was significantly better, but even there it would have been nice to have more information. I also question the practice of grouping all the hotels and restaurants together in a single section for the entire country. It seems as if the traveler would be better served if information of that sort was included in each of the sections rather than all together. They do organize the items by region within those sections, but in a hurry one might not notice if they stray outside of their area.

This is a useful reference, but I think it works best as a supplemental reference along with other material. If one needs a single reference, you should look elsewhere.

Two fine new travel guides use the popular 'Eyewitness' approach DK fostered in its children's books to provide adult travelers with clear, eye-catching and fun guides. AUSTRALIA packs in the color photos, maps and illustrations and not only covers the usual places to go and stay, but adds tips on local foods, cutaways and floor plans of all major sights, town listings of sights and beaches, timelines of festivals and special events, and more.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

What if you learned that all of the fantastic tales your mother told you were true - including those with dark magic and danger? What if you knew that using magic could kill you, and not using magic would drive you to the brink of insanity? Which would you choose?

In Justine Larbalestier's first novel for teens, Magic or Madness, a teenage girl learns the truth about magic: not only does it exist, but it runs through the veins of all of the women in her family. They choose to either use their magic and die young, or repress it and go mad. Her mother, who raised her alone, went the latter route and can no longer take care of her only daughter.

Without her mother, Reason is lost in more than one way. Her grandmother, who is depicted as a villain in all of her mother's stories, takes Reason in when she has no other place to go. Reason then meets her gran's neighbor, a boy her own age, and Jay-Tee, a girl who lives in New York - which magically appears outside of her grandmother's door. As Reason travels back and forth between the two continents, her innate magic begins to unfold like the wings of a butterfly. It is just as fragile as those wings, and just as likely to carry her away.

Make sure that you read Justine Larbalestier's inventive trilogy in order. Magic or Madness is only the first chapter of Reason's story. She then takes Magic Lessons, and, finally, delivers Magic's Child.

Really a fun, fun book. Reason our main character is a bright but odd fifteen year old with a family history thats even odder. Her Mom has spent 18 years running from Reason's grandmother and has dragged Reason all across Australia and filled her head with all sorts of misinformation about magic and Reasons GrandMother.

There are one or two odd things that almost fail in the book, but really one of the most fun books for teens out there.

This had all the elements that had me excited: magic as a disease, a gateway to two modern cities, and cool non-white characters. An aboriginal heroine! Please let it be good!

Then I read the book. It's not difficult to get into, as the writing's smooth enough (rather too simple) but there's not much of it, as if you've added only one spoon of the chocolate mix when you need to add five to have something delicious. Events, scenes, plot, were all stretched out, probably to fit three books instead of one. And that's where it got boring, and rather weak. Not a dense, beautiful world that's brimming over with fantasy.

Rather than magic, or the premise (which is exciting at first, then you wonder WHY does it take the character 250 pages to find out what the reader picked up at page 20), the book seemed more interested in fooling around with the minor differences between American and Australian English.

First, I would like to say that upon ordering this item it came to me in excellent condition, the day after I ordered it!!

This was a wonderful book! The characters are very interesting, i read the whole book overnight, could not put it down! For anyone who likes the "Urban Fantasy" genre this book and the rest of the trilogy are definitely for you! I Put Justine Larbalestier right up there with Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and Neil Gaiman.

Magic or Madness has Interesting and fresh story line (instead of the usual set in "Fairyland" Urban Fantasy's). No monsters from another world just "magical people of this world" living real lives with magic.

Open this book and you will open up a door to a magical world you didn't know possible, but the characters are so real you almost feel the experience yourself.

I am almost done with the second book of the trilogy and will start the third immediately following. One of those trilogies I will keep in my collection to read again and again.

Happy Reading All!

Cindy

I think this author has a great imagination with a lot of fantastic ideas, but she was a little lukewarm on the whole magic front. She never explained any of anything, by the end of the book I still had no idea what was going on, so that is to say that throughout the whole book I never knew what was happening.

As you can see, this book drove me crazy. I couldn't believe how the author refused to let any single plot line be, instead she had to jump from one thing to the other like she couldn't decide. I would much have prefered Reason stay in Sydney, Australia the whole time just so some of the questions all the readers had could have been answered. This book is possibly the most frustrating book I have ever read.

I think the author wanted to wait until the second book of the trilogy to explain everything so she explained absolutely nothing to us in this book. I say skip this, and wait for the second book, that's what I wish I'd done. As I said, great potential, but no followthrough on, really, any front.

I would recommend all of his books, but there is still only one I will go back and read again and again.....Confederates in the Attic. The best.

It is an enteratining (if slighty dated) view of Australia from an American Hitchker's point of view. I did find I was not totally sucked into the book, but his descriptions were rich and un-biased. Throughly enjoyable

In this book we see Pulitzer Winning writer Tony Horwitz hit the open road hitchiking around Australia. On his journey he gets enough rides from strangers to "fill a Rehab Clinic " 3 times over. Tony is introduced to an Outbackworld where distance are measured in beers consumed., i.e. a short trip is known as a "six pack of beer" whereas a long journey is refered to as 24 cans of beer!!!. The author describes how hitchiking can be a very jarring way to travel as you are stranded alone for hours trying to get a ride and in the next breath you are trying to reassure the driver who picked you up that you are not a Serial Killer.Luckily the author remains lucid and coherant throughout the book otherwise it would have all just been a blured memory of visting one pub (Hotel) after another!!It is a testament to the author' writing ability that he can make a simple ride through the Australian Outback so entertaining and a joy to read. Strewth, this guy was chockers full of beer on his way to the Black Stump but he only did his lolly once and didn't skite to anybody about how much beer he could drink even though he was surrounded by Piss Artists!!! If you didn't understand that last sentence I suggest you buy this book and all will be revealed. Well done Tony!!!

This is Tony Horwitz's intial entry his into travel series preceding "Confederates in the Attic" and "Blue Lattitudes". As a Yank living in Sydney Australia, he leaves his newspaper to journey 7,000 miles, in the mid 1980s, across the outback and western Australian coastline with his thumb and a ruckasack. Horowitz has a gift for being descriptive of not only the landscape but also the people, capturing not only their lifestyle but even their dialogue. That includes both intersting and amusing descriptions or talk. Crossing barren country dependent on a wide variety of transportation in various forms of condition, particular the Australian Ute panel truck, as well as riding with friendly aborigines who in one instance use him to buy beer where it is illegal to sell to the natives as part of a hospitality exchange for a ride. You get a real feel for the hard life in the outback and a view of the different yet hard forms of work that is done by the people of the outback while on on the roads or of course the pubs that are the main centers of every town no matter how small. Each town, driver and interesting person has a story and Horowitz captures them all. He also mixs a little history and travelers education of the land both past and present. Of course, Horowitz sprinkles it all with dry humor particularly as he runs into some interesting situations such as the outback man's love of beer, particularly Fosters, "the blue one". A defining qoute from Horwitz' Australian wife is very striking when she comments that Americans tend to panic when they cannot see evidence of another person while out in the wilderness whereas in Australia, that is the norm in most of Australia. An enjoyable book where the land and the people are captured like verbal snapshots. After finishing this book, I had to go out and buy Fosters beer. I only found it sold in a 24 ounce can, which seems appropriate as a man in the outback can empty the contents quite readily on a hot day after a long day of work.

As another American who lived in Australia for many years, let me assure any prospective buyer of this book that the author really gets the place.

He started out like many, seduced by life in megalopolitan Sydney, thinking that the superficial similarites between two essentially suburban cultures mean that there's little for an American to learn from his adopted home.

Life on the road teaches him otherwise.

There's a certain melancholy to life in Australia, which Horwitz comes to understand over his journey; the physical journey across a forbidding continent contrasts with his internal journey as a moden young man, a lapsed rebel, a faithful husband and a sentimentally observant Jew (Is this trip his own wandering in the desert, perhaps?)

I was moved by the story of Horwitz's passage across the northwest of Western Australia (beginnning on page 136). It's here that he surrenders his obsession with getting to the next town, and begins to understand the weft and weave of his surroundings.

The story of finding a Jewish family in Broome with whom to celebrate Passover--an Akubra sunhat acting as a makeshift yarmulke--warmed my heart, simply because I know that any true Australian would be equally welcoming to a displaced stranger.

And the story of Anzac Day the following morning...well, I've never heard anyone capture the curious mixture of joy and pain that marks the Australian Memorial Day as succinctly as Tony did. An ostesnsible victory witout glory--what kind of a nation does this make? He summed it up in three paragraphs or so.

Buy it, even if you never intend to visit Australia. It will help you understand the mind of an eventual Pulitzer Prize winner, and the experiences that opened his mind.

Oh, by the way, Tony, I'm serious about the offer of a beer.