Australia Books

I'm a fan so I think all hers are great (though her short stories don't inspire as much). When you finish you'll sit back and say "can you believe that?!" Surprise ending teaches that in life things may not always be what you think. The family dynamics and descriptions are so vivid you feel as if you have been injected with emotion

This may be the best Hospital I've read. The title is from a line by T. S. Eliot and describes the patriarch of a family, Edward Carpenter, a retired school principal. The novel is set in a small town in Massachusetts around 1990 (though written in 1983)when Edward's wife is planning their fiftieth wedding anniversary party. She will invite of course, in addition to friends and former colleagues, their three children; Victoria, who is in a mental institution; Jason, a therapist in New York and Emily, a concert violinist living in England, along with her eight year old son Adam, whom her father Edward has never seen and didn't know existed until three years ago when Emily gave her first concert in the United States.

The novel is all about families: how easily we as family members hurt each other; what happens when we don't forgive one other; the awfulness of hypocrisy; how we can redeem ourselves; that we can never really know our parents; that though we travel far away, we never get far from where we came; the roads not taken, lost opportunities; and, finally, that we never stop wanting to be loved by our family.

The plot has many unexpected twists, and there are many beautifully written, powerful scenes. In Chapter XIII Edward and Elizabeth travel to New York to hear Emily give her first concert in the U. S. This is one of the most moving passages I have read anywhere in a long time. I read and reread and read it yet again. Great fiction doesn't get better than this.

Tom Roberts was published on the occasion of the Tom Roberts retrospective organised by the Art Gallery of South Australia in conjunction Art Exhibitions Australia touring 1996-1997. It contains twelve essays, a Biographical Timeline, a Catalogue, End Notes, Contributing Authors and a Selected Bibliography. Measuring 11.25" x 9.5" it contains 224 pages.

The first few assays concentrate on the artist himself including his place in art in Australia and the progress of his career. The remainder concern themselves more specifically with various aspects of his work including portraits and a very short one on etchings. Three essays each discuss a particular painting or two: Shearing the Rams 1888-90 / The Golden Fleece 1894; A Break Away! 1891; Bailed Up 1895-/1927.

There are around 100 full-colour images mostly up to full page size, occasionally there are two to a page, and there are a few double page spreads; the total includes several detail mages of selected paintings. The colour plates are arranged to accompany the relevant essay, and one appears on each right-hand page throughout the essays. The range of work includes Impressionist style landscapes, portraits, people working, scenes of London and a still life. The Catalogue section also includes black and white thumbnails of the paintings. A handsome well produced hardcover book, the front and back cover of which each caries a picture of a painting.

There were only two painters who truly understood the unique Australian light - Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts. Contemporary with Monet, Tom Roberts was the leader of a group of Australian painters who knew their subjects very well (the Australian outdoors) and understood its unique sunlight.

Roberts' paintings glow with the burning white light of an Australian summer; gum trees are hazy through the heat of midday; thirsty sheep stampede to a waterhole with the dust rising through the heat; a stage-coach is held up under a burning noon-day sun; elegantly dressed 1890's couples picnic under the shade of a gum tree; shearers hard at work sweat under the roof of an outback shearing shed, the burning white sun scorching the landscape outside.

This book captures these magnificent paintings beautifully. The text is well-written and easy to understand, giving an insight into Roberts' pioneering 'plein aire' technique which he learnt while in Europe during the heyday of the Impressionists. The modern reader is made to understand how revolutionary Roberts was. He was the first artist to ever capture the lives of typical Australians, at a time when Australia was a young pioneering land, painted in the style of Monet and the French Impressionists.

The quality of the plates is superb, although I admit a few of the plates are small, thereby loosing much of the original painting's incredible details. (Many of Roberts' paintings are massive.) For the larger works, close-up details show the masterful brush-strokes Roberts employed. This is actually a catalogue for a brilliant Tom Roberts exhibition which toured Australia in 1998, and so the book follows the layout of a typical exhibition catalogue.

If you're an admirer of Monet and the French Impressionists, then this book will show you a painter you probably have never heard of and one you will find facinating.

The burning heat and blinding dust of an Aussie summer never looked so good.

When my daughter was very young, I borrowed Tosca's Christmas from the local library. It became one of her favorite stories. For several years, we observed a tradition of checking the book out of the library prior to Christmas each year. Last fall, after she left for her freshman year at college, I ordered a hardback copy of the book from the internet and surprised her for Christmas. It was a joyous reunion!

Tosca's Christmas is full of Anne Mortimer's beautiful, lifelike illustrations of a very real-looking and acting pleasingly-plump tabby. It paints a somewhat realistic picture of Christmas from a cat's perspective -- all that unwelcome commotion, and not being allowed to actively participate when there is something fun to do (like wrapping oneself in giftwrap). The artwork alone makes buying the book worthwhile. Anne Mortimer's cats are always more realistic than any other illustrator's -- the cat's markings aren't symmetrical, and you know she knows this cat as well as you know your own.

This is one of my favorite books! Great story, very inspiring, writes beautifully. very thought provoking. will make you want to travel!

There are few adventurous people that by-pass the luxury of their deisel-pushers to experience the likes of what Robyn Davidson embarks on as the challenge of a lifetime. That is precisely what makes this book so phenomenal.

Granted, this adventure took place in 1980, but the age of the event changes nothing of the experience.

Roughly structured, and for her reasons only, she embarks on a 1,700 mile trek across the outback to the ocean from Alice Springs. Her transportation? Camels.

The most fascinating part of this trip is she must learn about these amazing creatures from scratch. She moves to Alice Springs and sets forth to find those that are willing to teach her the camel buisness. Some of these teachers are of worthy content and impart essential knowledge. Robyn, however appears to be a natural with these animals, and a relationship with them developes that draws the reader into the story and through every foot of the trip. Her chosen camels have strong personalities, and this delightful distraction imparts great humor and solice on her quest.

Special mention must be made to her best female friend, Diggity. This incredible dog was her lifeline and her mainstay through many trying days and nights. Diggity's personality was beautifully captured by Robyn's recollections, and will tweak the heart of any dog lover.

Robyn's ability to bring the aboriginal people and outback to life as she treks across it's vastness is truly astounding. After I finished her book, I immediately went back onto Amazon.com and bought every single book and reference she wrote or participated in. Her amazing zest and appreciation for the life in the outback of Australia was exhilarating. I urge you to read a truly moving, tear jerking, humorous, enlightling and generally captivating novel that bespeaks of the ultimate travel experience one can ever hope to conjure. Thank you, Robyn!

I bought this book based on the first reviewer's comments, hoping that I, too, could have some laughs and learning about the Red Planet! A guide to Mars just seemed so over-the-top, I had to explore it!

When I received the book and read this comment on the back cover, I knew I was in for something wonderfully unique: "Each year, more and more modern families are considering Mars for their summer holidays. The old inconveniences associated with travel and accommodation on the exciting and scenic Red Planet are fading fast. Anyone who enjoys a crisp and bracing climate, guaranteed year-round sunshine, and picturesque boulders far for the madding crowds should look at Mars again." I was hooked! hahahaha I wanted to go to Mars!

The book is divided into seven intriguing sections, which inform as well as entertain:

1) Travel (A clever description on how to pack for and get to Mars, where the round-trip journey is about 309 million miles! Also, there is a quiet talk about passports, Visas, and other entry issues. )

2) Practical A-Z (Here are some important travel tidbits regarding best times to go, climate, the Martian calendar and events, sky-gazing, food and drink, the Martian entertainment and night life, where to stay, calling home, religion, sports... You know, all your typical travel highlights!)

3) Mars in the Night Sky (A clever look at retrograde motion and Mars curious celestial personality)

4) Touring the Planet (An insider's detailed look at Aerography, the study of Mars' surface features and landforms: the Martian Poles, Mare Australe, Promethei Rupes, Big Joe, Cydonia & The Face, Tharsis, Olympus Mons, Valles Marineris, Syrtis Major, and others. Don't forget your moon trips and climbers' tips!)

5) A History of Mars (Explore the Martian Genesis; Mars in Earth mythology, history, science, and astrology; the Canal Craze; Mars in Sci-Fi and Fantasy--including a cool section called "War of the Worlds, Part II: All's Well that ends Welles." )

6) The Space Age begins (Read all about "Early Mars Tourism" efforts! LOL :) Enjoy early missions to Mars and their results. Tiny debate: does the face on Mars look like Ted Kennedy? Only readers can decide! This section also includes speculations on Martian Colonies for the future!)

7) Marsology (In here, find a fantastic listing of books and other media--fiction and non-fiction-- devoted to the Red Planet. Any Mars fan can benefit from this extensive guide to other resources, a grand checklist to explore.)

For a small book, there is a lot of info (and "dry" British humor) packed in the Cadogan Travellers' Guide to Mars. It is a refreshing read, and I believe it is well worth the price paid. The book is also an excellent resource for students who may have to study Mars science, history, and / or mythology. Makes a great primer for how to prepare for that BIG vacation of a lifetime!

Home-schooling parents and early college educators who wish to do unique, integrative studies mixing science, literature, mythology, humor, critical thinking, and creativity should take a look at what this book offers. People interested in colonizing and terra-forming Mars should read this book too! Celebrating imagination and innovation, this book offers its readers a fun journey that is both real in the context of its time and extraordinary.

As we learn more about Mars and as we continue to visit the planet with new technology, no doubt some of the facts / ideas in this book will begin to date themselves; however, that too will be quite funny--just as we now look at all those canal theories at the turn of the century and laugh! The best way to appreciate this book is to enjoy it for what it is...a clever travel parody that promotes further reading and discussion about the Red Planet and its many mysteries.

NOTE to those concerned: What you won't find in this book are the very recent Mars rover missions like Spirit and Opportunity or the upcoming Phoenix mission, slated for May 25, 2008. Readers who prefer a more serious, more in-depth "trip" / treatment to the Red Planet should investigate William K Hartmann's A Traveler's Guide to Mars or Planet Mars: Story of Another World (Springer Praxis Books / Popular Astronomy) by François Forget.

I brought this after reading Bill Bryson's comments in the New York Times and had a good guffaw. The authors, who usually write very irreverant guides about Europe, give Mars the same treatment-it not only makes science fun, but it makes you want to go to Mars on the next rocket out. Even my 11 year old has picked it up and used it for her science project at school. Pics are great too--altogether a fun little book!

firdaus kanga is a very dear friend who lives in my neighbourhood. his book is a reflection of his jovial self.

he is the wittiest guy i've ever met, and also, by the way, the most intelligent! this book is a must read.

Trying to grow is the story of a young man named Daryus Kotwal, who grew up in more ways than one, and did not allow his disabilitating disease to overcome him. Set in an endearing idiosyncratic Parsi family the story recreates his struggle with life. The vitality of the story comes from startlingly vivid characterizations. There is also this extraordinary fluency in the description of relationships and heartbreaks.

Autobiographical in nature, Trying to Grow brings a whole new and refreshing perspective to the world of human disability, eliminating any kind of "mush". There is a lot of honesty and energy in the way the story has been told. There is a vein of humor through out giving it a surprisingly upbeat tone. It is an exhilirating book which celebrates life more than anything else.

This irresistible book about trains shows, in photographs in lavish color, the evolution of railways from its beginnings to the present day. And at the end of the book there are the profiles of those great railroad engineers who helped lay the foundation of this transportation system (which is far from being a part of the past; in Europe, Japan, India and China it remains the most used form of transportation). Greatly reccomended for train buffs.

I have been waiting for DK to publish a train book for adults. Ultimate Train is done in classic DK style with lots of pictures and brief, but relevant, text. This book is long-awaited and sure to be a hit with any adult (or child!) train lover.

Nobody alive on earth today can adequately describe the magic that is the Waitakere Ranges -- a unique place on this planet, unrivaled in beauty anywhere at any price. Travel around the Ranges, either on foot or by automobile, and you will be enchanted, spellbound.

Because words are horribly inadequate tools to describe beauty, the Waitakere Ranges must be experienced to be believed. However, _Untamed Coast_ comes about as close as possible to doing this place justice.

A magical book, for a magical place.

This is a great book. I grew up in this area and spent many happy hours on these beaches. It truly is a great present to share with friends overseas and with family.

A VISION OF THE SACRED: My Personal Journey with Krishnamurti By Sunanda Patwardhan Ph.D.

Reviewed by Satish Telgar Ph.D.

J.Krishnamurti the peripatetic teacher who ever since his apostasy from the Theosophical Society in the 1930's traveled around the world and talked to thousands of people touched and transformed many lives. Mrs. Sunanda Patwardhan the author of this wonderful little book A Vision of the Sacred had the rare privilege of being his close friend and confidant, records in it in a frank and candid manner the number of conversations and anecdotes that she was privy to. As she says in the introduction to the book the reason to write it was an earnest wish to share with the reader the events, insights and conversations with Krishnamurti and how it helped her face her own conflicts and begin her inward pilgrimage. The book has yet another lofty purpose, which is to communicate the sense of the sacred she witnessed in the remarkable presence of Krishnamurti. She hopes as she says in the introduction that a reader in the next century, which is upon us now, should be able to get a glimpse of this sense of the sacred that radiated from Krishnamurti by reading the book.

Those of us who tend to think of metaphysical and religious truths as `distant' and `inaccessible' without undergoing rigorous practices of meditation will be surprised to discover that much of it has to do with observation of one's daily life with its attendant conflicts and problems. Time and again the reader is offered with anecdotes and suggestions which point out the need to be aware of what is happening to oneself as the key to unlock the unknown.

Mrs. Patwardhan refers to an incident where Krishnamurti admonishes her and refers to her vanity and the need to be aware of it. Through careful observation one can see the self as it is instead of resorting to speculation. Speculative thinking brings into play in its wake the deeply encrusted thought process and distorts our perception. Intellect is the main instrument of speculative thought. Krishnamurti urges us to transcend the intellect as he is quoted saying, " You have sharpened your intellect. It is capable of analysis, clear thinking. That's enough. Now turn to other direction, the unexplained part, an explosion of silence in the mind". Silence and solitude are an essential part of Krishnamurti's teaching. One is reminded here of what the Buddha said that despite the fact that he had taught for nearly forty years yet he was in silence.

Every now and then as one reads the book one gets a glimpse of Krishnamurti's probing mind. In one such revealing conversation, in response to a query from Krishnamurti, Mrs. Patwardhan refers to how in her own life through perception she was able to negate formation of things in her mind and accomplish this in a successive manner with other perceptions as well and thereby gaining insight into the ending of time. Krishnamurti points out that by going from one act of perception-negation to another it becomes a process and so it is still in the realm of time. He goes on to add through an exhortation, "....... Stop saying, ` I know, then the process ends'". To someone like me, who teaches philosophy, that statement resonates and reverberates with an ever-deeper meaning. In the Apology of Plato one of the great texts of philosophy in the western tradition, Socrates says that all he knows is that he does not know. Plato's dialogues may be seen as an attempt to understand this great utterance of Socrates.

There are many interesting anecdotes and passages in the book, which will hold the attention of the thoughtful reader. One such passage is Mrs. Patwardhan talking about her many miscarriages and her failure to attain motherhood. This leaves a great sense of void. Talking about it to Krishnamurti she says that she has accepted her inevitable fate of not being a mother and in a sense made peace with herself. Krishnamurti's response to this is very revealing. He raises many interesting questions all calculated to expose the deep lingering desire to have a child and the consequent frustration of not having one. He asks if she has observed very clearly her inner reactions when she sees photographs of lovely children, sees a mother being tender to her baby etc,. The moral of this story is clear; it is not a matter of acceptance or rejection but deep and careful observation. It is only through deep and careful observation that the hidden and buried content of our consciousness can be eviscerated to clear view.

The book is divided into convenient sections covering a wide array of topics ranging from Mrs. Patwardhan's first impressions of Krishnamurti and her own brahminical background to the subject of social change, tradition, education, living and dying, inner revolution, and theosophy. The language of the book is simple, direct, clear and straight from the heart. Some of us who are fortunate enough to have known Mrs. Patwardhan personally will immediately sense the gentleness and openness that was so characteristic of her personality as we read the book. The fact that Mrs. Patwardhan was a fine stenographer as well and kept scrupulous notes makes the quotations from Krishnamurti all the more authentic. The book is a great contribution not only to those who are discovering the teachings of Krishnamurti anew, but to others as well who have been familiar and who cannot afford to lose the ever renewing challenge of the vastness and depth of a great body of teachings that Krishnamurti has left behind for posterity.

One gets the impression from reading this Wonderfull book that Sunanda was a warm hearted, sincere and intelligent seeker of spiritual truth.

Since her first meeting with Krishnamurti in 1947 to her death in 1999 she did a lot of work for Krishnamurti and the Krishnamurti foundation in India. This book is a collection af meditation on the Spiritual Search and the influence of Krishnamurti and his Teaching on her. She says that she often got a sense of the Sacred around Krishnamurti and in situations like that it's so easy fo fall into the Guru trap and to stop thinking for oneself and just relying on the words and influence of others, But as Krishnamurti said to her " I can tell you that there is a lovely garden beyond the hill. I can hold your hand, But You have to walk and climb the hill."(p-11).

This book is inspiring and gives one a lot to think on, and her writing is Poetic and Clear.

Also recomended are the Krishnamurti Biograpy's by Pupul Jayakar and Mary Lutyens and some of Krishnamurti's books like his Notebook and Freedom from the Known.

Mark's autobiography of how he achieves his dreams allows the reader to experience his hard work and victories. He teaches us about how everything is born through a dream. To grow the seed into a definite stem requires visualization, determination, persisting through challenges, and taking control. Without these, Mark would never have become the hero he is today. It would be a remiss to any Canadians to not know about Mark Tewksbury's success. This book is a astonishing book that shows how an ordinary human being can bring upon his unique characteristics to become a hero. You learn that everyone is a hero within, as long as you can dream, that is. I would recommend this book to anyone out there who is still in search of a goal, or currently working on one. You may, in the end of the book too find your dream. Or, perhaps take Mark's success and strategies to encourage and motivate yourself to overcoming challenges.

Mark Tewkbury is not only an increadible athlete, but an excellent motivational speaker. He takes everything he know about life, lessons we all should learn, and puts them into this book, together with his autobiography, he tells the reader how HE learned those lessons. Also, you can real it for the wonderful and inspiring story