Australia Books

Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?

Le'ts start with the bad: THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA, A BOOK OF IDENTIFICATION is no longer available in its original hardcover format with its beautifully illustrated birds and its handy bird-by-bird location map.

The good news: you can get the same great book in reformat as one disintinguished member of the excellent Princeton Field Guides series.

In addition to the standard features that make a book like this a success, BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA trails a section called - enigmatically - 'The Handbook'. This extensive postlude provides an excellent introduction to classes of birds, the life cycle of birds that hobbyists with middling knowledge like this reviewer will greatly appreciate.

The Aussies are great folks and make marvelous life-time friends. As though it couldn't get any better, they now have a superb book for identifing the birds of their beguiling and sunburned country.

This is a terrific book. Read in conjunction with John Birmingham's 'Leviathan: an unauthorised biography of Sydney', you will get more than a working knowledge of how and why Sydney is like it is.

Flannery has written an introductory essay 'The andstone City', which gives a good overview. The bulk of the book is an anthology of voices from the earliest days to late 19th century -from Captain James Cook to Mark Twain, Aboriginal women, and British governors.

2000 saw a plethora of books on Sydney, as it hosted the Olympic Games. This is one of the best.

Georgia Beaumont in 24 when she boards a ship for Australia. Behind her is South Africa, her homeland she loves but can no longer endure.

Bitterbloom tells the story of the delicate balance between escape and feelings of guilt and loss; of Georgia's shattering relationships with two men who come close to destroying her. In a passionate and often devastating emotional journey, Georgia must come to terms with her past to find peace in a new and hostile land. Alison Stewart brings a new sense of the pain of loss and the joy of re-discovery as she charts a course form confusion and dislocation to peace with the clarity and force only personal experience can afford. Bitterbloom introduces a brilliant and established Australian writer to the world.

I give this extraodinary novel a 5 out of 5 and wish this talented and popular writer good luck in the future.

This book is a product of remarkable research by Professor Pybus. In a fascinating unravelling of little known facets of early European settlement of Australia it reveals that history is never as simple as we think, and that White Australia was never as White as some liked to believe. In today's Australia, where Sudanese migrants are being demonized for electoral gain, it reminds us that our true heritage is a mixed one we should embrace, not disown.

This is not the Captain Bligh of the Nordhoff and Hall novels. Nor does it tell of the Captain Bligh of Charles Laughton's characterization in film. This is a look at the real Captain Bligh of history and Gavin Kennedy gives us a man who was significantly flawed but fundamentally a decent, even caring, commander who lost his ship to the villainous madness of Fletcher Christian. This may be one of the better "pro-Bligh" histories and definitely worth the read. Its style is not dense and its breadth is considerable.

This book was fascinating, and very informative. The book gave a detailed account of Lieutent William Bligh's journey to Timor in a small, wooden launch, not more that 23 feet in length. Into this boat went, 19 men, some megar supplies, and some navigational material. The hardships that faced the boat, and men ahead were astounding. It was more astounding that such an overladden boat was able to take a 3,600 mile journey, with the loss of only a singal man.

More than "just" a travel guide, this book offers thought-provoking insights into Australian culture through essays that provide an insider's look at the territory for the visitor (or would-be visitor).

I found the section of colorful and quirky Australian dialect especially entertaining and illuminating.

I've never been to Australia but after reading this book I am more anxious to travel there. This book is a comprehensive and useful travel guide PLUS.

What a book! What a beautiful book! What a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book what a book! Whoo boy! Do I LOVE THIS BOOK! BOOK BOOK BOOK BOOK BOOK!

This moving biography held my attention better than any biography I'd read in years. This is not at all a 'white bread' inspirational biography, nor a celbration of a famous hero. I found Joice Loch's story to be profoundly moving and empowering. One person, with commitment and love for people can make a difference to hundreds of others.

A well-documented scholarly translation from the original French of Jean Bodin's masterpiece of political theory. Though of immense influence in its day, divine right sovereignty has certainly gone out of fashion (thank goodness!) unless perhaps you are living in Saudi Arabia or Lesoto. Nonetheless, for college students and the curious this is as nice a translation and abridgement as one is likely to find.