Oceania Books

This book is about Joel Kramer and Aaron Lippard's harrowing trip across Papua New Guinea. Aaron is my cousin, so that may contribute to a bias on my part.

I found this to be an enjoyable, gripping tale to augment what Aaron has told and shown me in slides from his trip. It was marred for me, however, by the preachiness and by what seemed to me arrogance and condescension on the part of the author, especially when writing about how various experiences would teach things to my cousin--while apparently the author had little to learn.

Someday this book will hit the silver screen and the publisher's weekly reviewer, who wrote in my opinion an unnecessarily negative review above, will eat his words. This is an excellently written book which adeptly combines adventure with deeper issues of the heart... endurance, comraderie, and faith. It definitely "took me away" from complacent suburbia.

I have the privlege of being married to one of the men in this book, but even that aside, I beleive this to be a book for everyone to read. We are used to living our lives in our "comfort zones" and it is amazing to read of people who go outside of that, whatever the risk, and how they are changed through it. I read this book before I married and I felt like I was right there in the middle of the jungle, meeting the people, eating the food and getting the illnesses. If you have ever wanted to leave your "cushey" life, but can't quite do it- this is the book for you!
The critics who say that Joel and Aaron are "outdated". I wonder if they have ever thrown themselves into such an uncomfortable place and lived to tell about it? Not a day goes by that Joel and Aaron do not think of this expedition and how much they are changed by it. They also know that whatever the circumstances, God will protect them if it is His will.

While the writers are earnest and sincere, the evangelical overlay often gets in the way of a good adventure story. The fact that the somewhat hapless expedition didn't end in disaster is, in my mind, a shaky premise from which to deduce "God's will." Was impressed more by the compassion of those they happened to meet while off on their "vision quest."

A story of two companions crossing 1700 miles of untamed territory? The premise alone intrigued me, sounding similar to some of the wild ideas that pass between my brother and me. Man versus nature. Man versus himself. Man versus God.

This book appeared unexpectedly on my doorstep, a gift from--who else?--my brother. Where he found it: I have no clue. Why he read it: an even bigger mystery. My brother rarely reads, and if he says a book grips him, my ears perk up.

"Beyond Fear" was beyond my expectations. I'm a fan of true-life adventures, such as "The Perfect Storm," "Into Thin Air," and "In the Heart of the Sea." This book may not live up to the sheer narrative power of those classics, but the writing sparkles, and the sheer staggering feat of the journey is unforgettable. I laughed out loud in parts, shuddered in others, and felt inspired overall. Not only is this a testament to human endurance, it's a great example of God's faithfulness in mankind's physical, spiritual, and emotional struggles.

For a book full of taut narrative, honest dialogue and interaction, and hair-raising accounts, "Beyond Fear" is beyond most of the books available.

Been using this guidebook and LP's for making reservations for my island-hopping September 2008 trip, and find the listed accommodation prices in the moon edition to be woefully out of date, even accounting for the change in exchange rates. How can the LP Tahiti book, which was released in 2006, have more up-to-date information? Incredible!

Given this, I found it puzzling that so many previous people have rated this book so highly. When you look at their review histories, many are for books by this author. Hmmm.

Excellent guidebook. It covers everything from how to get there, accomodations and dining, maps, money exchange, and suggestions of things to see and do, to the history of the area, which will make what one sees more meaningful.

www.SouthSeasPhotography.com
uses all of David Stanley's South Pacific Moon guides.
The Tahiti book is exceptional in every way. Easy to carry, read and understand. Moon's books have traveled with us on every Polynesian adventure from surfing to reef explorations as well as land based excursions. Perfect book for the escapist in all of us.

Karl Meinhardt
South Seas Photography ( Hawaii )

How can I describe how good this guidebook is? Well, I would assert, in the extreme, that it would be better to read this book without visiting Tahiti than to visit Tahiti without reading this book.

This book will double, triple, quadruple...the accomplishments and satisfaction of a trip to Tahiti.

Everything about the islands in French Polynesia is here, all the essential info, enabling a visitor to be knowledgeable, suave, and inefficient, rather than ignorant, bumbling, and frustrated.

I mean everything. Maps, a glossary, conversion tables, statistics, history, culture, arts, lodging and dining (of course, and in great detail for each establishment), transportation, sports, entertainment, flora and fauna, healthcare...all wonderfully indexed.

You must, I mean you MUST, take this perfect guidebook with you to French Polynesia.

And you MUST use it to prepare for your trip. It would take you thousands of hours in front of your online computer to attempt to recreate even a small segment of author David Stanley's research, available for a very modest sum in this book.

The only plan better than taking this book to Tahiti, I suppose, would be to take David Stanley, himself.

David Stanley's books are always a worthwhile read, and his latest edition of "Tahiti" is no exception. Differing from his earlier "Tahiti: Including the Cook Islands", this book narrows it's focus purely on the islands of French Polynesia - stepping through island group by island group (and within each group, island by island) David does his usual great job of laying out where to go, where to stay, what to see and what and where to eat. I especially like the suggested itineraries that appear near the front of the book, pointing out some of the "can't miss" highlights of a trip to the region. There are also a great collection of maps and (or course) some beautiful photos of the incredible scenery the region is so famous for (these ARE after all, the epitome of the perfect tropical island).

So, I say - buy this book and weep that you are not there yet - but do it with a smile, for the knowledge within is all you need to know to plan the vacation of a lifetime.

The guide was extremely informative about the important stuff like, how to bargain without getting ripped off, where to stay, and what to stay away from such as the no-metered taxi cabs, cane chairs, and tourist traps especially in the Kuta area. The Cd-Rom is more up-to-date than any book you could purchase in the bookstore because it is constantly being updated. My husband and I went to some of the restaurants that are recommended, and for the price the food was outstanding. This is for the person who wishes to travel to paradise on a budget, but who wishes to experience all that Bali has to offer.

I found the CD-ROM to be extremely informative in thinking about what to pack, what to expect in customs, where to eat, how to bargain and many more questions I had when considering a trip to Bali. I have actually used the information in this CD-ROM to prepare my "Bali travel book" that I can use as a quick reference while I'm there. It provides first hand practical information that most travel books do not, or would not include about how to travel on a budget. I would highly recommend this CD-ROM to anyone considering a trip to Bali.

As a professional woman in the international news business, I find myself flying to different countries on a minutes notice. I appreciated "The Beginners Guide to Bali" because of its no nonsense approach to the new arrivals need to become acclimated quickly upon arrival in Kuta. This guide did not waste any of my time. It also cd-rom size and easy to access. I'd recommend it.

look-it's simple- you don't go into a gunfight unarmed-you don't go into Bali for the first time without "The Beginners Guide to Bali". Trust me.

this guide is easy to read, easy to carry and easy on the pocketbook-it was everything i needed for my first time to bali.

Wake up where the sun first greets the world each day... Where there's room to roam... Clean air to breathe... Where there are no capital gains taxes... a booming economy... and some of the best real estate and investment opportunities you'll find anywhere.

The world is getting smaller -- and New Zealand's profit potential is getting bigger.

The prospects for steady appreciation of land and investment values in New Zealand are excellent. However, it's very possible prices could rise much more sharply in a very short period of time. Here's a major reason why...

Aerospace technology is making the trip to New Zealand quicker and cheaper. Boeing 767s cost 50% less to operate than 727s. The new 777s are more efficient still. By the end of this decade, jet technology could cut travel time from California to New Zealand by as much as half -- from 11 hours to 5-1/2 hours!

Should that happen, property prices could double virtually overnight... and, over the longer run, multiply perhaps 10, 20 times or more, just as in Hawaii and California.

In the meantime, you can enjoy a bit of heaven on Earth with peaceful surroundings, friendly people, and great business and investment opportunities.

Exports are booming. With a cheaper currency, exports have grown at a 30% annual rate! However, that's not the whole story! Stronger commodity prices have helped. Remember New Zealand exports commodities like lumber, meat, dairy, wool, etc.

Business and consumer confidence is on the mend! Last year, consumer sentiment was at an all time low, which had more to do with the dissatisfaction the general population had with the newly elected Labor Government's policies than any dissatisfaction with the economic environment, but things are looking brighter on the political front these days.

Employment also chimes in as a contributing factor. The current unemployment rate stands at a 12-year low of 5.6% and the good news is that the trend upward in job postings is being driven by sectors outside agriculture and manufacturing.

So now may be the best time to read Adam Starchild's book and follow his advice, rather than waiting around to watch the economic meltdown in North America. NZ is a great place to set up your own Internet business!

New Zealand has always been a natural wonder. Sired by volcanoes in the middle of an emerald sea, the land is a mixture of pastures, jagged mountains, white beaches, and tropical forests. Economically, the country is no less a marvel. It's an excellent example of how free markets create prosperity.

In 1984, New Zealand voters booted a left-leaning government and brought in a free-market-oriented government. Immediately, finance minister Sir Roger Douglas began to implement some of the most important reforms in any country of the 20th century.

Sir Douglas floated the currency, revoked all farm subsidies, abolished all import tariffs, privatized 60% of state-owned companies, fired 55% of the government workforce, placed the central bank chairman on a performance contract, revoked capital gains and inheritance taxes, and refused to print money to save reckless banks and inefficient companies from bankruptcy.

The results have been astounding. New Zealand now has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world (1.3%), seven consecutive years of budget surpluses, 6.4% unemployment (down from 12%), and a resilient, entrepreneurial economy that soared 5.8% last year.

It's the kind of country, in other words, where you can build a second home to enjoy the good life -- and end up making a fortune almost by accident as the value of the property you buy rises amidst a booming economy.

NZ is relatively decent. Before anyone posts any "oh, isn't NZ awful" stories I would ask them to tell me what country doesn't have similar, if not worse, stories. If you want to compare NZ to your imaginary ideal that is fine but please stop confusing your fantasy with reality. Good lord whatever problems NZ has, and it has its share, it doesn't have armed federal agents attacking church groups and burning them to death, it doesn't have Janet Reno, it doesn't have all the problems we have in South Africa.

While Professor Gannon (Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Florida) has now shifted his interest and research focus to the early history of Florida, he remains best known for his work on German U-boats of WWII (Operation Drumbeat), and investigating the issue of the effectiveness of aerial reconnaissance at Pearl Harbor (e.g., Dorn Report).

This book is a valuable addition to our better and fuller understanding of Pearl Harbor. Its logical structure, crisp writing, and expertisely developed train of citations offer the reader a journey that is rewarded by its "let you decide" conclusion.

Some of the more intrinsical materials Professor Gannon uses are from newly released documents; but much comes from the earlier Pearl Harbor investigations and documents from that period, particularly the Martin-Bellinger report.

For example, note 78 from "Chapter Six: War Warning" has Seth Richardson's comments:

"It was well known and recognized in Washington for at least a year prior to 7 December 1941 that adequate protection of the fleel in Hawaii, where Washington ordered it to base rather than on the west coast, depended on having an adequate number of patrol and bomber planes with which to maintain reconnaissanace and to defeat any approaching attacking force; that during the year 1941 there were manufactured in the United States a very large number of patrol and bomber planes, of which only a few were sent to Hawaii while a large and dispportionate number were diverted by Washington to Great Britain, in many instances under lend-lease; ..."

[N.B., Lend-Lease records show that over 200 PBYs went to Great Britain in 1941. Harry Hopkins, personal advisor to FDR, was the Director of the Lend-Lease Program at this time. Also, Great Britain received US built PURPLE machines and Pearl Harbor did not received a one.]

Another example, from the Epilogue, is note 56, of interest to the "pied piper" of Prange and associates and their ageing lemmings:

"Ibid., p. 344. Use of the language 'most dangerous sectors' reminds one of the historian Gordon W. Prange, on two counts. First, because, as Prange wrote, the Martin-Bellinger estimate of 31 March 1941 was an 'historic work' 'famous to all students of the Pacific war," At Dawn We Slept, p.93. Second, because he (or his two collaborators) wrote that the Martin-Bellinger estimate of 31 March 1941 postulated that the "most dangerous sectors" from which an air attack on Pearl might be mounted were "the north and northwest." Gordon W. Prange, with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon, Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History (New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 1986), p.411. But Martin-Bellinger states no such thing; the text can be found in three places in the JCC record: Pt. 1, pp. 379-82; Pt. 22, pp. 349-54; and Pt. 33, pp. 1182-86. It appears that the 'famous historic' is also an unread work. ..."

As more Pearl Harbor material continue to be released, now even with some original documents coming from private hands, it is fitting to recognize Professor Gannon ending sentence.

"Truth is the daughter of time."

It's hard to tell from the title, but this is neither a conspiracy book nor (entirely) a whitewash of Adm. Kimmel but a fairly good overview. The book covers the comprehensive blind spots, especially those in Washington, that lead to the surprise at Pearl Harbor. Gannon writes entertainingly and covers detail well. However I think his (deserved) admiration for Kimmel leads him to soft-pedal the parts of the evidence that suggest his culpability. The admiral deserves, although not the whole blame for being unprepared, a sizeable amount of it. Gordon Prange's relatively hard to find "Pearl Harbor: the Verdict of History" covers much the same ground as Gannon but does not hesitate to point out Kimmel's and Short's mistakes alongside everyone else's. And Prange (himself a WWII vet) knew and liked Kimmel personally. I don't regret buying Gannon's book but I would hate to use it for my sole resource on the subject.

The theory that Roosevelt may have ordered a passive response to the attack by Japan on the Pearl Harbor Fleet is not to be found within this book. However, this book reinforces my opinion formed by reading other recent books on this subject, that Roosevelt did encourage a passive response to a pending Japanese attack. Gannon's knowledge of what took place in the Atlantic helps the reader understand the risks he placed on Kimmel, who fell into his job, because his predecessor spoke his mind about the grave risks to the Pacific Fleet.

As Gannon points out, Roosevelt replaced a permenent 4 star (Admiral Richardson) with Kimmel, who recieved a temporary 4 star as CinPac. It is not hard to believe that Roosevelt wanted someone who would be more pliable, and the leverage was the temporary jump in grade for Kimmel.

Gannon points out that eventually Kimmel came to the same conclusions as Richardson, but he never went personally to Roosevelt to complain. Roosevelt was an armchair admiral based on his previous service as Assitant Secretary of the Navy during WWI. He didn't like people who disagreed with him, even if that person had Richardson's experience and expertise.

It is not hard for me to believe that Roosevelt fired Richardson because he was standing in the way of his overall strategy to bring the US into the war with Germany.

A 1998 publication of Thomas E Mahl, Desparate Deception, which describes Roosevelt's cooperation with British Intelligence during this period depicts a President willing to participate in plots that are not covered in College History texts.

Gannon does provide enough information for the reader to realize that Kimmel was not the incompetent that was the fabricated judgement of the first "investigations" about Pearl Harbor.

Gannon does provide evidence that Kimmel and Short were among the first victims of the shooting war, as convenient scapecoats and provided political cover for a story that was too complex and emotional to be covered during and shortly after the war.

Dennis Sculimbrene

December 7, 1941-Who was to blame? This book attempts to answer this burning question and does a pretty good job. There are several different points that the author makes in this book, but his main thesis is that Admiral Kimmel, Commander-in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, was denied valuable information which, in his mind, could have prevented or in the least alerted the U.S. forces to the impending Japanese attack. The author brings up several points to prove his case. For instance, Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, chief of the war plans division, believed that Kimmel had in his possession a "Purple" machine, which could decipher the Japanese diplomatic code, and that Kimmel was reading all of the information that Washington was receiving. This was not true. The Purple machine that was supposed to go to Pearl Harbor was instead sent to the British. Admiral Stark and General Marshall are also singled out by the author. No "clear" war warning message was sent to Kimmel by Washington, and on the Day of the attack, Marshall was out horseback riding and did not arrive in his office until approximately an hour before the attack began. A warning was sent when he arrived, but it was delayed by atmospheric problems and could only be transmitted as a telegram. Kimmel received this message about an hour after the attack began. In retrospect, Washington must shoulder some of the blame for failing to keep its Hawaiian commanders informed, but Kimmel and his subordinates must share some of the blame as well. For example, the author tells of the story of the Japanese submarine that was spotted and sunk off the harbor entrance. Why was there no alert after this sinking? Also, two army privates spotted the Japanese attack planes on radar while they were still over 100 miles from Pearl Harbor. Still, no alert was issued. This book also has excellent excerpts from the Congressional Hearings held in 1945-46. Overall, I think this book is a excellent, although short, examination of Kimmel and Washington.

It's hard to decide which is more disturbing: the oversights, omissions, and bad decisions that led to America's unpreparedness in the face of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor ... or the desperation, speed, and skill with which senior military and political officials unjustly made Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and General Walter Short the scapegoats for what happened.

Both elements are exposed to view in Michael Gannon's excellent book -- a fine addition to the Pearl Harbor bookshelf.

Gannon does a very good job sorting out who was in possession of what intelligence information in the weeks and days leading up to the attack. The 'betrayal' -- one of them, anyway -- was that, for a variety of reasons, much of that information never ended up in the hands of the on-scene commanders, who needed it most.

As Gannon summarizes, 'An Army Chief of Staff orders that no operational intelligence drawn from Magic be sent to his menaced commander in Hawaii, then later states that he was unaware that enemy intelligence was denied him ... An Army intelligence chief, representing the service specifically charged with defending the fleet at Pearl, punts on the grounds that fleet ships, after all, belong to the Navy ... A Navy war plans chief states that any transmission of operational intelligence of this kind should have been sent out by ONI [office of naval intelligence], something he himself never permitted to happen ... A director of naval intelligence discerns in bomb plot messages no more than Japanese curiosity and "nicety" of detail about the time required for ships to sortie from harbor ... and a CNO [chief of naval operations], as uninformed at the time on this espionage as was the Army Chief of Staff, states four years later that ONI should have sent the information to Kimmel -- in direct violation of restraints that his own OpNav office had placed on ONI ... Surely, if ever there was a "fog of pre-war," it hung over Washington in the fall of '41' (p. 195, ellipses in original).

(Gannon firmly rejects the 'Roosevelt knew' hypothesis. He also treats Stinnett's 'Day of Deceit' to only a paragraph or so of scathing analysis, noting in italics, 'It is important to recognize that no naval operational message text in JN-25B [code] was read by the United States prior to 7 December' [p. 206].)

But the intelligence failure was only part, albeit the largest part, of the 'betrayal.' Early in the book, Gannon lists a damning catalog of the ways higher-ups in D.C rejected Kimmel and Short's pleas for men and materiel. More patrol planes? Denied. More AA guns? Denied. Money for more airstrips, so planes could be dispersed more widely? Sorry. Not in the budget. More radar installations? Maybe in the future. More trained gunners and patrol pilots? Sorry. We need them elsewhere. And on, and on, and on. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, don't give us the tools and we can't do the job.

And yet, Kimmel and Short were scapegoated precisely for their alleged 'failure' to do the job. In the end, Gannon explicitly declines to draw conclusions, leaving that, on his last page of text, to the reader. It may not be too much of a reach, though, to suggest that Gannon seems to agree with Admiral Raymond Spruance, whom Gannon quotes at the start of his final chapter: 'I have always felt that Kimmel and Short were held responsible for Pearl Harbor in order that the American people might have no reason to lose confidence in their Government in Washington. This was probably justifiable under the circumstance at the time, but it does not justify forever damning these two fine officers' (p. 261).

Personally, I think losing confidence in the 'Government in Washington' is precisely the conclusion that *should* be drawn from Gannon's analysis, 'circumstance at the time' be damned. As an illustration of bureaucracy's ability to shift blame away from itself and sweep unpleasant facts under the rug, the story of Pearl Harbor is unsurpassed. And Gannon is an excellent and insightful storyteller. I recommend this book to any student of Pearl Harbor.

Michener's compilation of short stories arrayed around the dreamer in all of us who lust over south seas lore, whether we have lived there or perhaps never even visited. These are stories rich in visual majesty, and the human ambition, drive, and misadventure, which the lucky few of us have actually lived.

"Tales of the South Pacific" with protagonists you can love to hate? That's what I was expecting when I picked this book up, since I'm a Michener fan from back far enough so I had to use my mother's library card to check out his books (for some strange reason the Children's Room librarian wouldn't let me have them!). On that level - whether or not this volume of true stories met my expectations - I'm disappointed. I'm not sure if it's because of the co-author's influence on Michener's style, but that definitely could be it. There's a certain academic dryness here that I don't remember from any other Michener work. Or is it because the people depicted are just so unremittingly BAD that spending time with them isn't fun?

In any case, these are well-researched chronicles of the lives of some through-and-through rascals who did their evil deeds from the 16th Century through the first part of the 20th. There's plenty of irony, plenty of historical detail, and plenty of adventure. I found it depressing, but I recognize that as a personal reaction. Its premise, pointed out by the authors at the book's beginning, is definitely borne out: the "refuge" so many men and women have sought, and continue to seek, in Polynesia just isn't there to find. "Wherever you go, there you are?" So very true - and I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed recognizing some of the true stories on which elements of Michener's beloved novel "Hawaii" are based.

This is a wonderful collection of short stories that are bound to please. a cant miss!!!

Michener and Day attempt to delight us with a collection of short stories of eccentric and sometimes deceptive real life characters who roamed the South Pacific throughout history. Any one of these characters would have made for the excellent basis of a full-length novel. Dear reader is entertained by the tales of some and bored by others. Take your pick. In short, this is a wonderful book to enjoy when one has either a short attention span or time to read only in short bursts.

The most prolific portion of the book is the introduction, where Michener explains the general feeling of any United States citizen. It was written when the atomic age was in full-scale crisis. Nuclear arms were being amassed at a frightening pace and seemingly tempramental political world leaders had their fingers all too close to the launch button. Michener explains that some Americans dreamed of escaping to the safe, care-free life of the South Pacific during a most perilous time in world history, just as his eccentric and unsavory characters in history have done.

Michener and his partner, South Pacific expert A. Grove Day, tell a wild variety of stories from the horror of the Globe Mutinity to the incredible adventures of Coxinga, pirate of the South Pacific. If you want to know the true story of Captain Bligh, the man of mutinies, you'll find there's much more to the story than in the movies.
The theme here is that for centuries civilized man has dreamed of island life with beautiful willing women and few rules or responsibilities. This book shows the folly and tragedy of many and the luck and fortune of some who made it work. I have read most of these stories multiple times and find this a book that remains interesting. As always, Michener is well researched and quite compelling.

I actually bought 4 different guide books to plan my trip Down Under. I ditched 3 of them almost immediately because Frommer's format was easier to read and locating appropriate information quicker. The advice on suggested tours was especially accurate; the boxed information warrants a second (or third) look - Frommer's never steered us in the wrong direction. Take the price information with a grain of salt as seasoned travelers know that pricing can and will fluctuate.

Don't buy any other guides - relax and enjoy your trip. Aussies are the most laid-back, patient crowd on the planet. It's an amazing country!

My life partner and I found Frommer's Australia powerful...entralling...a ferociously well-paced entertainment! We found ourselves knee deep in quicksand and this book, I kid you not, saved our skins. I mean literally! But all in all we found it a smart, craftsman-like, viscerally compelling guide, eh.

I actually bought 4 different guide books to plan my trip Down Under. I ditched 3 of them almost immediately because Frommer's format was easier to read and locating appropriate information quicker. The advice on suggested tours was especially accurate; the boxed information warrants a second (or third) look - Frommer's never steered us in the wrong direction. Take the price information with a grain of salt as seasoned travelers know that pricing can and will fluctuate.

Don't buy any other guides - relax and enjoy your trip. Aussies are the most laid-back, patient crowd on the planet. It's an amazing country!

Our group of six friends just returned from a two week trip to Australia. We did much planning ahead of time using this guide. It was so helpful that even our travel agent was impressed with the information we could give her about our plans to travel by plane, car, and train. Information about each of the cities we visited was right on the money. We stayed in some of the hotels recommended and ate at some of the restaurants. With the information we had ahead of time, our trip went very smoothly. Practically everytime anyone had a question regarding just about anything in the area we were visiting, I just grabbed the book and had the answer.

I went to Australia this summer (or their winter), and I took this book along with me. I read the book on the plane, and it seeemed helpful, but once I got there, I realized the book was lacking. First off - a lot of the places that were discussed in the book (specifically hotel rooms) were grossly misquoted on price. Secondly, the section on Melbourne (where I spent most of my time) I felt was inaccurate and the listing for hotels was extremely small. And the places listed were not very good places either in that they were either too small (and required MONTHS of advanced booking) or were too expensive for the average traveller. I found the Lonely Planet Guide to be much better and more helpful, giving the reader a more objective view of available hotels and eateries. I found a dozen or so inexpensive places to stay and eat that should have made the book. Even the Sydney section (where I also spent some time) was not very good, and the book was too Sydney-centric to be of much use to someone moving about the country. It's obvious that the writers of the book couldn't see beyond Sydney and New South Wales. Hopefully future additions will be more balanced.

This is an excellent book, which I really recommend to buy! It contains all the information required to emmigrate, live and work in Australia. Is written in a friendly language and has several useful websites and phone numbers. If you are thinking of emmigrate to Australia or you are already living there, this is the book for you!

We are looking to migrate to Australia and wanted to do our research. This book gives practical information on everything from visas to schools to jobs. It gives lots of useful facts that will help anyone looking to move to Australia - such as your drivers license is generally accepted for up to one year, you don't have to get a new one until then! Info on car insurance, cable and phone companies, bus routes, ferry service, PHONE NUMBERS AND WEBSITES! This is THE book to get if you are going to be moving to Australia or visiting long term. Hands down.

I moved to Australia from Israel, and this book was of great help.

Cultural idiosyncrasies are explained to minimise "culture shock", and possible problems are not avoided (despite the fact that the book is associated with a migration agency as I understood). I'ld say that sometimes the warnings are more like disclaimers, but I guess better safe than sorry. "To do" lists are used where applicable - great help when you're in a new environment thinking what to do next.

Another major "pro" is that this book is not just for people from UK or US or other Anglo-Saxon background. The author takes a generic, explain-it-all approach.

One thing which I think the author should change is the migration section. This is the reason I didn't give it 5 stars. This is no author's fault, of course, but the migration laws in Australia are changing at lightning speed - so there is no point to depict them in such detail. Furthermore, as much of the information in that section was hopelessly obsolete already in 2004 (for 2004 edition), it is plain misleading. Future readers - consult official sources instead, but for the rest, you can safely rely on this book.

Otherwise, I couldn't think of a better source of information.

Having read a number of publications of similar approach I must admit this one's outstanding. The information provided is not only considering almost every single aspect of living in Oz, but most important: it's (imho) spot-on and even pretty much up-to-date. David's writing is fun and easy to read and I would recommend this book to everyone on the move down under.

I bought this book when I found out that my company had actually agreed to transfer me to Australia ... but they were giving me very little help in what to expect. This book is not a "travel" guide. It's a practical guide on how to settle down in Australia - things like, how to get a drivers licence, where to apply for a tax file number, even how to do a hook turn in Melbourne. It has never steered me wrong, and I've recommended it to many expat friends.

A must-have if you're thinking about moving there.

This book is a great introduction to Madagascan Wildlife - it gives a breakdown of the main National Parks and Reserves and what you are likely to see at each. Another section provides (limited) details of the Madagascan fauna. While I would have liked some more detail, for the price and size it is a fantastic introductory guide.

Fabulous, novice handbook! Great photographs with basic but very purposeful text. My only problem is the owner of the "hotel" in Andisibe, down the street from the main restaurant, enjoyed the book so much I felt compelled to give it to him as a gift!

What it lacks is maps where to find each animal. Layout of the book is a little bit confusing (pictures are put on pages in chaotic manner) but otherwise a good book. It does what is supposed to: inform about different animals species, not only mammals. There is nothing better on the market right now.

This book is certainly very pretty, with excellent photographs.
It is also thin and light-weight, and does cover a little bit of everything: habitats, recommended sites to visit, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.
As such, it is an inspiring read, and probably the best single-volume book to carry for those who only have a superficial interest in Madagadcar's unique wildlife.

However, for more serious naturalists the information it offers is far too limited. Even mammals, the best detailed group, are only discussed down to genus level, neither mentioning nor illustrating all or even most species. Birds receive a token coverage of 10 pages, and reptiles fare little better.
Even the descriptions of nature reserves can be found in the more recent, excellent and complete field guides like the Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide which actually tells you where to spot every single species separately, and the similarly brilliant Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands which not only covers all the birds of Madagascar, but those of neighbouring islands too, along with recommended birdwatching sites. Fans of herpetofauna should try and get hold of A Field Guide to the Amphibians & Reptiles of Madagascar.
If you buy any of the above field guides, you will find this book a waste of money - I did.

I am planning a trip to Madagascar and found this book a very helpful review of the various parks in the country. The photos are excellent and the discussion of the various mammals are readable but provide enough information to be interesting. This is not a technical book on either mammals or ecosystems, but is a good review of both. Perhaps I was looking for too much from this book, but I would have liked more maps and a bit more guidance on how to combine trips to different ecosystems in one trip. I combine it with the Lonely Planet and can cobble together the information, but it requires quite a bit of work. I also liked the sections on reptiles and insects - many books neglect the little creatures, which can be far more interesting than mammals in some ecosystems. Overall highly recommended.

This book was fabulous. My wife and I were married in the Cooks and I found this book to be quite helpful and full of humor. As for map scale, the island is very small and you could almost throw a rock to the other side of the island. As Papa explains in the book the islanders are very nice and accommodating while working on what they claim is "coconut time".

My suggestion if on a trip to the Cooks, read Papa Mike's book and you will see for your self how easy the island was to navigate after reading this enjoyable masterpiece.

I have never been to the Cook Islands, but as I read Papa Mike's book, I felt as if I was in the middle of a trip there. He makes the reader feel life on the island as it is lived. It is very clear that he loves the people and their way of life. His stories and tips are warm with touches of humor, and yet very detailed so that the reader can easily visualize a trip to the Islands. I was impressed with the details of the accomodations or lack thereof on each island, and the details of activities and travel on each island. Mr. Hollywood has obviously spent some time living on the Islands, and after reading his book, I hope to do so, too.

Papa Mike's Cook Islands Hanbook is an exceptionally useful guide for the first time visitor to the Cook Islands. My wife and I traveled to the Cooks in July 2004, and loved it. Papa Mike's book helped us prepare every step of the way, from booking our accomodation in advance, bringing proper clothing, procedures at the airport, to very accurate reviews of local restaurants. The book details the many options for activities around the island, including the "not to be missed" Island Nights. Also included is a detail of all of the Rarotonga bus schedules, so you can quickly and inexpensively get around the island.

This book is worth every penny, and will save you tons on your trip. I give it my highest rating.

Sorry to disagree with one of the other reviewers, bu the COOK ISLANDS are NOT a "little known" island chain. I am sorry to say that the small island of Aitutaki has been over-built with INCREDIBLY expensive (for the poor service & mediocre food) resorts that charge 5 star prices (and more) and deliver 2 star service & food, pollute the fragile lagoon with OTWB (over-the-water-bungalows) that can cost $US 600+ per day. An nearby, off-shore tiny atoll (where one can go for a day snorkel picnic) is now over-run with tourists, an over-priced shack where one can stay for the night & a refreshment/food stand.

If you purchase David Stanley's TAHITI HANDBOOK you get maps, culture, history, religion, politics, flight & ferry schedules, reviews on food, dive shops, car rentals, excursions and lodging in all categories, on ALL of French Polynesia, the Cook Islands & Easter Island, all in the same book for a reasonable price. If this other reviewer had read the COOK ISLAND section in David's book he'd know that the Cooks are not a remote, untraveled island chain, but an island chain frequented by Kiwis & Ozzies who get MUCH better deals (on hotel room rates) by booking through their own local travel agents as opposed to US travel agents, and he'd also learn that sometimes, self-booking and negotiating with the smaller hotel's owners can produce a better rate, and a better experience, than relying on a US packager that wants to shove you into a pre-packaged plan that pays him/her the biggest commission. David's 25 years of traveling the South Pacific incognito makes his advice INVALUABLE. He also includes the feedback of readers, I know, I am one of them. Tahiti Handbook is more extensive and reliable than Papa Mike's or the unreliable (on price & room rates & maps) LONELY PLANET'S COOK ISLANDS.

This book, which is more of a trip report than a real guidebook is not adequate to be your only guide to the Cooks.

The most crucial failing is that the location of lodging and restuarants is not indicated on his maps. It really is helpful to know where places are located.

Looking at page 35, his map of Rarotonga, shows some districts, Muri, Titikaveka but there isn't even a scale indicator, how far is one neighborhood from the other?

He often subsitutes personal anecdotes for useful information. For instance he tells you that 3 collect calls he made to his office in California were expensive but does not really explain how the phones work in the Cooks (Kia Orana cards, etc.)

Or he writes "What Not to Take - Leave behind your hash pipe, methanthedamine, fruits, meats, cats, dogs and your nine-millimeter Uzi, for none of these are permitted." Was he padding? did he have to add some more pages? because that is just a useless waste of words.

Othertimes he relies on opinions of his fellow tourists (he admits as much himself) as in restaurant reviews.

I just feel that this was a lazy book. He went to the Cook's to write this guide and just didn't make much (or any effort) to do anything extra that would assist the traveler. He rode around on a scooter and saw some accomodations (he only lists those that have more than 4 units), if you use the Cook Island tourist Web site you can get more info and pictures.

He also describes the cross-island walk but on the Lonely Planet forum he admitted that he had not done the walk himself but only interviewed a guide. Yet he writes stuff like "The rest of us, after viewing the needle ..."

If this book is available for free somewhere, sure take a look.
He does describe taking a freighter out to Penrhyn, an interesting 4 page description that is not in Moon or LP.

I did glean one valuable thing from the book, under Courtesies and Appropriate dress he writes than one should always exchange pleasantries with a shopkeeper (Good morning, how are you?) before asking for whatever you want to purchase.

But this is not a real guidebook.