Oceania Books

I first saw a picture or two on some program to download desktop photos. I followed some info cuz I was captivated by the Alice pictures. I discovered Robyn's journey, story and this story book. I considered buying a used one, but decided to get a new one. I just love the whole of it and so appreciate the author not only taking the journey but sharing it with the rest of us. Even if some of the sharing was against her original plans. Thanks Robyn. Your journey touches deeply in inexplicable ways.

Although large in size, and filled with breathtaking photographs, this book includes so much more than the regular "picture book". Robyn's thoughtful words make you feel as if you are traveling right along with her and her famous camels. The story is engaging and heart-wrenching; and the reader runs through the same emotions that Robyn feels at each leg of the journey, from the tragedy of loss to the jubilation of completion.

Beautiful and introspective - and very highly recommended.

This book breaks all the boundaries - combining Photography, digital media and narrative to capture the wild spirit in us all. Makes me want to buy and camel and set off!

The combination is a winner because of:
* the stunning page and a half photo spreads of Australian desert and scenes showing Robyn's trek with the camels
* engaging narration by Robyn that shows you the beauty, fear, boredom, and other feelings that accompany her on the months of solitude crossing 1700 miles of outback Australia
The photographer represented National Geographic, and the photos have that look the magazine readers expect. Interesting panoramas, the light playing on the spinifex, the wrinkled face of an Aboriginal tracker, the otherworldly red dirt, the camels silhouetted against the skyline.
Robyn represented only herself and undertook the trek for reasons even she did not understand. Seeing her develop and expand her thinking during the days and weeks and months on the track makes this a fascinating book.

I bought this book while on a visit to Australia in 1990 and read it on the flight home! I was completely entranced by this woman's tenacity and determination to complete her often difficult but life expanding trek ALL ALONE! I had lost this book in a fire in 1993 and felt like I had lost a friend - I am soooo happy to see it is back in print! The incredible photos that accompany the journey are worth every penny!

I found this guide full of interesting places to visit, sparking my interest and desire to see more of the world. I would love to discover the same type of pleasure that one would get from being immersed in a different culture, especially one as appealing as the one painted in RV in NZ.

It's my dream to have a holiday in NZ. This humerus discription of the adventures of the motorcaravan experience makes me want to go even more! A fun read for the traveler and nontraveler alike.

I have to admit, I had not thought about RV'ing through New Zealand. A friend once invited us to Australia and he and his wife actually do this RV thing in the States: they buy a motorhome, travel around the US (they are missionaries on furlough) then sell it and return back to Australia. Here, Carolyn Harris tells you how to purchase an RV and how to survive the North and South Islands of this beautiful country.

The book actually assumes you know a bit about RV's--there is terminology and technical discussion that someone who already toured in an RV might be more familiar with. Carolyn advises you on motor memberships (AAA and KOA), money, dealing with the Kiwis, where to go, what to eat and even, how to talk--there is a glossary of Kiwisms in the back of the book.

I enjoyed reading the glossary as much as the book and was interested in how a country so remote can be so like us and so unlike us in every way. If you are considering an extended stay in an RV down in the Roaring Forties (fortieth parallel south and beyond) this book is a worthy guide.

I found this travel book extremely informative. As an aspiring trans continental RV traveler, I have always dreamt of one day exploring New Zealand. I have traveled all across North and South America, and after reading this woman's humorous details of discovering the Kiwi lifestyle, I am confident New Zealand will be my next destination.

RV In NZ: How To Spend Your Winters Freedom Camping South-Way South In New Zealand by Carolyn Harris (a veteran of touring New Zealand in winter mootorcarvans) is the definitive guide for anyone wanting to explore the beauty and excitement of a New Zealand excursion. Readers are definitively provided with solid information and invaluable advice on everything from buying a motorcaravan and getting the motorcarvan on the road, to finding free and/or low cost parking as well as meeting and traveling with New Zealand "movaners". If you are planning a trip to New Zealand and want to explore that wonderful country first hand -- then give a careful reading to Carolyn Harris' RV In NZ!

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.

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

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!

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.

I bought this book as a guide before my honeymoon. I had already looked around a couple of eco-tourism web sites and booked a couple of hotels; in one case, I changed my mind because of this book and ended up canceling a booking. It's a well-organized guide with astonishing clarity and frankness. Some off-hand tips include who to talk to (first names) at travel agencies/resorts/etc. for tips and deals, what times of day and/or days of the week you should avoid certain activities, what environment to expect at a hotel or resort (Partying backpackers? Couples only? Family-oriented? Rich lazies?), which buses leave early/late or stay overnight, how to deal with hagglers, general Fijian pronunciation tips and cultural guidelines (including an apparently conservative dress code in the villages that I would have regretted not knowing beforehand), where and how women will feel safe, and of course, which restaurants and accommodations offer the best deals. You're probably also well-off to visit www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree for first-hand travel tips, but the Moon guide book is a great buy.

Awesome book, well written and very insightful.
South Seas Photography uses all these Moon South Pacific books and the Fiji Book for all our travels throughout Polynesia.
Easy to use, perfect for detailed information, easy to carry and share.

Karl Meinhardt
www.SouthSeasPhotography.com

The 8th. Edition of David Stanley's Moon Fiji handbook continues to be the essential guidebook for travelers to Fiji. And whether you are a seasoned Fiji traveler or an eager first-timer, you will find Stanley's book critical to getting the most of your Fiji visit.

Compared to the earlier editions, this one is totally revamped and redesigned. It's compact, attractive, and very usable. Information is easily located and details are ample. Every section is updated and expanded to include current relevant information, insofar as any destination guidebook can be anyway.

Each geographical region of Fiji is fully detailed covering related visitor attractions, accommodations, dining options, activities, recreation and more. Specific recommendations make each section extremely valuable. Stanley pulls no punches in both his criticisms and compliments to vendors of accommodations, restaurants, activities and others. Descriptions and explanations are quite trustworthy.

Detailed maps and interesting photography makes for a well laid-out book. Placement of the Background reference section to the back of the book make the tome usable. The opening section with such things as "The Best of Fiji," and "Island-Hopper Special," plus "Culture and the Real Fiji" and others get the reader quickly immersed in Fiji and offer practical ideas for getting the most of a Fiji visit.

The book's regional Fiji sections provide all the detail and information needed for planning a visit to these storied and historic South Pacific islands. Whether you see one area such as Nadi and the Mamanucas, or take in Suva, the Coral Coast, Lomaiviti, the Yasawas, Taveuni, or the "Friendly North" of Vanua Levu, you'll find Moon Fiji a fine and very useful traveling companion. Like the saying goes, don't leave home without it! As a veteran Pacific Island traveler, I'll have my copy of Moon Fiji along on my next Fiji stop.

We've been talking about going to Fiji for years, and have looked at other books, but this book trumps them all. It's very thorough, with excellent descriptions that make us wish we could pack our bags and go today. Author David Stanley obviously loves Fiji, and his passion comes through in his writing. We also appreciate the way he doesn't sugar coat the less than perfect. This seems like a book you can really trust. And the history sprinkled throughout (great stories of Capt. Bligh, for instance), the interesting boxes full of fun information, and the very useable maps make it easy to get educated in all things Fijian. We also love the beginning section with beautiful color photography. It would be nice if all photos could be in color, but we'd happily trade the excellent info in the book for color pictures.

This book provided us with our new dream adventure vacation: A stay on the Yasawa Islands, where there are no motorized land vehicles or roads. You can stay in a thatched "bure" and make a vacation exploring the island chain via a catamaran line that offers a kind of "Eurail Pass" for island hoppers. Who knew such a place still existed?!

This book IS Fiji. Even the people who live there should own a copy for themselves as a guide to their islands' resources.

The indispensable information and guidance within Moon Fiji about trip planning, transportation, dining, lodging, entertainment, recreation, tours, events...will save the traveler the cost of the book many times over.

I've edited other publishers' guidebooks and am most impressed with the excellent composition and layout of this book, the perfect refinement of seven previous editions. It is amazing that: so much information has been included; the type size is big enough to be easy to read: and yet the book is small enough to carry everywhere.

Don't waste your time searching the Internet for information about the Fiji Islands. It's all in this book, including reviews, maps, photos, telephone numbers, schedules...and, if you must, a list of the top twenty Fiji websites. There is too much more info to mention.

Let me be succinct and direct: Anyone who is planning to visit the Fiji Islands must have this book--they will be handicapped there without it.

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!!

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.

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).

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.

Darkest Hour very well captures the actions and consequences of life and death decisions by Australians in the World War II Pacific theater. A page-turner, I lost track of time while reading the book following the Australians and their Japanese pursuers through the jungles and waters around New Britain. Mr. Gamble's writing is able to relate historic events, the battleground geography, the environment, military plans and decisions (or lack thereof) with the personal struggles of the men and women caught up in a one-sided fight. It was a great reading experience that is most highly recommended.

Darkest Hour is not only an excellent historical account of one of the most important "battles" at the beginning of World War II but also an entertaining read that is hard to put down. The author does a good job at character development, which is often something lacking in these kinds of books. He follows the Lark Force from its inception in Australia to its demise (mostly) in the wretched hold of a Japanese cargo ship. All is not hopeless as the stories of those who did manage to escape the island and get back home are told in adequate detail. This book made we want to read more about this period of World War II in the Pacific theater.

Pearl Harbor, Normandy, Stalingrad, Iwo Jima. These are just a handful of the battles that come to mind when people think about World War II--and rightfully so. Thankfully, though, Bruce Gamble extends his vision to one of the most gripping, and tragic, stories of the entire war. The story of Lark Force. Not only a true page turner (Gamble is an excellent story teller), Darkest Hour is obviously well-researched and filled with detail. Put simply, their story deserved to be told, and Bruce Gamble provided a fitting tribute to their legacy.

Darkest Hour is a moving book about one of Australia's least known World War Two incidents.
My grandfather died on the Montevideo Maru and for years I've searched for information about his death and his time on Rabaul. This book provided me with many answers others haven't.
Bruce Gamble writes about the members of Lark Force as real men and honestly discusses the controversy surrounding their fate.

A compelling, disturbing book that brings this darkest hour in Australian war time history into the light.

The book "Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul" is a compelling historic accounting of those Australian men and women on the southwest Pacific island of New Britain that was run over by the invading Japanese Army. Their fateful encounter began at the early morning hour of 2:30 a.m. on January 23, 1942. The Japanese rushed ashore to completely overwhelm the 1500 men and six nurses in the garrison; thus begins one of the most tragic tales of WWII.

Less than 25% of those in the garrison were able to escape and evade and after many weeks of hardship found their way off the island to safety. However, those that remained were captured and endure cruel and sometime lethal treatment at the hands of the Japanese. In one incident alone, two hundred POWS were executed. But a worse fate was still awaiting 850 of the survivors when they were torpedoed by an American submarine and went down with the ship while locked in their holding cells below deck.

The book is obviously researched very well. Author Bruce Gamble writes this historic story as if he were an eyewitness to the events. It is a most compelling and entertaining tale that shows the courage, sacrifices and horrors of war first hand. Gamble makes us feel the emotions of that group as he shares with the reader some of the small details of the events by the people involved. The writing is top notched and goes beyond a mere reporting of what happened. It captures the heart and soul of that time and place. Reading this true story will change you; you cannot help but be moved by what happened to these men and women.

This book is one of those that once you begin reading it you do not want to pout it down until you are finished with it. I give this book my personal endorsement and highest recommendation. It has also earned The Military Writer's Society of America's top book rating of FIVE STARS! This book is more than just history--it is also a tribute to those fine soldiers and nurses of Lark Force who gave their lives for freedom.