Oceania Books

Perhaps the best book ever to explain why New Zealand is not the USA with minor differences. There are considerable cultural and societal differences which may escape the visitor unless and until they experience New Zealand on a deep level. Some find the mysterious aspects of her experience of the Maori culture to be doubtful or merely coincidence. Those born in New Zealand will understand them and will not be surprised.

My mother mailed me this book from America to New Zealand because I have recently arrived in NZ and I will be living in New Zealand for the next year. I find Carol O'Bistro's insights about New Zealand culture relevent and insightful for a current long-term visitor. Her writing is lyrical and fun to read. I wonder what she is doing now.

Thought provoking, moving and fun. The story is told in a masterful way that made me laugh, cry and sit-up thinking about it for a week after I read it. The author takes you along on her own personal journey and as her New York City eyes and heart transform into something miraculous so does the readers'. It touches the heart and reminds us of our humanity in the most magnificent way. Read it slowly; you won't want it to end!

I bought this book when I was visiting New Zealand in 1988 where people kept recommending it, and I am just now rereading it for something like the fifth time--including one time with a discussion group. This time through I am finding new delights that I must have skimmed over before. Parts of the book are naively New-Agey, but even those parts are personal and honest and fun to read. It is the story of a woman whose job takes her into the middle of an enormous cultural shift, and she manages to stay in the middle--between the world views of American bureaucracy and a traditional people's values, and somehow to walk that precarious boundary and to be receptive to the ways it changes her. It's an amazing story.

On September 10, 1984, at first light, New York's Fifth Avenue was the scene of an unusual ceremony. On the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art a group of Maori women wailed the ritual welcome: HAERE MAI !! Their calls were answered and taken up by a group of Maori elders down the avenue, their leader in a feathered cloak, their path cleared of evil spirits by a small band of tattooed warriors ferociously thrusting their spears.

It was opening day of a groundbreaking exhibition at the Met: Te Maori: Maori Art from New Zealand Collections. The elders were in New York to lift the tapu and open the exhibition. Their greeting was for their ancestors, spiritually residing in the 174 taonga (treasures) on display outside New Zealand for the first time. Nine years in the planning, Te Maori was the culmination of a massive exercise in politics and logistics.

Carol O'Biso was the registrar of the exhibition, responsible for the packing and safe passage of these treasures collected from a number of New Zealand museums. First Light: A Magical Journey is her lyrical story of this great adventure.

The "cultural artifacts" are believed by the Maori to be sacred and powerful. Carol, overwhelmed at first by the vast divide between her New York self and the ancient Maori beliefs, struggled to do her job in the midst of controversy over the exhibition. She was excluded by Maori custom from speaking at the many ritual gatherings in museums and meeting houses. Frustration was her constant companion, in those early days. Gradually the power of the collection became entirely real to her and she found herself honoring the treasures in ways she would not have found possible.

Carol spent several years packing, shipping and unpacking the irreplaceable treasures and was under their spell when she returned them to New Zealand in 1986. She handed them over, in yet another ceremony that left her in tears, to a New Zealand registrar for their awe-inspiring progress through New Zealand museums.

Carol's story is a very personal one and some of her early impressions of New Zealand were less than favorable. However the country's charm and especially the strength of the Maoris' respect for their culture led her to a deep appreciation of The Land of the Long White Cloud.

I had the privilege of seeing Te Maori in New Zealand, and First Light brought back vivid memories of its power. I read the book in the early 1990s and then gave it away (read it! you'll love it!), and when I found a copy on Amazon this month I was delighted to be reacquainted with it.

Linda Bulger, 2008

Once again the Central Asian region is bright on radar screens of international politics. The wave of colorful "velvet" revolutions is sweeping though the former Soviet republics. Rose revolution first followed by orange revolution led to fall Georgia's and Ukraine's corrupt regimes. Now all eyes turn to Central Asia anticipating the same changes to take place in the totalitarian republics of the region.

Unfortunately, there is a looming deficit of current books about the Central Asian region. The revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine came as surprise to many precisely due to lack of information about the region.

The Historical Dictionary of Kyrgyzstan successfully fills this information gap by providing comprehensive information about Central Asia in general and Kyrgyzstan in particular. The book provides superb up-to-date details about the key players and issues in domestic and international politics. The dictionary describes the history and the current situation of Central Asia. It also provides biographies of major politicians and information about most important political parties and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The bibliography section is very helpful in finding materials and resources in specialized subject areas. This information is particularly important for analyzing and forecasting events in the country and the region. This is an essential book for beginning students and experienced scholars of Central Asian studies.

This book is one of the best reference sources on Kyrgyzstan that was ever published to date.
It is very well organized and objectively covers most aspects of Kyrgyz history, culture and economic development.
The chronology is as complete as it can be. It starts with available facts on early history and gives more detailed list of majour events of the modern time.
The introduction gives a brief but comprehensive background on the country and it is alone could be a good source of information on Kyrgyzstan.
The dictionary is methodologically written and covers key political, cultural, historical, linguistic, economic aspects of Kyrgyz development. One can even find some interesting - hard to find anywhere else - pieces of information on traditional Kyrgyz culture. The author even explains the problems with different transliteration of Kyrgyz geographic and personal names.
The abundance of statistical tables adds to the uniqueness and usefulness of this book.
Finally the bibliography is a real treasure that points you in the right direction for further research on the country and the Central Asian region.
Highly recommend this book.

Very useful book. Even someone like me who has worked in Kyrgyzstan twice and considered myself knowlegeable about Kyrgyz history got a lot about of the book.
I especially enjoyed learning more about key figures in Kyrgyz history and the current key political entities. In addition, the dateline is good as is the bibliography.

This dictionary is the most useful resourse to date that proves to be a quick and thoughtfull guide for twentieth century Kyrgyz history and society. It provides the students of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia with a concise chronology and a comprehensive list of key issues and concepts. The book demonstrates that Rafis Abazov has done a great deal of research on this neglected region. In addition to being a resource for the history of the region, the dictionary teaches the reader about cultural, social, political and economic facts about Kyrgzystan.
I highly recommend this dictionary as an extensive and well-written reference book of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. It would make an excellent reference book for libraries, schools and universities.

The dictionary written on the base of interdisciplinary approach will be useful for specialists, who are seriously and scholarly interested in Kyrgyzstan as well as to students who are going to discover this Central-Asian country. The important feature of author's skill is to present the past and present of the Kyrgyz Republic as persistent and unique process. He carefully examines the quantity and quality of state, non-government and private institutions and leaderships and their influence on power and politics in country. The author's independent and non-tendentious view on the situation in modern Kyrgyzstan will be useful for national archives, which now are working towards to systematization and classification of current data.

Everything you need to know about travelling around the South Pacific is in the 8th edition of the Moon guide to the South Pacific, yet another informative and comprehensive guidebook from the number one South Pacific expert. This edition covers all the islands of your dreams, from well-known holiday destinations such as French Polynesia to lesser-known places such as Pitcairn Island and Niue. It is full of thoroughly researched and practical information on travelling to and around the Pacific, covers everything from where to stay to where to eat, from background history to contemporary culture and traditions, and is a delight to read regardless of whether you are planning a trip to the South Pacific or not. It is the definitive guide for everyone, from the luxury traveller to the backpacker to the adventurer to the armchair dreamer.

Even though I travel often to the South Pacific, I can always rely on David Stanley's guidebooks to introduce me to some new area of interest, a different place to hang out, or an idea for an activity or excursion I hadn't previously thought about. It gives a whole new meaning to "don't leave home without it."

A new edition of this handbook is now available and it can be found by searching for "Moon Handbooks South Pacific" on this site.

As president of Sea For Yourself Snorkeling Tours, it¹s my professional obligation to remain attentive to both the world¹s best snorkelingsites and the logistical infrastructure that facilitates our group visits. For thesepurposes, (as well as my personal travel) David Stanley¹s travel handbooks have been a valuable and trusted ongoing source of reliableinformation. For travel planning, it¹s critical to use reference material that is accurate, up-to-date, and complete. The South Pacific Handbook satisfies all these criteria, and more.I was especially interested in the description of coral reefs. David does a superb job condensing this complex biological system ­ revealing it¹s essential ecological ingredients in the context of how we can responsibly interact with the fish, coral, and resident human communities.David¹s book is filled with the practical (and accurate) nuts and Bolts information so essential for planning your trip to the South Pacific. The extensive section of general advice (currency, health, food, recreation, visas, etc.) is then followed by detailed regional descriptions of virtually every inhabited island group in the entire South Pacific, including evaluations of restaurants, accommodations, and transportation issues.If I had to pick a single book, either to use in planning my South Pacific Odyssey or to take with me on the journey, it would be David Stanley¹s South Pacific Handbook.

David Stanley writes the best guides for the Pacific region. Whatever you want/need to know, you'll find it in his guides. His depth of research and knowledge is astonishing. Check it out.

South Pacific Handbook Review ... By Garry Hawkins

If you're thinking of travelling to the South Pacific (and go you definitely should), then David Stanley's `South Pacific Handbook' is THE travellers bible for the region. It's the only guidebook that covers every single inhabited island in the region in one single volume, yet at 908pp remains sufficiently comprehensive to give you all the background information you could ever possibly ask for.

My first odyssey to the South Pacific came in 1991, at the end of a round the world trip. While total war was raging in the Gulf, here was I, languishing at the Royal Hotel in the old Fijiian capital of Levuka. But what a place to languish! I'll let David Stanley describe the scene to you:

"For the full Somerset Maugham flavour, stay at the 15 room Royal Hotel... In the lounge, ceiling fans revolve around the rattan sofas and potted plants, and the fan- cooled rooms upstairs with private bath are pleasant, with much needed mosquito nets provided. At US$8/12/14 for single/double/triple the colonial atmosphere and impeccable service make it about the best value in Fiji.... Everybody loves this place."

Well, I can vouch for that! Meanwhile however, cruise missiles were performing flybys past the Baghdad Hilton, but outside the Royal Hotel it was merely raining cats and dogs. Well - it was the wet season you know! But while I sat soaking up the colonial ambience, I had plenty of time to delve into my trusty South Pacific Handbook.

I began to realise that were so many different places to go in the region. You may have heard of Western Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga or even the Cook Islands? But have you ever heard of Tuvalu, Tokelau, Niue or Futuna? No? Well not many people have but from Solomon Islands to Easter Island - you'll find them all in David Stanley's book.

Even if you never get to visit some of these far flung and exotic sounding names, you can learn an awful lot about this splendidly diverse region of different cultures and customs. Plate tectonics, Darwin's theory of atoll formation, the greenhouse effect, French nuclear testing, fauna and flora, economics, politics, conservation and the environment. I could go on....

Since my initial visit to Fiji, I've managed to visit Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Tahiti, Cook Islands and Tuvalu - and still there's more to see. I'd love to visit the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Wallis, Futuna, New Caledonia, Easter and Pitcairn Island - so many islands to visit and so little time (and money!) to do it with.

Next time I'm headed for the South Pacific, I'll be sure to take David Stanley's South Pacific Handbook with me. Why carry a multitude of travel guides for different islands, when you need only take the one?

This is an excellent guide to the wildlife in Antarctica. Great drawings of the animals and descriptions. It only deals with wildlife south of the Antarctic convergence, so if you are looking for a book which covers all species of penguin, this isn't it. It has a map on the inside cover and maps for each species and where it can be found. It also has a brief history of the wildlife after discovery and the hunting which took place. My only gripe is that I would have liked the maps for each species to be more specific.
The book is small and not very thick, so very easy to carry around on the boat or in your backpack.
This book made me even more excited about going to Antarctica, if that's at all possible!!

This has got to be the single best guide to Antarctica's unusual wildlife. Everything is covered here, from Gentoo Penguins to Crab-Eater Seals (which don't actually eat crabs). Beautiful illustrations make it easy to identify birds & other animals while your out on the ice. If you're going to the White Continent, you'll want to stash this little book in your daypack. This book was useful when my husband & I visited the Antarctic peninsula, which we chronicle in our DVD "T&T's Real Travels in Antarctica" (also available on amazon.com).

If you are visiting the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands, this guide is a good field guide to identifying, and learning about, the most common Antarctic fauna you will experience, including birds, mammals and cetaceans. (It is not a comprehensive guide for htose desiring in depth information and identification of every species.) José Kirchner

I bought this book in preparation for a trip 'South' in December 1999/January 2000 and it was an extremely useful guide to wildlife in general but especially good for penguin information. The drawings by an ancestor of Robert F. Scott's are lifelike, and engaging art as well. The brief summaries of natural and exploration history are accessible and informative. If you are looking for a portable guide to peninsular wildlife get the book--you won't regret it.

The price tag may seem steep for the fourth edition of this 144-page paperback - but where else are you going to find details on the wildlife of Antarctica, tailored as a take-along tote for the Antarctica-bound traveler? Color drawings by Dafila Scott accompany nature history descriptions of each creature and discussions of identification specific to Antarctica, from contending with visibility factors to seasonal identification features. Antarctica: A Guide To The Wildlife is a unique and strongly recommended "take-along" handbook essential for any Antarctica-bound traveler.

I've read this book many times to my son. He loves the family and their adventures driving around Australia. I highly recommend this book to expat Aussies to read to their young ones.

If you and your children are thinking of moving/holidaying in Australia this is the best book to buy. My nephew in the US absolutely loves it, and cant wait for his next trip. Buy it, you cant make a mistake with this one!!!

This book is a wonderful way for kids and adults alike to share a journey around Australia. The descriptions and illustrations are wonderful and typical of Alison Lesters style. Anyone planning a long car ride with kids should read this book together.

This is a fantastic book for fostering a child's interest in the world outside their own community. It doesn't matter that the topic is a trip around Australia - it could just as easily be any part of the world. The point is that this is a family of five that goes out and has an adventure together. In doing this, they are spending time together and discovering more about the country they live in.

There is a lot of information about Australia in the story, taken from a kids-eye-level which engages preschoolers to primary age children.

Young Billy's chant 'Are we there yet' is not a yearning for home, rather it's every child's boredom with the seemingly endless driving on a 10,000km+ road trip around a continent. All children can identify with this!

This book is definitely a favourite in our house!

A trip by a family with three children around Australia takes in wildlife, seacoasts, natural formations, and deserts, different inhabitants, tourist spots, and other points of interest. Most of these are pictured three or four per page. The youngest child, Billy, misses the family pets, and keeps asking when they are going to get home. The family is glad to be eventually home after the lengthy trip; but everyone appreciates what they have seen and learned about the large, diverse continent of Australia. For ages 4-8.

Excellent book! Some events bring me back to my childhood years growing up in the Bay area.

Frank Chin's collection of essays is magnificent. The book is a course in itself on the authenticity of the Chinese-American experience in American culture. Chin's ideas are well researched, even scholarly in origin, but they are presented in ways that are eminently accessible. Each of the essays is provocative of the reader's thinking. I loved the essay on "Lowe Hoy & the 3 Legged Toad", for its exposition of strategy in Chinese social experience, and for its use of authentic Cantonese colloquialisms in his interviewees' speech.

I love the essays of Frank Chin. I just wished that the editor would put in "Racist Love" in this anthology. Anyway, this book is a treat because you'll have a commentary of Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR. Over and over again I've heard Chin mention how well ART OF WAR reflects Asian thinking. Well, it's now available to you guys, written by Frank Chin himself!

This book is a work of art. I loved every page of it. Thank you Mr. Chin

There is no question that when it comes to specific, focused cultural criticism, Frank Chin has the task nailed down. I don't know the time frame spanned by these essays, but in terms of content they cover all the bases. Any student of Asian-American history and culture can profit from Chin's sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes frightfully serious analysis of several aspects of the Asian-American experience. Chin deals with immigration/migration; gang subcultures; folk history and mythology; and others. But the thing that makes this book so impressive, beyond its coverage, is Chin's writing style -- fast and loose, comfortable and razor-sharp. The jacket describes him as a "literary gangster" -- never have I heard a more apt description of an author. He wrangles words from the oral histories he obtains and makes them work for him. But he is a respectful gangster -- the subjects of his interviews seem open, warm to him and to his neverending questions. The text can get heavy at times, but this is a function of the content it taps. A very, very powerful book.

Barbara Brewster's book "Down Under All Over" gets inside a vast country, and let's us see, hear, see and smell it with plenty of detail and first-person account. The book has made me want to see Oz. The author's relationship with the people there has touched me as well. After all, what travel is about, when all is said and done, is the folks you meet. I highly recommend this book.

The best travel books are first-person, and Ms. Brewster's book is charming and insightful. A first-hand look at one woman's attraction to an amazing country!

Having lived in Australia three years, I recognized with nostalgia many of the scenes Brewster describes. She successfully captures some of the best Australian character traits while describing life on a sheep station and at a roadhouse where they made extended stays.
Her leisurely trek revisits places and people she knew 20 years before as a school teacher (in Australia under the Assisted Passage Scheme). This gives her the perspective to see changes to some areas (Coober Pedy) and lifestyles.
This is more in depth than just a travel journal. She comments on the struggles of the Austrailian agricultural family, racial issues and the generosity she encounters throughout the country. One chapter describes a wide range of Down Under musicians. A bibliography at the end gives more titles to lead you further in your reading on Australia.
If you are thinking about an Australian trip, this gives you much of the flavor that a guidebook just doesn't cover.

This book made a perfect vacation read. On a domestic trip I read it a little each day for a week, and every moment it was like I was down under. Brewster takes us through quick stops throughout the continent, telling of her hitchhiking adventures, soulful solitary moments, profoundly happy and inviting stays with local friends and acquaintences, and unique cultural experiences, both during her more recent return trip to Australia and her original stay 20+ years ago. Interested in going, I checked the book out from the library along with some travel books on Australia, and it really brought some neat vicarious experiences into my life. I'm checking into getting some of the music she mentions, especially 'Gondwanaland'. Definitely a recommended read to those wanting an enjoyable look into some of Australia's life!

Your Amazon review diddles (cheats, swindles) your customers out of wanting to read a great book. Your reviewer does a GREAT DISSERVICE to Down Under All Over. Out of 46 chapters oozing with fascinating descriptions and experiences of the great land down under, your reviewer chose to tell readers about Brewster's surfing experience--something that could have taken place anywhere in the world.

Your reviewer completely disregards Brewster's masterful, enthusiastic depiction of an Australia that many non-Australian readers knew nothing about and have been fascinated to meet. People around the world have feasted on "Down Under" with vast enjoyment. Unfortunately, most Amazon browers will not have this pleasure because your reviewer so thoroughly fails to give them any reason to buy this book.

Readers:Take a look at the forward by "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" Rolf Harris. He says he was moved to tears that someone from another country had so captured the gist of what Australia is all about, and that Brewster writes of Australia with the same love that he would.

Readers: THIS BOOK IS NOT OUT OF PRINT. It is readily available to Amazon from Four Winds Publishing both in the US and in Australia. Just check Barbara Brewster's website if you don't believe me.

A loverly book; however, the indication that it is a pre-teen book is off the mark. While children between 9-12 could indeed enjoy this book, it would be more correct to label it for ages 9-adult.

Sue Cowing's anthology offers gorgeous affiliations. Each double-page spread pairs remarkable poems with stunning visual works. So marvelously diverse are the images that it is hard to keep in mind that they are all drawn from the works of only one museum, The Honolulu Academy of Arts. The editor's deft choices give this lovely book its distinctive excellence. The volume in its entirety is a wonderfully composed and elegantly orchestrated picture poem. It is a collection to savor and to return to often for refreshment.

A buffet of poetry--not the tired old poetry we've munched again and again, but fresh ideas from fresh poets, mainly from the Pacific area. A meaty soup of eclectic art, as diverse as a Grecian urn and an Eskimo seal sculpture. A book to relish from time to time, too rich to be eaten at one sitting. A book to ponder, to chuckle over, to dream... I especially enjoyed the wise folk sayings such as, "Water..needs no feet..heals itself," from the Philippines and "One dog barks at nothing, ten thousand others pass it on." from Japan. The Chinese, speaking of butterflies, say, "Lives one day..what does it know of the seasons." Ancient wisdom, modern applications. This is a book for all ages--of people and of times. In Hawaii, it won the coveted Po'okela award.

Good parties should introduce us to someone new and worth meeting. This lovingly put-together anthology of poems and visual art is The Party for the End of the Millenium: John Keats and Kobayashi Issa talk fire and water with an Australian aboriginal bark painter and an Inuit sculptor. Sue Cowing, an award-winning author herself, hosts an exhilarating party, having invited poets and artists from New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Hawai'i and other Pacific lands to join more well-known guests like Marc Chagall and Elizabeth Bishop. It's a pleasure to see what connections are made, but the true rewards come when you begin entering into conversation with these dazzling sensibilities yourself. And though there's no "children's poetry" here in the conventional (condescending) sense, the poems have been selected so that the lucky child who stays up late and wanders down into this celebration will feel included and full of wonder. Highly recommended

Get this book--you won't be sorry. This is a "creme de la creme" anthology. It's poetry and art chosen with an (educated) eye toward appealing to children, but it's NOT "children's poetry," and doesn't have the treacly quality that category implies. Instead, it's like a gorgeous bouquet of various blossoms; both kids and adults can get sustenance from each bloom. The work is grouped imaginatively by themes, such as: "i couldn't think straight so i thought crooked," a chapter of poems and art on creative imagination; "the minute i heard my first love story," about friendship and romantic love; and "the afternoon swam by," about trying to capture valuable moments in the fleeting rush of time. The editor's broad knowledge of--and love for--poetry is manifested in the care with which the work is presented. The relation between the poems and art is fruitful and interesting. Both art and poetry have been hand-picked from a wide variety of cultures and centuries, but all of it is accessible, and thought- and feeling-provoking. I will use this book in my teaching, and also refer to it with pleasure, regularly, in my alternate vocation, as a lover of art and verse. Bravo

This review concerns the new (revised) Doubleday edition of the book, published in 1999.

Here is a book that is quite unique in my experience. I don't think I have ever read a book that has offered so much initial frustration, which has ended up turning out quite so well. In the first couple of chapters I was sure I was not going to be able to finish it. I put this down largely to poor editing, but I think there may be the added factor that this edition involved a major revision of an earlier work and that the two were not married very happily together. Yet the book soon strikes out on a new path, and on another level, as we leave the Manx and Cumbrian origins of Fletcher Christian behind, and begin to learn some of the details of that murky event known to history as the "Mutiny on the Bounty." One thing is obvious and it is to the author's credit, as he is a direct descendent of Fletcher Christian (and, something which will appear obvious given the nature of life on Pitcairn at the time of the first settlement, of several of the other mutineers): he makes a very bold attempt not to hoist Bligh on too high a yardarm, in spite of the man's obvious and well-established shortcomings. Indeed, he allows Bligh to hang himself in the book, which is something he seems to have tried very hard to accomplish in real life.

The book's last section of three concerns the personal odyssey by author Glynn Christian back to Pitcairn in search of traces of Fletcher and a greater understanding of some of the legend which grew up around him and his fellow conspirators of over 200 years ago. It is well done, and if we are a bit frustrated by the results, it's not because the author didn't try hard enough. In fact, this is a very successful project from every point of view, even if I did think at first that it was going to be "another island book," like the one on St-Kilda I read many years ago and still haven't digested to this day. Anyone interested in the Bounty story must read this and all those interested in the history of the Pacific, or even just plain family history, will probably enjoy this very much. After initially wanting to almost burn it, I now find myself giving it my highest recommendation. It's quite unique. By the by, it's interesting to reflect on the book's title. Ordinarily, one would think it referred to Pitcairn, the ancestral home as it were; but I rather fancy it refers to Tahiti instead, that fabled place from which some of Glynn Christian's other ancestors sprang.

I found FRAGILE PARADISE to be one of the best biographies I have ever read. The amount of research GLYNN CHIRSTIAN gathered about his famous descendent was just mind blowing. I often wonderd about FLETCHER CHIRSTIAN'S life before his days on the bounty. Having seen all of the movies based on the mutiny I never really felt that hollywood told his story with any accuracy at all. We never really get to know who CHIRSTIAN was and why he did what he did and the price he had to pay for his actions. Also I discoverd while I was reading this book the information about his family in ENGLAND and thier roots which hollywood often chooses to forget about when telling the story about the bounty muntiny. All in all if you like the story of the mutiny on the bounty you'll love this book.

This is by far one of the best books about the infamous mutiny on the Bounty. Glynn Christian is a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the leader of the mutiny. His researches into the family history is fascinating (if a bit overwhelming at times), but it's the new information about the voyage of the Bounty, the behavior and character of Captain Bligh, the nature of Tahitian society, and the mutineers on Pitcairn Island that makes this book a treasure trove for fans of the Bounty story. While it does not replace any of the previous works on the subject, I can say that if you have read those but not "Fragile Paradise," you are missing out on a very important piece of this amazing story.

A new edition, by the same author, is due out in 2000. New research gives a clearer picture of the tension aboard BOUNTY after sailing from Tahiti, there is more evidence about Bligh's method of captaincy and, for the first time, a full chapter on the Tahitian women, who they were, how they thought and how, even though overlooked for two centuries, they are crucial to the survival of Christian's remote settlement on Pitcairn Island.

As someone who has a great interest in the history of this strange adventure, I ordered the trilogy book on The Bounty and loved it . Afterwards, I ordered this one and I'm really glad I did. As informative and well written as the original book was , this one seemed to fill in some important insights and details about the personalities and the everyday life of the sailers plus a lot of the Tahitian customs . It started out pretty dry and dull to be honest but once it got going, I couldn't put it down. This guy has done his homework and then some ...it truly is an impressive book. Totally recomended !!

This book presents an illuminating look at the nuclear testing and it's aftermath. The cavalier attitude towards radiation is pretty amazing. There are also many fine pictures of the wrecks underwater, including some shots of the world's only exisiting diveable aircraft carrier.

My Dad was there (USS Reclaimer) - swimming in the atoll the day after the blasts, cleaning refuged ships, etc. It's amazing he's still alive.

Nice photos; good summaries. This isn't a full-blown account of Operation CrossRoads but a nice summary of the ships. If you are interested in OC, this is a good book to have on your shelf.

I found this book to be most interesting, with a very accessible writing style.

This is a great mini-coffee table book (get the hardcover if you REALLY dig this stuff!) offering hours of information and photos of the famous atomic bomb tests on naval ships at Bikini Atoll. The 190 page book is broken into nine chapters and has excellent notes on sources. Background information covers the first half of the book while the second is focused on recent dives to many of the famous and lesser known ships that were sunk here. The writing is very informative and the photographs are absolutely haunting, particularly the ones of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga! Several color photos are included in the center. The author pushes no agenda in this book. He merely reports the facts available both "good and bad".

James Delgado does a very good job of reviewing the sunken ships of Bikini Atoll and telling the story of the 1946 atomic bomb tests. I read this book after diving at Bikini Atoll and found it to be a good treatment of a topic that has received too little attention. As far as wreck diving goes, Bikini Atoll is the best in the world, and my only disappointment with this book is that it does not fill the need for a coffee-table-style photographic survey of the incredible shipwrecks at Bikini. That being said, Delgado's book is a nice compromise between such a coffee table book and the more comprehensive historical treatment in Jonathan Weisgall's superb book on Bikini Atoll.