Oceania Books

One of the most popular science-fiction writers in the early 1900s, Merritt had the reputation of the Lord of Fantasy. "The Moon Pool" evidences the "baroque complexities that Merritt introduced into his fairly standard plots through his use of elaborately contrived creatures, technologies, and settings," as the editor Levy remarks in his Introduction. The Dweller reawakened on the island of Ponape where an ancient civilization once existed by a Dr. David Throckmartin and his group of scientist explorers is a vampire seeking new souls to devour. Merritt's fantasy about the Manichean struggle between good and evil is colored by his interest in the mystic Madame Blavatsky. Looked on unfavorably by some leading critics of the time, Merritt never gained much notice outside of the field of science fiction. For later generations, his ornate style limited his appeal. But he holds considerable historical interest in this genre of popular literature for opening it up to diverse elements such as developments in the sciences of physics and biology, figures from folk literature, literary references of all types (e. g., Celtic literature), and philosophical and religious ideas and themes like Blavatsky's mysticism which were all a part of his eclectic erudition. One sees such effects not only in today's fantasy literature, but also the popular fantasy movies.

A. Merritt's masterful first novel, "The Moon Pool," originally appeared in the magazine "All-Story Weekly," as a short story entitled "The Moon Pool," in 1918. Its full-length sequel, "The Conquest of the Moon Pool," followed in that pub the following year. The first book publication, later in 1919, combined these two works into a unified whole, and the result is an astonishing piece of fantastic fiction. And it would seem that Orson Welles' radio rendition of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" on 10/30/38 was not the first piece of fantasy to dupe the public, either. Readers of "The Moon Pool" in 1918 were so convinced of the book's veracity that they wrote to "All-Story Weekly" wanting more information. I can easily understand their confusion, as this novel is told in a very realistic style, purportedly from notes that the famous botanist Dr. Walter Goodwin had submitted to the International Association of Science. Goodwin had been en route from Port Moresby, New Guinea to Melbourne when he encountered an old associate, Dr. Throckmartin, who told him a remarkable story. It seems that Throckmartin's entire scientific party had been abducted by a being of light, while they were exploring the (actual) Nan-Matal ruins off Panape, in the Caroline Islands. Throckmartin himself is abducted before Goodwin's eyes, leading to Goodwin's exploration of those same ruins. Throckmartin's tale is eerie and quite suspenseful; indeed, those first 30 pages of the book are so very intense that the reader will be amazed to realize that there's another 250 pages in this novel yet to go! En route to Panape to effect his investigation, Goodwin, through a series of somewhat forced coincidences, encounters a Norwegian captain whose family had been abducted by the strange light entity; a visionary, somewhat fey, Irish fighter pilot; and a duplicitous Russian (German in the original magazine version!) scientist, all of whom accompany him on his adventures. And this is just the introductory setup in what turns out to be a long, involving, at times hallucinatory, and all in all quite remarkable tale. Underground civilizations, invisibility cloaks, giant jellyfish, disintegrating beams, good and evil priestesses, battles involving thousands, frogmen, shell-shaped flying cars...Merritt's imagination seems to be bursting loose in this, his first work. Much has been said regarding the fact that Merritt, a newspaperman for the most part (for many years on "The American Weekly"), could switch so easily from dry journalese to the florid, purple prose that soon became his trademark. This book would not be what it is without his dense, adjective-heavy, hyperimaginative prose, with its wide range of reference and yearning lyricism. Just take this example, in which the author describes the flora of the underground world that Goodwin & Co. discover:
"...moss veils like banners of a marching host of Titans; pennons and bannerets of the sunset; gonfalons of the Jinn; webs of faery; oriflammes of elfland! Springing up through that polychromatic flood myriads of pedicles--slender and straight as spears, or soaring in spirals, or curving with undulations gracile as the white serpents of Tanit in ancient Carthaginian groves--and all surmounted by a fantasy of spore cases in shapes of minaret and turret, domes and spires and cones, caps of Phrygia and bishops' mitres, shapes grotesque and unnameable--shapes delicate and lovely! They hung high poised, nodding and swaying--like goblins hovering over Titania's court; cacophony of Cathay accenting the "Flower Maiden" music of "Parsifal"; bizarrerie of the angled, fantastic beings that people the Javan pantheon watching a bacchanal of houris in Mohammed's paradise!"
Despite the reader's desire to flip through the pages breathlessly to see what happens next, prose such as this almost demands a more leisurely pace. I found myself rereading many such passages, just reveling in Merritt's ability to conjure up dreamlike word pictures. But strangely enough, although he is extraordinarily good with these descriptions, sometimes Merritt overreaches himself, and then his attempts to picture things fall flat. I defy any reader to fully visualize Goodwin & Co.'s means of descent into the Murian underworld, for instance, or the geography of the bridge leading to the Portal. But for the most part, Merritt's prose is extremely effective at conveying a sense of alien wonder, and "The Moon Pool" does indeed live up to its reputation as a fantasy classic. I recommend it wholeheartedly to all amazon.com readers.

I gave this five stars because it deserved it. It's still a classic and still a lot of fun to read. However, readers be warned. You must remember it was written in 1919. Stereotypes abound. Women are voluptous, wear very little clothing and are either totally good or totally evil. If you can make allowances for all that, then it's a thoroughly enjoyable romp and the author's imagination is stunning. Today, he would place his adventure on an alien planet. In 1919, the vast uncharted regions of the Pacific were vast and alien enough to contain lost races, lost civilizations, unimaginable science, etc. My recommendation is to suspend all disbelief and critical judgment and simply enjoy.

This novel sags in the middle with what appears to be padded material to lengthen it out, but the beginning and ending chapters are breathtaking fantasy in a beautiful style. Merritt was a genius and one should simply ignore the padding and enjoy the brilliant parts.

This is a fascinating novel. Merritt has a gift for setting. You actually feel like you are in a South Pacific ocean, or standing in front of the moon pool. This book grabs you and suck you into the setting. You have the feeling of gloom and wonder as you enter the Moon Pool for yourself.

However, Merritt's gift for setting is also the books main drawback. His prose gets wordy and adjective-heavy to the point of being absolutely unreadable. I kept rung back to Strunk and White: "Omit needless words," "Be clear," "Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place," and "Avoid the use of qualifiers."

I cant tell you how many times I read "coruscations," a word that refers to metallic sparkles and glitters. It is also the noun form of "Coruscant," of George Lucas fame.

It is an obscure word, but it blunts the prose's effectiveness and story-flow if you have to stop reading and get a dictionary to figure out what's going on.

Once again, Strunk and White:

"Avoid fancy words. Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Do not be tempted by a twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready and able. Anglo-Saxon is a livelier tongue than Latin, so use Anglo Saxon words."

Amen!

*

Aside from being thoroughly unreadable, this novel fascinates me. The setting is supernal, and I felt something move in the dept of my soul as I read it. To be sure, it is pure pulp, but pulp is just a corruption of true myth. It seemed to be a return to the underwater cave of Grendel's mother in "Beowulf."

Pits strike fear in the core of our being. That is why Luca uses them so much in his films for the death of villain. This same archetype works in this novel. Once you get past the awkward prose, you find a very interesting story.

I hope someday they adapt this to film.

We are yet to take our trip to New Zealand, however, I'm sure we'll feel more comfortable with our decisions on where to go, what to see, where to stay, and what to do from using this Book. The book gives general price ranges for hotels, activites, and in some cases restaurants. I think the greatest resource has been the website listings within each section. The websites cover everything from airlines, to tour groups, to just general information about the country. Needless to say, We're very excited to take our trip and I know this book will be coming along with us!

I planned our entire trip using a good road map and the 4th addition of the Rough Guide. Everything regarding the locations we visited was amazingly accurate. There are good maps of all the cities as well as the areas of interest. I did not find particularly useful the recommendations for accommodations, which featured either places for backpackers or those at the higher end, with not much in between. I also did not agree with some of the restaurant recommendations. Nevertheless if you are looking for a great guide book for everything else, this one is a winner.

This book was awesome. I am going to NZ on my own, and this book provided all the information I would ever need to know about locations to visit, the people, and lodging. Great value.

After trying another guidebook, we purchased The Rough Guide shortly before we left for New Zealand. It was an invaluable companion during our travels. The reviews were spot-on, leading us to a number of excellent restaurants and good campgrounds. We even appreciated knowing that a restaurant was "somewhat overpriced but adequate" before we went in--and that description was completely accurate.

The Rough Guide covers a range of restaurants and accommodations, which is useful. Even budget travelers sometimes like to splurge (and know that the splurge is worth the money). Their evaluation of activities was also accurate.

This guide is well worth the price--and worth it's weight when traveling.

I had Rough Guides recommended to me but I am disappointed in the size of the print, I would have rather the book been larger that having to strain my eyesight to read. I'm sure the book is very informative & we will ready ourselves hopefully for a trip to NZ in late 2008.

Chai attempts to write many different stories and have them converge. The result is a hodge-podge of poorly developed characters whose relationships feel contrived.

Chai builds suspense by foreshadowing events, but she abuses this ploy too often! It became an annoyance.

The scope of this book is ambitious, and Chai cannot live up to the challenge. Characters, emotions, and plots are lost in the hands of an amateur storyteller.

"The Last Time I Saw My Mother" was a touching book, but this second novel is very poorly written.

Eating Fire and Drinking Water by Arlene J. Chai is one of the best books that I have read in recent months. In this story, finding the truth of her unknown past seems to lead Carla, an orphan who was raised by nuns from one mystery to another mystery. The interesting story keeps the reader wanting to finish the book in one sitting to be able to find the truth and identities of Carla Perez' parents. Carla was named after the name of the orphanage that took care of her when she was given up for adoption. I think this book is more or less similar to Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, a heartwarming story about an eleven-year-old orphan named Ellen. After her parent's death, Ellen was raised in a foster home and that was when she had decided to adopt the word Foster as her last name.

I was forced into reading this book. And at first, I found myself confused and thinking "ho-hum" with a matching sigh and yawn. But that didn't last long, because my interest progressed the further I was drawn into the story. I could not put the book down for long.

It's not really about Clara as the book description says, it's more of a series of events intertwined to complement each other. I find the plot complex and something that can't quite be labelled and defined as it's not just about news. I also found it heartbreakingly close to reality, quite poignant with the search for truth and the wise insights brought upon that are just screaming for you to quote them, the morals heroic but not preachy, the characters honorable but not flawless, a backdrop that was well researched in Philippine history. It has suspense, it has drama, it has mystery, it has every one of those genres within its pages. The beauty of this book is in its balance. The story ends nicely, but not fairy tale like. There is acceptance, but honest difficulty in it. There are horrible experiences, but no miraculous cure for them at the end of the book. True to life.

This story definitely warmed my heart to it, and I must say, considering I usually stick to reading fluffy and light books, this holds extraordinary power. I'm glad I read it.

I could remember vividly most of the events that were stated in the book. Even if the names of the characters and places are changed, they are very familiar. It's definitely a story with the fall of the Marcos regime as a backdrop. I could relate to that book because I was in Manila at that time when some of the events mentioned became chapters in Philippine history.

Chai writes with the insight of a "matanda". In a semiotic analysis that will defy explanation, "matanda", as a signifier, carries with it tons of meanings that is both static and dynamic, which brings me to another point. Chai writes for me, a filipino. Chai succeeds in reminding me, but moreover places me in the situation. You can explain to an outsider that "matanda" means elder, a person to respect, wise through the years of experience (where she explores the subject with more detail and complexity in "The Last time I saw Mother") as if there is some sort of equivalent in other cultures. Maybe there is, however, to understand Chai is to BE in the discourse of the filipino. A bit too high brow? Not really. When she speaks about anger, forgiveness, resolution and coming to terms - we all automatically assume that it is universal and it might be. However, Chai speaks to an experience that is unique to the filipino with all the complexity that this gauntlet provides. Let there be no mistake - I love her work. More for its social commentary and easy style, I highly recommend it to all who seek to understand the filipino psyche (in particular) and themselves (in general). She gives us (the pinoy) the complexity we deserve. Wise beyond her years and writing with a sensitivity (ok, guys lets be really honest here....) of a Woman's perspective it should be required reading in both Asian and Womens Studies. A triumph for the filipino, for women and for the human spirit.

Miguel Llora

When I first bought this book, I had planned to emigrate to New Zaland. After I started reading it I decided to go on holiday there first and hitchhike, just like Joe Bennett.
However, reading more and more of the book, I decided hitchhiking might not be the best idea for me. So I will take a bus tour.

Where the book really proves its worth though is when it comes to describing the country. It portays New Zealand for a great nation, but also one that is desolate and for the most part empty. Sure Auckland might be a big city, and Wellington and Christchurch follwoing suit, but the rest of the country?
Sometimes you can taste the loniless of the land. All in all it made me reconsider emigrating there. And reconsider Australia and reconsidering emigration all together.

Being a Brit myself, over here in NZ for good (I hope), after around 4 years living and working here, Joe Bennett's writings struck a real cord. NZ is an excellent place to live and tour, and the real value is in its people - but like all busy folks it's easy to drift into the daily grind and forget why we're here.

The timing of world travel readers dipping into this book is fortunate, against the background of Lord-of-the-Rings-plus-100%-NZ-plus-All-Black-Rugby Domination-plus-America's-Cup-performance-plus-cheap-accomodation-and-decent-flight-prices gloss, so as to show a more down-to-earth view. Bennett's view should not be seen as cynical (as I note critics' views), and an awareness of what the book is about should be allowed to sink in.

Here is an older and settled guy, hitching around a wild and woolly land populated with interesting (and eccentric most times) and kind people, in a young country that's just recently re-forged its own identity as a Pacific Island chain the other side of Asia (or USA, depending on your persective) from the parents that abandoned it. Look at it as a view of NZ drawn from interaction with it's salt-of-the earth locals, and enthusiastic visitors. Bryson meets gnarrly Brit wit - Excellent.

The author's perspective is,at least to me, that he has spent too much time in New Zealand and doesn't really enjoy living there. If it wasn't for his dogs then he would have no real reason to stay. He hitchhikes around alot of New Zealand in search of a reason to stay. He spends alot of his book discussing hitchhiking techniques or potential rides. What he discribes of the scenry or way of life is always in a somewhat bored,sarcastic tone. I'm sure that there are Kiwis that think in those terms, but in all my trips thru out NZ, I never met any locals that were like that. They usually are quite upbeat about where they are.But to put things straight, he is an English transplant and has lived there 15 years. But what I really liked about his book is his descriptions of the details of life in NZ. Just lots of little insights into rugby, youth and travel, bits of history,local politics. Just little stuff that would be missed in larger scope books.

Having been to New Zealand twice my wife and I contemplated moving there. Residing in a country is, of course, much different from being on holiday there. This book gives readers a look at the "Land of Two Halves" beyond what's been portrayed in the movies.

Hitchhiking his way on two separate journeys (divided between the North and South Islands), Mr. Bennett is given a lift from some very colorful characters. Some hard-bitten and jaded, others silent, a few as chatty as magpies. Like Australia, the Kiwis can be a rough-hewn, industrious lot, facing hardship with fortitude and good cheer. Some of the isolated towns, pubs and hotels are downright eerie, reminiscent of places that time forgot. Decor and furniture often dates from the 1950s, '60s or '70s and accommodation can be a bit threadbare.

Where Bennett really shines, however, is in his descriptions of what it's like when he's kept waiting for hours by the road without a ride. He manages to colorfully illuminate how it feels to stand with one's thumb jutting over the asphalt, on an isolated road shoulder with nothing to do but watch a bird hopping in the grass or a horse posing stock-still in an adjacent pasture. It takes talent to make such a situation interesting but that's exactly what he does. The middle-aged author thrives in such settings, having little time for the larger cities like Wellington and Auckland. He gives them short shrift.

Anyone wanting a glowing travelogue will be disappointed. This isn't an episode of Rick Steves' Europe. It's a realistic account of what a lonely traveler experienced by taking a satchel, walking to the edge of town and putting his thumb out. He vividly illustrates how it feels to try and time storm fronts and strategize over the best approach to where you want to go versus where your next driver is headed. It's life on the road by the seat of your pants.

I quite enjoyed this tale, feeling that I gained a more well-rounded perspective on a country I greatly admire.

This book certainly looks good... the idea of hitch-hiking as a way of exploring a country and its society is clever - you meet a lot of different people and get to see parts that are not always up there on the "must see" list of tourist destinations - and, on top of that, Joe Bennett is a skilled and entertaining writer. But despite such promising credentials, it really doesn't work in the way it should.

The problems start with the sequencing of his journey, which is very strange. The first half of the book finds him shooting off from his home in Christchurch to the increasingly bleak far south of the South Island, before heading up the island's equally remote West Coast. Hitch-hiking through these areas, which are notorious for their sparse habitation and bad weather, is a pretty daunting task and, not surprisingly, he gets fed-up with it two thirds of the way round and heads back home. Problem is that, by doing so, he misses out the whole of the north of the South Island which is not only stunningly pretty (with often glorious weather) but which is also one of the most interesting areas of the country. His journey round the North Island is at least more logical, taking in most of the "important" areas. But by now he's clearly getting very bored with hitching (so much so that he rents a car for large sections), a problem that's then compounded by his hitting some pretty appalling late Autumn weather, begging the obvious question of why choose to hitch at this time of year?

Next up, the people he chooses to meet are pretty strange. Not everyone picks up hitch-hikers and those who do are, as he finds, often slightly odd and usually want to talk a lot about their slightly odd lives. Off the road, he clearly likes a beer or two and, as a result, spends huge amounts of the journey chatting to bar-proppers in small pubs and hotels. Nothing wrong with either activity, but as an insight into New Zealand society it's a limited and far from representative cross-section of people.

Finally, Joe's either a pretty morose kind of guy or the boredom & banality of standing by endless roads for hours on end waiting for a lift, followed by a booze-up with some fairly lonely people in a small town pub gets to him. Whatever the reason, he spends increasing parts of the book reflecting on the less attractive aspects of New Zealand life while describing uninteresting parts of the country in bad weather. Not unexpectedly, by the end of it, his & your bottle are most definitely in "half empty" mode.

Which is all very unfair. I've visited New Zealand many times and lived in Christchurch. Sure, it's small country that's a long way from anywhere and its people are continually grappling with an inferiority complex that comes from being small and remote. But it's also stunningly beautiful with, at the right times of the year, quite excellent weather and a population that must rank amongst the most friendly and interesting anywhere. It's a superb holiday destination and, for the right type of person, a quite wonderful place to live. All aspects of New Zealand that our increasingly road-weary and often downright gloomy guide fails to capture and which, as a result, leads to a very unbalanced insight into both the country and its people.

Bad news then? Well not quite, because he can write and his stories are not only enjoyable and often quite funny, but his wet & windy journey becomes, in itself, an entertaining exercise in personal endurance. And, on the way, he experiences a side of New Zealand that most miss which, in turn, stimulates him to ruminate on a number of interesting and important social issues facing the country. Just don't get fooled into believing that it's really like this because, unless you too are mad enough to decide to hitch around the place at the wrong time of the year, it's most certainly not.

Not knowing anything about Australia, I was hesitant about taking off on my own but after reading the Let's go book, it seemed like I knew the country. When I got there I felt I had an edge, not only did I know places to stay and where to eat, I learned about a number of unspoiled spots to explore. I've seen other books and this one is definately the best!

I used the 1999-Aus book as a guide for my trip to Australia. From the very beginning where it guided me to the cheapest ticket to Sydney, I knew it was a great book. The maps in the book were good and the activities suggested were fantastic. If you are in college or recently out (like me) and you enjoy the outdoors this book is for you. Among my complaints were some of the food establishments suggested: one even made me sick. My other large complaint is that there are plenty of cheap hotels in Aus that aren't reviewed or suggested. Let's go seems to favor hostels above all else. The Final Word: If you need to plan your trip and want suggestions of what to see (anywhere, ANYWHERE in the country) then I whole heartedly suggest this book.

It's an OK guidebook to Australia and I suppose it will improve in later editions. As a local who has travelled around Australia using it and the Lonely Planet, I'd have to say LP is better, Lets Go has a few fairly obvious errors such as names of towns on maps, and it lacks information about some ofthe more remote areas.

I find Let's Go guides are always great. But after travelling around a country as big as Australia, something more than accurate information is needed. I used the Frommer's Guide from $50 a day as well as this one. I found Frommer's is easier for organizing a trip where you have to be aware of the very long distances. Information is better classified and very professional. It offers a cut above backpacker's information too and excellent advice on diving and other adventures. (And a detail that at least really simplifies my economy is that prices always have the AUD value beside them.) Of course, Let's Go, printed later, has better information on the Sydney 2000 Olympics and a wider variety of hostels.

If you're backpacking through AU you'll probably love this book. But you'll love Lonely Planet even more. Its a decent guide to AU and brushes on the best parts of AU while doing a great job on the "touristy" parts. Lonely Planet is much better.

If you are looking for "decent" eats and stays look elsewhere.

If you want SCUBA reccomendations, don't go here. But for a cheap stay in Cairnes, try the "Great Northern" hotel.

Simple no-nonsense guide to diving in Fiji

This is an attractive book which the scuba diver will want to order. It maps and describes 74 of Fiji's top dive sites and the color photography is excellent. Despite the title, however, those interested in beach-based snorkeling will find little of use here as almost all of the sites included are accessible by boat only. Even the new Waitabu Marine Park off Taveuni is mentioned only in passing. There's virtually no practical resort or restaurant information, and the first quarter of the book is devoted to brochure-style hype you can read on almost any Fiji website. Critical reviews of dive facilities are strikingly absent, so this book is of no help in selecting a specific scuba operator. Five pages of listings in the back of the book provide basic contact information, but even this is out of date as all Fiji telephone numbers have increased from six to seven digits since the book was published. Most of the email addresses are also wrong, so substitute @connect.com.fj whenever you see @is.com.fj. Nevertheless, when one considers the cost of a scuba tour to the South Pacific and the lack of any alternative Fiji dive guide, all of the above criticisms are mute and serious divers will click this title straight into their shopping carts.

"Ni sa bula vinaka", as it is said in Fiji. As a master diver who has dived since 1956, and has visited many of Fiji's dive sites, I can heartily recommend this book to anyone contemplating diving Fiji. The Mahaney - Witte team- authors, photographers and dive tour guides well-known and respected in the diving community- are knowledgeable and credible. Mind you, NO book can ever catalogue ALL of Fiji's diverse and innumerable dive sites... but this book is well planned, has a very good selection of sites- rated for conditions and experience levels- and information for the would-be Fiji diver. The book has some maps, and a visual feast of photos. In summary- going to Fiji to dive? Be prepared for stiff currents, and a kaleidoscope of colorful fishes and soft corals... and BUY THIS BOOK! Dive well and safely.

This book is seemingly a compilation of dive locations frequented by dive resorts, with little independent research or reviews of specific dive outfitters. The book lacks basic information on water temperatures, currents, winds and seasonal influences. The independent traveller primarily interested in snorkeling will also be disappointed in the lack of practical information on the best sections of the main islands for shoreline snorkeling.

I bought this book primarily because I am going to Fiji in two months and wanted info on snorkeling. Boy was I surprised to find only half a page devoted to snorkeling. The rest of the book is a brief description of various dive sites.

The book does have nice pictures and basic information regarding the more popular dive sites in Fiji. But as a snorkeling reference, it is worthless.

For the first timer, this guide is a great introduction to the Rarotonga and the Cook Islands. It is very thorough and has details about shopping, places to visit, popular tours, places to stay, and eat. Not only does the guide provide information about the main island of Rarotonga, but also include bits on the outer islands, which are very popular to visit. I really enjoyed reading up on Rarotonga and felt this book provided a good orientation of Rarotonga and things to see and do. However, some of the information is outdated. It was published in 1996. Because Rarotonga is such a popular tourists destination things are constantly changing, for example taking the boat (ferry) to Aitutaki was quoted as an inexpensive way to visit this tourist hot spot. However, this service is no longer provided. Many of the shops noted in the book, were no longer open or a detailed description of how to find them was not provided. Locals were very helpful in providing the most recent information. There was not a lot of detail about accomodations in summer homes. This proved to be a very economic way of staying inthe Cooks. it could be improved with more thorough contact information. Overall for the first time visitor,this guide was very useful as far as getting an overall "feeling" or what Rarotonga is like.

If you are headed out to the Cook Islands (absolutely fabulous, beautiful place to visit), you MUST bring this book with you. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

I became interested in the Cook Islands after recently readingTom Neale's book: An Island to Myself (also published as An Island to Oneself), in which he describes his solitary life on the tiny island of Suvarov (Suwarrow) in the South Pacific Cook Islands. More inspiritation came from Florence Frisbie's book, Miss Ulysses of Puka Puka, written about 1947 about her life in these islands. These books enchanted me and made me start considering a possible trip to the Cook Islands, so I picked up "Rarotonga & the Cook Islands". It's a very slender book, but has all the information I was looking for, in particular regarding lodging. Maps and descriptions of the different areas of Rarotonga are helpful in deciding what side of the island appeals to one's taste in beaches, privacy, and comfort. Rarotonga is the most featured island, with the most facilities for tourists. The other islands are more difficult to reach, but the book explains ways to get to the other islands, if so desired.

There doesn't seem to be a lot to do on these small islands other than biking, swimming, hiking, and eating, and this may be exactly what appeals to some. I wasn't convinced to go though, because I can do these same things more cheaply in lovely parts of Mexico; yet I would go if I could, if only to meet Florence (Johnnie) Frisbie, who I understand still lives there.

We just got back from a two week exploration of the Cooks and found this book VERY helpful. The Cooks will quickly convince you that if you've only been to Hawaii, you've only gone half way to Heaven!

Unfortunately, we required hospital services (because of tainted food), and this book over simplifies issues of needed medical care. (Details that should be included in EVERY travel guide!)

Naturally, most prices quoted are actually higher, but that's just dealing with reality.

We observed "newbies" arriving without this book, and therefore, without a clue of where to go or what to do.
FOUR Stars because this book was so valuable, but as with most, there is room for improvement.

Having recently returned from the Cook Islands, I cannot highly recommend this book. While the history and culture sections are interesting, the lodging and shopping/restaurants sections leave a lot to be desired. Most of the businesses mentioned have either gone out of business or changed hands. This is especially true on Aitutaki, where only one of the businesses recommended was still in its present form! As another reader recommended, the book does not sufficiently cover home rentals which are a great way to stay on these islands for a reasonable amount (and most can be viewed and reserved on the internet!). David Stanley's Moon Handbooks South Pacific guide is a much better choice--it is more up to date and covers all the major South Pacific islands for almost the same amount of money.

One can say that this work is a small man's grudge against hsi former employer.

But one cannot really sunstantiate such a point. Even if he did write it as a kick to the boss's shin it still is a major work.
Apart from the message which was and sadly still is and perhaps increasing issue in this world, it is magnificently told.
Perspective in perspective tell you in often as much as four layers and thus four filters the point the writer is stating.
As stated above by a more undoubtedly more learned reader, his technigues of argument are simply brilliant and any scholar should read this book just to brush up his essay writing.
Finally, his way with words is just dragging you through this novel in a way I've only seen Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde come close to.

p.s. Note to the guy above, did you happen to know that Multatuli indeed lived many years in poverty because of his believes, that when he became a succesful writer he dropped the pen after realising people only read his work and didn't act on it.
Living his last years as a recluse in Germany, bittered, and hopeless, instead of cashing on his succes.

Max Havelaar is the best story of the 1000 years and the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the Dutch East Indies, according to the Indonesian novelist Pramodeya Ananta Toer. The billing piqued my search for the novel.
Max Havelaar, of the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company was written in 1860 by Eduward Douwes Dekker under the pen name Multatuli. The intrigue unfolds from the points of view of Droogstoppel, a stuffy Dutch coffee broker; Scarfman, an aspiring writer; Havelaar, an idealist and newly appointed Resident of Labak, Java; Blatherer, a preacher; Saijah, a young servant yearning for his love; and others, all affected by coffee markets. Interspersed are direct writings from author to reader. These asides are at times lengthy, quaint, or preachy. Not an easy read, yet intriquing enough to drive me to keep turning the pages. Indeed, the author himself describes his work as "chaotic, disjointed, striving for effect, bad in style, lacking skill.....but the substance is irrefutable." Most appealing are descriptions applicable today. Anyone who has ever been expected to report only the positive to corporate superiors, is bothered by products made by "millions who are maltreated or exploited in your name," or notices empires go to war more easily than mills are moved is bound to welcome this book. The novel hastened abolition of the Dutch Cultural System requiring compulsory growing of particular crops. Toer's characterization, if over the top, afforded me the opportunity of a brilliant read.

This book is one of the most important books of Dutch literature. The writer combines humour, emotion and facts. The book has a complex structure, without making it difficult to read, an outspoken view, but also more subtle jokes (at least in the Dutch language, and for people aware of Dutch culture), a perceptive view on the way the institutions in the Dutch East Indies worked to promote the corruption and the exploitation of the people. All these things make the book an enjoyment to read.

The writer, however, isn't trying to make an objective unemotional description of the events in the East Indies, but he is arguing - making a treatise - for a different/better treatment of the people in the Indonesia, basing his treatise on facts and emotions (he stresses the parts which are undisputed facts in a very natural way). For this he uses al his (well developed) rhetorical abilities.

To give some examples of his rhetorical abilities and the working of the structure:
- at some point in the book he argues against painters which try to show the multitude of misery caused by a certain event, by painting the quantity involved. He argues that this makes people numb for the suffering shown on the painting. Why the writer tells this is unclear, until later when he starts telling a dramatic story about the injustice and suffering endured by an Indonesian boy. Then it becomes clear that this suffering is endured by many Indonesians, but instead of making you dazzle with numbers he tries (and succeeds) to make you feel compassionate with one individual. Only to make you realise afterwards that there are/were many individuals which are enduring the same suffering!
- and instead of stating with certain facts: `this is a fact', he makes himself angry about how shocking/outrages something is, only to afterwards state: `it is true: you can look it up here, or there'.
These are just two examples, but the entire book is a rhetoric masterwork!

However, readers expecting a balanced book will be disappointed. The writer didn't strive for consensus, he strove to make an as great as possible contrast between his ideals (good) and the Dutch merchantmen spirit (evil). The treatise worked much in the same way as the books/movies of Micheal Moore do today. Mixing emotion, fact and rhetorical ability (although Multatuli has greater literary abilities) to create a document that polarises society about great contemporary political issues.

This book is first and foremost an attempt to establish an alternative version about the author's tenure as an official of the Dutch East Indian Civil Service. In short, he was removed from office for disagreeing with his supervisors' policies, and chose to vent through this book. The disgusting narrative continually portrays the author as something near a Christ-like personality battling a completely inept and corrupt civil service (the latter is almost a redundant description). The author does nothing to contain his raging ego, thus producing a nauseating description of self. The resulting cast of characters are as deep as cardboard cutouts. The cost of this immodest picture is a shallow representation of the plight of the colonized. The reader is forced to sift through page after page of self-serving drivel to extract meager details of the corruption in the Dutch East Indies.

The book has not aged well. Contemporary cynicism--resulting from, in part, Watergate, Vietnam, a stream of revelations of various colonial regimes and a plethora of political scandals--makes the cursory information about the Dutch East Indian Civil Service under whelming. One has to repeatedly remind themselves that the original readers were idealistic about their government's intentions.

One can glean interesting social and cultural glimpses of the period from the bloated pages. This indirect benefit is one of the few reasons to read the book.

If the author had spent more time providing information about the colonies instead of rambling on and on with his self-aggrandizement, this book could have been an invaluable piece of history. As it stands, it is a testimony to the hubris of a flawed man.

Most people turn to this book in order to learn about 19 century colonialism. However the book is stunningly contemporary as a picture of universal human types, and of a particular type, which is especially well refined and developed in the Netherlands. I suppose because of the Netherlands history of Calvinism, wealth, "apartheid", provincialism - people living in separate sub communities defined by religion, who only care for those in their own group. Moreover the book is a multimedia self-referring extravaganza avant-la-letter, masterfully written. Approached in the right frame of mind it is at the same time desparately funny and funnily desparate.

I recently asked 8 Dutch university students if they had read it - the most famous book in Dutch literature. 7 had not. One had started but had thrown it away half finished because it was all so depressingly familiar. (Familiar as a picture of present day attitudes in the Netherlands).

This is the story of one of the most remarkable journeys ever undertaken. In 1821, two pious Englishmen, George Tyerman and Daniel Bennet, departed England to visit the far flung missionary stations of the London Missionary Society. They were both in their 40s and neither had any previous foreign experience. Given the slowness of communication some of the LMS missionaries had literally been out of touch with their headquarters for years.

It wasn't a pleasure trip. It took them four and one half months by sail to reach their first port of call: Tahiti. Over the next eight years they journeyed on to visit missionaries on other Pacific islands, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Java, Singapore, China, India, Mauritius, Madagascar -- where Tyerman died -- and South Africa. Moreover, in addition to ship travel, they did some heavy-duty inland trekking, especially in India where they stayed for 18 months. They weren't explorers, or especially adventurous, and probably neither of them would have taken the job had they realized it would take them eight years.

This is a snapshot of their travels compiled from their joint diary and supplemented by background material on the people they ran into and the places they visited. Its quite a story and I developed of bit of admiration for the intrepid travelers and the missionaries they met.

The non-religious can enjoy this book. There is little theology here, beyond the judgements of Tyerman and Bennett about "pagan" religions and exotic customs. On the whole they seem level-hearded, ordinary men who undertook an extraordinary task.

Smallchief

While the born again crowd will no doubt love this book, those who respect cultural and religious diversity will be appalled.

A story full of anecdotes and tales of the 'great figures' of British legend, like Raffles and Clive of India (not such a great guy after all), the book is full of interest; not for its religious content (though there's obviously a lot of that), but for the way that our two heroes view the cultures that they are trying to enlighten.
At one point we feel that they are almost ready to embrace Buddhism, they are so impressed with the simplicity of their creed and freedom from internal squabbling - unlike their Christian church.
We get insights into the way cultures are developed or destroyed, either by religion, commercial greed or both and how countries bend the rules in order to get a political or commercial advantage - here the British are at their worst in promoting the opium trade, precipitating the war with China.

The book is a nice marriage of the narrative of the two Envangelists and Mr Hiney's well-researched commentary, the two parts blending seamlessly into a very enjoyable read.

Slave trading, Captain Cook, pirate ships, David Livingstone, cannibalism and human sacrifice, Captain Bligh and mutiny on the high seas -- it's all in here. Tom Hiney's book puts the pioneering missionary experience in historical perspective with this account of a two-man deputation sent out by the London Missionary Society in the early 1800s. Here is a factual record that refutes the popular perception of missionaries as namby-pamby, white-bread spoilsports. Instead, the reader meets hardy and fearless Christians who leap into unknown worlds propelled by a rock-solid faith that we comfy Christians today can only envy. I wouldn't call it an easy read -- the writing style is a little formal -- but the settings, the action and the writer's views on the broad social changes brought about by early missionary efforts make this a compelling book.

Picked up this book fairly randomly and found myself glued to it! A story in magnitude to Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" - where Lewis & Clark explored the newly discovered US, these two explorers mapped the new evangelical movement of Christianity. Their journey spanned the entire globe, making the travel log incredible and interesting, even for those not keen on religious history. The book includes fascinating descriptions of foreign lands; intriguing accounts of cannibalism, infanticide, drug addiction; and a portrayal of amazing spiritual courage in the attempt to complete this journey. I was also surprised by the honest portrayal of the inescapably political setting. I detected no agenda on the part of the author (either for against missionaries). In the end, some of the missionaries embodied the values of charity and giving, while others committed horrible acts. Both are portrayed in very human terms, so you can almost imagine being there. A great read and an incredible, if not important part of our history.

Mr. Harding's creativity provided fresh storytelling through chapter 62 or so. Here his politically commentary seemed shoe horned in. I don't mind his views as a lot of people share them, but the puzzling part was how his adept storytelling was so quickly transformed into such banal political droning. Given the freshness of his characters and storyline, I would have expected more thought provoking commentary on real world matters. Instead, the attempt comes off as someone trying to establish a legacy of opposition in hopes that the future will consider him astute.

Overall an enjoyable read and should Mr. Harding put forth another work, I'll be happy to give it a go as well, though I hope either his political insights (whatever their flavor) match his storytelling skills or he abandons attempts at working them in.

My first experience with John Harding. One Big Damn Puzzler was a great read. This book is really 3 different stories driven into 1 gripping finale. Harding does a good job of examining the West's materialistc culture interspered with a desire to help those who don't ask to be helped. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and did not mind the diversions of other topics Harding poses to the reader. A good light-hearted read that has some touching and emotional moments.

We all imagine a being on a tropical island, in the sun, the roaring ocean, with innocent and beautiful natives giving us everything we need. John Harding gives this to us with plenty of add-ons: Shakespeare, OCD, innocence and its loss, and the Western materialistic mentality.

An American lawyer comes to this untouched island, meets the natives, and tries to obtain compensation for them from injuries as the result of left over land mines. The book turns into an allegory of American values running amok and attempts to give a world vision on today's events.

Harding uses humor, literary license, and great imagination to accomplish this task. I thank him for great and thoughtful entertainment.

Cute story. A lightweight tale for uncritical thinkers but not for serious pondering. Although it is full of humor, unfortunately, it is based on a very false premise; that America is responsible for planting land mines and leaving them there. The US policy on land mines is that the position of each one is mapped and they are removed at the end of any particular conflict. In fact, legal land mines used have a requirement that they become inactive after a short period of time, sometimes just hours, to prevent exactly what this book is based on. Other countries, especially third world countries don't follow these guidelines, and many injuries and deaths have occurred. So, it's too bad the author tries to make America a guilty party in this book. The story could have been told using some facts, and then the impact of it would be truly food for thought. Instead, it is pretty much a joke. But then, there are those who will believe anything as long as America gets the blame.

John Harding has forgotten his civics lesson when it comes to understanding the US constitution and how elections are decided. Any OTHER outcome would have been illegal, but not the one that actually occurred.

I found this book an engaging, funny read. The characters on the island and the island culture are great. A few of the characters are very developed, while others--including all the women--have little to know depth. Harding's conceited attitude comes through clearly in this book. He blames America for everything. He has done no research on the U.S. legal or compensation systems. His characters are supposed to be from New York, yet all sound like they are from rural small town England (Harding's own background). Only men are lawyers in the book. The island culture is supposedly strongly matrilineal, but there are no women on the island who seem to have any power. He only describes women in terms of their physical attributes. So all in all - a funny read, but aggravating, too.