Oceania Books

While I would be the first to say this is not as good as Tales of the south pacific, few books are. A very good read that any Michener fan will love.

In this "sequel" to the more highly regarded TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC, author Michener adopts a somewhat different format. For each of the South Pacific islands included, he first writes an essay about its history and culture. He follows the essay with fiction, an original story set on that island. He not only writes about such obvious choices as Tahiti and Fiji; he also includes both Australia and New Zealand. His story set in New Zealand, a World War II homefront piece entitled UNTIL THEY SAIL, later became a film. That's the one part of this book that I remembered clearly, after a good 40 years, when I sat down to read RETURN TO PARADISE for the second time.

Michener's essays describe the South Pacific as it was in the late 1940s, several years before this "tail end" baby boomer was born, so today's reader needs to approach them as history and treat them accordingly. As such, they're intriguing. Some of the accompanying stories are equally dated, but I was surprised to find others echoing with human dilemmas only too familiar in today's world. UNTIL THEY SAIL didn't disappoint me a bit when read from a mature (think "old enough to be a grandma") woman's viewpoint, even though I last read it as a girl not long into adolescence. It helped me understand my parents' generation, then. This time around it reminded me that what happens to men and women separated (or brought together) by war is universal, and its dynamics never change.

Michener is always worth reading. 5 stars for sheer durability!

Michener takes us on a tour of the islands of the Pacific Ocean with a collection of entertaining short stories of the people who inhabit them. Fictitious or not, dear reader cares less. The way he represents their populace is more than fifty years past and certainly, times may have changed. This reviewer hopes that holds equally true for Fiji !! This is one of those perfect books for someone who has limited time for reading or enjoys doing so only in short bursts.

The pieces on Fijian-Indians in 'Fiji' and 'The Mynah Birds', in which local Indians are shown up in an ugly and racist manner, are just bad writing. To his credit Michener apologised about his untoward remarks years after the publication of the book.

Having read Tales of the South Pacific, one of the classics of 20th Century literature, I couldn't wait to read this 'sequel' by Michener. I wished I hadn't bothered. It seemed as if the great wordsmith was just writing because his publisher demanded to cash in on the success of 'Tales'. Disappointed, I put it down about a third of the way through and never bothered to pick it up again. It takes two to tango - even in a novel. Michener (the author) and I (the reader)danced our way through 'Tales' never missing a step. With the sequel it was if we had two left feet.

Theroux is a master observer with a keen eye and a sharp wit. In this book he delves deep into Polynesia and Oceana and it's characters and culture.

He uses a collapsible kayak that he packs from place to place to help him get away from the troubles in his life. Along the way, he has plenty of encounters. The result of which is a funny and interesting look behind the scenes and in out of the way places at the way people on these islands live, what they believe and how they go about their lives.

It's a great read, and has inspired more than a few of my own adventures !

A terrific read, Theroux has the courage to be politically incorrect in an age where Americans fear speaking the truth of their own experience.
As a travel writer myself, I am always astonished when someone is angered because my travel experience does not mirror his own, as is the case with other reviewers here.

Paul Theroux is a great travel writer, and among my favorite books is his look inside China in "Riding the Iron Rooster." This book, however, centers on his adventures paddling his way around the South Pacific. Among the places Theroux visits are Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, the Marquesas, and Easter Island; in all, he travels among fifty some islands, from large areas to tiny islets without habitation. Using a traditional form of transport to the area (well, an updated version anyway), he covers a huge area of water and land that few people (except those native to the area) ever see.

His reporting style is the true measure of his worth: Theroux has an unflinching eye for both the beauty and the horrors of the places he visits. You won't get a romanticized version of these locations (no Peter Mayle here), but you will learn a lot about the people and places of the South Seas. His traveling style is fearless, and this is apparent from many of the adventures he chronicles in this volume. Theroux sets out to meet the people of the islands without knowing what their response to him might be, and it is not always a welcoming one.

I highly recommend any of Theroux's books, including his novels. However, it's in his tales of travel in which his true skills shine. His gift to readers is that he reports the truth as he sees it (good and bad), and he isn't afraid to make you uncomfortable. The adventure will not be what you expect but you will enjoy it all the same. In "The Happy Isles of Oceania," his unflinching eye will take readers to fascinating places they are unlikely to visit on their own, and it makes for some unbelievably wonderful reading.

It's been some years since I read this book but it still comes back loud and clear - what a bitter person he was. He "toured" the South Pacific right after he got divorced - and he distrusted and hated everybody. The book was published as we (me, wife and 2 teenagers) we sailing thru the SoPac in our sailboat - and having a wonderful time with the people, the islands, the beautiful environment - where people were happy and environmentally concerned - and this was 1991-1995. We loved it all and he was a bitter fool to miss it all.

Good grief, if I wanted a tale filled with hours of tooth-gnashing hatred and bitter invective I can just go to work. It's certainly not the sort of atmosphere I enjoy when reading a travelogue to try and escape my workaday existence.

I understand that the South Pacific is not the ideal place, but it is depressing to read Theroux' constant struggle to express any sense of joy in his travels or the people he meets along the way.

For an alternative, more light-hearted, still realistic take on the South Pacific with far less spleen, I highly recommend Tony Horowitz' "Blue Latitudes".

Many children probably have not heard of the Mutiny on the Bounty. This picture book by Patrick O'Brien is a wonderful introduction to the infamous tale. The highlight of the book are the beautiful illustrations which accompany the text. The text and illustrations work hard to introduce the relevant background knowledge about sailing so that the reader can fully understand the tale told. O'Brien deserves commendation for his even handed telling of the tale, though the prose can become workman like at times. Overall this a book recommended for readers of nonfiction or children who would like to learn more about the ill fated voyage of the Bounty.

The mutiny on the ship Bounty, is one of the great adventure stories. The events surrounding the mutiny have inspired a number of great movies and countless books. There is a lot of history in this story. A children's version must include a lot more historical detail than one usually finds in comparable children's books. Patrick O'Brien does a fine job of retelling the story. However, what makes this book special are the illustrations. Naval illustration is one of the more difficult areas of book illustration. It requires a great attention to detail to make these sailing ships come alive. O'Brien is a skilled illustrator and does a first rate job. The Mutiny on the Bounty is a classic story and this book will serve as a wonderful introduction for any child.

When I ordered this book, I thought it was the same person who authored the Aubrey/Maturin series -- which I loved. This however is not the same person at all. The book may be an excellent read for children but it is not meant for the adult adventure lovers who read the "real" O'Brian.

This beautifully wrought version of the tale of mutiny on the high seas blurs the distinction between picture book and graphic novel, creating a masterpiece of juvenile fiction that will bring drama, history, and adventure to even the most reluctant readers. This book, along with O'Brien's The Great Ships, would be an excellent addition to elementary libraries and classrooms

It is a shame that customers who cannot spell properly or pay attention to what they are purchasing should under-rate a fabulous book--or a fabulous author and illustrator for that matter--because of their own error. Patrick O'Brien, with an "e", is the author and illustrator of well over a dozen picture books for children. To imply that Patrick O'Brien is not the "real" Patrick O'Brian would be a funny comment if the reviewer then didn't drag down the book's overall rating. Sorry I'm not being very positive here, but I would not like to see a continuation of one person after another claiming how this is not the book they thought it was, when if you read the description, the reviews or any of the criteria that Amazon provides, you will understand completely who this book is intended for.

Sixteen-year-old Winter De Salis lost her parents twelve years ago, but she doesn't know how they died! She's been haunted by it ever since, and her feelings will not go away. She's now back in Warriewood after living with the Robinson family --- and she's determined to find out the truth.

While living in Warriewood, she starts to do some research on her parent's deaths. One day she finds their graves and learns that her father died in a drowning accident. She starts asking people about her mother's death, but she doesn't believe any of the stories she hears. Will she ever find out how her mother died, or will the truth be kept from her forever?

I liked this book because Winter's personality is similar to mine. If I was Winter, I would have wanted to find out how my parents died too, because I believe that you should always know the truth about your family. If you like moving books, read this one to find out if Winter ever discovers the truth.

--- Reviewed by Ashley Hartlaub

This book touched me so badly, I cried. It has a beautiful, entrancing plot with an exciting climax. Winter is a likeable and richly textured character. John Marsden is one of the best authors of all time! If you read this book and dislike it, there is something wring with you. Warning though: this book is a tear jerker. I better finish up here... I'm off to the library to renue my copy. ;)

At sixteen Winter has come home. Not that anyone wants her there but the farm is hers and she won't be stopped. But for all her bull-headedness and the reader's wonder at why she's so stubborn soon becomes apparent when Winter sees better than the adults do what is really going on on her land. We thrill to Winter's cleverness at finding the guilty freeloaders and tossing them out on their ears.
The memories that have been teasing Winter about her parents are also chillingly brought to life by her Great-Aunt Rita.
Through it all we think that Winter will be just fine. And we're sort of glad she gets to be a kid again, too.

Disappointing is probably the best word I can find for this book. There are a lot of questions left unanswered, the plot is somewhat rambly, and the situation that the main character (who struck me as very flat and shallow, a strange thing for a John Marsden character) is in raises too many questions for it to be believable or flow properly. I was quite shocked to find myself not liking this book at all; especially since I'm quite a big fan of Marsden's other works.

After reading and liking several of John Marsden's book, I looked forward to reading this one.

Unfortunately, this reads more like a rough first draft than a completed novel: sub-plots are left unresolved, characters react completely out of character (and no explanation for why is given, or even acknowledgement that the characters has just acted oddly is given), and the main character, unlike Marsden's other "troubled" teen female protagonists, does not evoke any sympathy.

Everything you need to know about Micronesia and then some. And the proof will be in the pudding when I visit.

If what you're looking for is a concise yet very useful guide to the Western Pacific Islands, here is it. I used it in conjunction with other guides and found that it stands on its own as a comprehensive refernce source. Good buy.

I got this book for an upcoming trip to Guam and Saipan. This book barely makes mention of the various sites and attractions, especially the WW II sites. With the War in the Pacific Museum still shut down, it's more important than ever to have a good accounting of what's there and how to get to it. The older 2000 edition Lonely Planet Micronesia has more information than this.

As the author of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions of this handbook, I'm very familiar with the subject matter and am pleased to see how Neil Levy has developed and improved the guide. All 70 maps are now computer-generated and printed in two colors. Neil has broadened the scope to include more information on the upscale facilities, while expanding the ecological discussions. As a companion to my own guide Moon Handbooks South Pacific it's unmatched, and I recommend it to both travelers and serious students of Micronesia.

Great overview for the traveler to Micronesia. I changed my travel plans on which islands to visit based on the information in this book. The only drawback is, and this is true for all travel books, information becomes outdated quickly and so this one needs an update.

Not much "hidden" stuff in here. Most of the places they call hidden, is also written in every other tourist guide. The only things this book has that the others don't in a more comprehensive guide to local restaurants. But as for hiking, beaches, etc. their suggestions won't be so hidden because every tourist with any guide will know about them.

The first 75 pages are the normal travel guide stock. In the succeeding pages the only thing hidden seem to be some boutique hotels, curiosity shops and small restaurants focusing on specific cuisine.

This book should be extremely helpful to anyone who, like myself, is planning a first trip to Oahu. Hidden Oahu is packed with information, in a highly readable, highly usable format. I like the way it lists attractions off the beaten path (hence the "Hidden" Oahu of the title), as well as the usual well-trod tourist attractions. Travelers who are adventurous and love to explore their destinations should love this book. I also like the way the author highlights the attractions you won't want to miss (in shaded boxes entitled "Check These Out"): the best of Oahu's restaurants, shopping (including specialty shops, such as local craft shops), museums and tourist attractions, resorts, beaches, etc. Most of all, I like the easy-to-use format of this book. Rather than lumping each type of attraction together ("beaches," "museums," "botanical gardens," etc.), this book sets out directions for a variety of driving tours and describes the attractions you will find along each route. Thus, you can easily preplan your driving adventures and make certain not to miss any of the island's attractions that fall along your way.

I might add that this book contains all the usual "before you go" warnings and advice that is standard fare in travel guides, as well as information on the history and culture of the island and some very useful information on Oahu's many outdoor sports and activities.

These books by Riegert are great; I have used them for 20 years. I would not dream of going to the islands without them. But you have to be adventurous, if you are not going to go past the NO TRESPASSING sign, you probably should not buy this book. (I only do it when Ray says it's OK). Stick to something more sedate. But if you will follow advice these books will show you da kine parts of Hawai'i you will not hear about anywhere else.

My tip: Buy this book months before your trip. Plan to stay at least one night in one of the funky hotels he finds in the backcountry. You won't regret it! Most of our favorite Hawaii moments have been due to this book.

Buy this book and go to the islands while they are still no ka oi!

I thought that the title of this book was a little misleading. I had bought several guides to Oahu and the Honolulu area in preparation for a recent trip, and this guide seemed to contain most of the same information as the rest of the books I'd read. A few of the restaurant recommendations and night life spots were new, but most other things were the same. I ended up using Frommer's Honolulu, Waikiki, and Oahu guide much more than this one.

And one has to wonder - with a destination such as Oahu, which is so popular with travelers all over the world; which is the subject of countless tour books, television shows, and other visitor information pieces - how much of the island's treasures can truly remain "hidden?"

The basic concept of this book of focusing less on the key people and events of history and more on the environmental, social and cultural impacts is not new and could have produced an interesting and insightful analysis of a country that is still a mystery to most Westerners. However, Totman fails to achieve this. His writing style can be tedious and he seems intent in showing off his impressive vocabulary - he certainly must get the prize for the most use of the word "adumbrate" in a book.

Ironically, therein lies the problem. He sketches over some complex issues,cultural themes and whole periods of history that without an existing deep knowledge of Japanese history and society leaves this reader, at least, more confused than enlightened. His approach of laying a lot of emphasis on the geographic and environmental influences, again, could have been very interesting but it finally degenerates into a rant about the war in Iraq and how destructive and corrupt the Industrialized world is. Rather than a diatribe against the Bush administration, it would have been useful to see an analysis of the factors that have caused the Japanese economy to stagnate compared to Europe and particularly the U.S.

In the end this book really does not give either a helpful overview of the history of Japan nor any insight into its future.

Although compact and covering a broad range of subjects, Totman's book carries with it several key flaws which a person should be aware of.

First, the almost complete reliance upon English sources. A quick browse through citations and quotes reveals rather quickly that virtually no Japanese sources have been used (if any) in the making of this book. This doesn't make the book "bad" or one sided so much as it makes it woefully incomplete. Many of the English language sources cited are from around 1997, which makes them very recent, but one further problem lingers. That is, the sources for Totman's sources. Generally speaking research on Japan is generally speaking 20 years behind research in the US. New "breakthroughs" by US researchers don't get much press in Japan simply because the "breakthrough" is already common knowledge by the time it gets here. As result, although the views expressed in the book reflect new thinking in American or European circles they do not neccisarily reflect those in Japan at the present.

Another "flaw", although not as fatal as the one listed above, is the division he seems to employ in (or rather impose upon) Japanese history. This is an old argument (in Japan, anyway), but deserves attention. The book is divided up into 4 major parts: prehistory (Japan up until the Nara period), Classical (Nara-Heian), Medieval (Kamakura-Edo), and Modern (Meiji- ). The modern era is then devided into pre and post-war Japan. The Major problem here comes in this heavy-handed lumping of eras based upon the European version of (European) history. For perhaps the past two or three decades in Japan the validity of this lumping has been debated and challenged, which has led to the breaking down of paradigms associated with the "classical" age or the "medieval" age. What this in effect did inside Totman's work was create an oversimplification of areas of history which deserve far more attention (for example the Kamakura period hardly gets notice, and the split in to the Northern and Southern Courts and the subsequent 70 years of war, are virtually ignored). This, I fear, is a fairly typical bias seen in Western writing regarding Japanese history, with only Sansom breaking the mold over 40 years ago.

To meantion this books strengths, it gives quickly and easily (although at times oversimplified) readable views of the many aspects of Japanese political, cultural, and societal history, and takes a slightly different stance on modern Japanese history which begins to reflect the views developed in Japan by people such as Ito Takashi. A more candid view based on factual rather than ideological of Japanese history on the whole can be seen emerging, however the shortened pen with which things are written can lead to misundertanding of facts and events.

This volume will serve as a good general guide to Japanese history on the whole, but is oversimplified in many important areas. This book may, however, serve as a good springboard in to more detailed histories, such as Cambridge's or Sansoms, and may even serve in the reverse to give new insight into the problems sighted in these older works.

Totman tries ever-so-hard to liberate his history from traditionalist binaries such as East vs. West and industrial vs. pre-industrial. He does this by examining history from an ecological perspective, examining the interaction between man and the environment. At first, this approach seems to work remarkably well. It is possible, it seems, to deduce pre-historic settlement patterns from the environmental record alone.

Yet, the novelty of his approach begins to break down when he tries to fit all of Japanese history into four distinct stages defined by the ability of the society to extract and process resources (e.g. crops, minerals, forests, etc.). This is just old-style development theory dressed in a new suit. Also, Totman conveniently abandons the ecological model when examining such items as culture, even though he vainly tells the reader that he has not forgotten his approach! When the author has to remind the reader that he hasn't strayed from his theme, it's a sure sign that he has!

The result of all this is a highly fragmented account that is difficult to read without prior knowledge of Japanese history. If I were a professor in this field, it would be an agonizing decision to go back to Sansom's venerable 1960's volume instead of turning to the current scholarship used in Totman. And yet, Totman's book is so difficult to digest that it would probably be worth it.

I had the good fortune to use (the first edition of) Conrad Totman's "History of Japan" in a series of introductory Japanese history courses for which I also read large parts of the two works with which it is often compared by other reviewers: George Sansom's three-volume history and the encyclopedic Cambridge history. This let me compare all three works and identify the strengths that each has relative to the others. Although I read the first edition, few major changes seem to have been made in the second edition, the main one being an expansion of the epilogue to discuss pressures associated with the war on terror and invasion of Iraq.

As a one-volume work, Totman's history can't hope to include as much detail as the other two multi-volume histories. However, it nevertheless manages to present a comprehensive and very accessible history of Japan from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century. Unlike the Cambridge history, it is actually affordable, and unlike Sansom's work it includes events following the Meiji Restoration. Totman also spends considerably more time exploring Japanese society and economy than does Sansom, who focuses mainly on political, military and high-cultural affairs.

Totman's main conceit is taking an 'ecological' approach to Japanese history that governs the book's structure even if it doesn't dominate the narrative as a whole. He divides Japanese history into four rough and somewhat overlapping periods, based on the dominant means of production: pre-agriculture, dispersed agriculture, intensive agriculture, and industrial. Each of these periods, he argues, exhibited an early high-growth phase when the spread of new techniques and technologies led to rapid increases in production and population, followed by longer periods of stasis. As a result of this approach, for instance, Totman considers the Meiji Restoration a less crucial transition than the process of industrialization that followed it later in the nineteenth century.

Totman's interpretation is plausible, and I appreciated how he uses it to provide structure to his account, without forcing all aspects of Japanese history to fit into some overarching model. His writing was also quite accessible, and often a pleasure to read. The supplemental tables, glossary, index, annotated bibliography and limited notes were also helpful. Sansom and the Cambridge history may make more complete references, but of the three I found Totman's "History of Japan" the most interesting, accessible and enjoyable to read.

Conrad Totman's A History Of Japan conceptualizes four major "ages" grounded in the material resources that sustained Japanese society: the age of foragers, dispersed agriculturalists, intensive agriculture, and industrialism. Totman beings with Stone Age society in Japan, and then moves through developments in agriculture, state-building, the blossoming of classical arts and letters, socioeconomic growth and change, domestic and diplomatic politics, social issues of class, gender and ethnicity, cultural production and the environmental effects of agricultural activity. A History Of Japan provides detailed coverage of the twentieth century when Japan grew into a much larger society and its role on the international science became militarily, economically, and culturally influential. A History Of Japan is a highly recommended, informative, scholarly, comprehensive, and "reader friendly" introduction and historical survey that will be much appreciated by students of Japanese history and culture, and has a wealth of material for the non-specialist general reader seeking to understand the Japan of antiquity as well as a contemporary and influential society.

"Kaleku was hurled out. He spun briefly, arms and legs flailing as uselessly as a rag doll's, and plunged, with a crash, into the sea.
Thrashing to the surface, he had time only to see the fins racing toward him.
He screamed only once before he died.
And as he died, a vivid picture flashed across his brain.
A picture of a stone shark, goast-gray under the moon, it's carved mouth open, its white teeth luminous in the cold light.
And on its teeth, a scarlet stain of blood."
I highly encourage you to read this wonderful book called The Shark Callers written and illustrated by Eric Campbell.
This book is about a boating family. The family has a son named Andy, a daughter named Sally, and a mother and father. They know that Quintana, their boat, will look after them. But the island they are banked on, has a volcano ready to erupt. The island was on Purple alert. The next one would be Red alert. Evacuate!!
There is also another story going on at the same time, but only in the past. Fifty years before the Thomsons had arrived at the island, Old Sea Bird and Kaleku were Shark Callers. The top of Old Sea Bird's hut was covered with shark fins from which he had hunted sharks, and growing in the back of it was brus, or tobacco. The Shark Callers made canoes from wood, rattles made of coconut shells called larungs, and floats made for snaring sharks, called kasamans. Their problem was that there was a great tsunami, or tidal wave, coming their way. But you will have to read the book yourself to find out what happens.

The Shark Callers is not only pointless but is also without a message. It is about two boys who lead two different paths. They do not interact at all during the course of the book. At the end of the book when Kaleku is killed, Eric Campbell explains that he was giving his life in order to save Andy's. Kaleku had no knowledge that Andy was near him or that Andy's life was in danger. He was simply doing what he set out to do; hunt sharks. Whats more, it is without an ending. There is an Epilouge in which the writer describes what hapens to the characters. In conclusion, this book just flat out confused me.

This is a pretty good book and I would reccomend it to anyone who likes action and adventure. When I say adventure I mean volcanoes, sharks, tidal waves, earthquakes, the whole 9 yards. It is a great book. It is a fast read. Nothing hard, except that there are some words that are hard that you have to look up in the glossary for. I didn't like that part. It is a really good read though and deserves a lot of credit.

If you're looking for a historically accurate, but still enjoyable book, you've hit the jackpot. The Shark Callers by Eric Campbell is the book for you! It keeps you on the edge of your seat, but at the same time, you get to know all of the characters, and when something happens to them, it happens to you too. You never know what's coming JUST around the corner, and the pivotal point at the end of the book is awesome. A wonderful book=)

this book was pretty good. it too a while for things to get rolloing but once that happened it took off in a really good book.

"Provides complete information on how to reserve campervan/car in U.S. and on camps and scenic sights in 'Down Under.'"

This is nice little book, but it is not at all what the description led me to believe it was and it is certainly not worth the cost. This is not a true guidebook at all. Rather, it is a very brief (only 128 pages total, with wide margins on all 4 sides of the page) account of the Hostrop's personal travel experiences with little tidbits of advice tossed in.

I have visited Australia twice and am planning a third trip, which is why I purchased this book. It will not be of use to me in planning my next trip, nor do I believe it would have been especially useful in planning my previous trips, even though my last trip was made in part in a campervan.

I also found the repeated urgings to make use of Newmans (a travel agency) a bit disconcerting. Was the Hostrops' trip underwritten by Newmans?

My advice: spend your money on the Frommer's and Lonely Planet guides. They will be much more useful.

I bought this book before our trip to New Zealand to provide detailed/specifc information about using a Campervan to see New Zealand. We took the book with us and referred to it several times during our vacation there and found it to be neither helpful or accurate. Using a campervan to visit New Zealand had many serious considerations that I do not feel were adequately detailed in this very small, non detailed book. One of the funny things was that the book mentioned how patiently and how detailed the instructions would be by the campervan company. To the contrary was our experience, there was minimal information provided, just "You refuel here, the spare tire is here, you turn it on there. Any questions? No?, Well have a good day mate." Once out of the parking lot, the fun begain with trying to drive a stick shift situated on the "wrong" side of the vehicle and driving on the "wrong" side of the road. Had the book specified some of the problems associated with this, and the dangers, we would have had more realistic expectations. Since this book was a "Campervan" book, my expectations would be that the book would spend much more time on how to deal with such a "beast", as we came to consider our campervan.

In addition, the book gushed about the great roads, which were not great once outside of Auckland, and the lack of graffetti and trash, which we saw much of in Auckland and even in the rural settings. Many other details mentioned in the book we found not be be the case. The various sites to see were not discussed in enough detail to be either intriging or edifying.

This is not to discourage anyone from going to NZ, but I felt that the book did not cover the reality that a traveler meets. One would do much better with getting a general travel book of New Zealand, which be did, and use that for planning and executing his or her trip.

Though my wife and I had a general guide to Australia and New Zealand, surprisingly, we felt that the Hostrops' book gave all the sightseeing information needed as most sites also had their own detailed literature. We appreciated the emphasized suggested itinerary given which took us to the most important sites and to the excellent recommended lodgings and campgrounds. We also appreciated the excellent information on the "free" stopover islands. On the way over, we stopped in the Cook Islands and on the way back we stopped in Tahiti. This a gem of a book which goes to the heart of what independent travelers need for a most enjoyable journey to Australia and New Zealand. Highly recommended for independent travelers.

Wow, it's a steal at $6 - I paid about $20 originally. It covers quite a bit of ground, seems to be fairly current, and gives more focus to the touristy things to do (which makes sense). It was definitely the guide I most used while on the vacation but if it was 100 pages lighter I would have been grateful!

This is another guide written in the same sort of format as Lets Go and Lonely Planet. It is a lot thicker than the Lets Go version and believe me, weight and space are important when lugging the thing around a whole continent. Let's Go also has a fair bit more information than Rough Guide in fewer pages. I also don't like the paper the pages are made of in this book as it's not a nice texture, is very thin and the pages stick together when the book's been inside a hot backpack and just don't feel nice turning the pages when it's a bit humid. Rough Guide is also rather opinionated on everything from each hostel to local information booth staff friendliness. I must say I do agree with some comments but a lot I never had the same experiences. That's the thing about travelling one person can have a great experience with a tourism operator and the next not so good. It depends who else is on the tour, in the room, which staff member you get and so on. If this was a constantly updated website that encourages feedback and changed the information regularly than I would see a place for it but not in a guide book. If you follow the author's opinion you'll miss out on some great experiences and even the places he recommends you may still have a bad time at. That's just the way tourism is. I'd recommend Lets Go over this for backpacking around Australia.

As with many things Aussie, this book has an outdoorsy bent. There's far less history and social content than some other Rough Guides but that said, this book is typical Rough Guide density with encyclopedic coverage. The best thing about this book is that you're not likely to find a place in this vast country without at least a few words written about it. The chapters about particularly remote sections of the country are well done and fascinating to read. A good guide book should make you more anxious to get on with your trip. This one has that effect on me.

I'd like to see a bit more narrative about significant architecture and important institutions, and the book needs a nice new set of maps. There are few really good ones in here.

This book was a lifesaver for us on our three week vacation to Australia. The maps within it were fantastic especially on our four day drive up the coast. It was very helpful with regard to accommodation, and finding tourist information offices. We didn't leave our room without it on any day of our trip.