Oceania Books

I wrote this book so I might be a little partial.

It received a very good review in two local publications, one being the Staten Island Advance. Also, I received many compliments, one being that it should be required reading for ever young person in America. An exaggeration maybe, but still nice to hear.

Okinawan Diaspora, in a collection of illuminating essays, recounts lost and found Okinawan treasure: from ancient kingdom relics to a people's identity subsumed and redefined to their history largely under-known. It depicts the Okinawans persevering through the fall of their ancient kingdom, Japanese colonialism, the hardships of emigration, World War II internment, and U.S. military occupation of their homeland. Each contributor enlightens the reader regarding Okinawan perseverance. One uses oral history to describe, for example, how World War II internees made traditional instruments out of tin cans in the camps, creatively living their heritage with limited means in oppressive environments. Another focuses on the endurance of Okinawan culture and resistance through the eisaa dance. From the positive ramifications of Okinawan (Uchinanchu) spirit to the atrocity of World War II internees welcomed to America with insecticide, the Okinawan experience finds a riveting portrayal in this book.

As Okinawa held a unique place in the Asian Pacific as "the bridge to all nations," Nakasone and the book's contributors provide a bridge between the Okinawan experience and the disparate reader-the scholar, Okinawans scattered throughout the world seeking connection to their heritage, as well as any person interested in a fascinating account of an oppressed, resilient people. Okinawan Diaspora serves as a model of the fluidity of national identity and of how transnational forces affect the diasporic experience. It also emphasizes the importance of maintaining one's cultural identity through pilgrimage. Nakasone, in the final essay, takes the reader along with him and family elders to Okinawa's sacred sites. The reader finishes the book with a strong sense that Okinawans, with as much as they have lost throughout history, continue to maintain the ancient Uchinanchu spirit of helping others, living as a cooperative community, and sparking the greatness of their lost kingdom through remembrance of their diasporic story.

As the author states in the beginning of this book, it is not a historical account or individual memoir. Instead, it is a journey into the nucleus of the SAS. The PATROL is the tool used to propel this account, which is the basic SAS fighting element. This book takes you through selection and training of patrol members, preparation and execution of patrols in Borneo, New Guinea, and Vietnam. This book spares no detail of operational patrols, from the warning order to mission debrief, it is all covered here. The book reads more like a how-to book highlighted with actual accounts of mission debriefs, this is just a treasure of lessons learned, that still apply today. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Special Air Service (SAS), or anyone that is in the military field of Reconnaissance, scouting, sniping or special operations.

This excellent book relates the experiences of a sea-going Purser during the golden era of British passenger vessels, plying their trade between the UK, North America, Australia and the Far East.

It would be of great interest to anyone with connections to the sea and the P&O Line/Orient Line in particular.

The Outback by the eleven--year-old author Annaliese Porter is enhanced with illustrations from Bronwyn Bancroft. The result is a beautiful and beautifully crafted picturebook tale set in the Australian Outback region and features a collection of diverse animals and strange critters. Captivating young readers with a text of lyrical poetry combined with vivid imagery, The Outback country of Australia is showcased in a manner that is ideal for children ages 5 through 8. The Outback is to be given very high praise and recommended for its outstanding authorship and memorable art providing American kids with an entertaining introduction to a landscape on the other side of the world.

Sir Edward Elgar is, arguably, England's greatest composer (remembering that Handel was actually a German living in England)but is scarcely given his place among the greats. This well-written, quite readable biography is recommended to spark interest in this great figure and inspire those unfamiliar with his music to explore its richness.

For anyone interested in the south pacific this book is incredible. In goes into detail about the civilizations and anthropology of the south pacific.

"Any news of M. de la Perouse?", Louis XVI is said to have asked before his execution. Jean Francois de Galloupe de La Perouse, who famously visited Botany Bay (modern Sydney, Australia) in January 1788, precisely the same time the founding First Fleet arrived - only to vanish thereafter - was the greatest and most romantic of the French Pacific explorers. He served with distinction in the Seven Years' War and the Wars of the American Revolution, famously raiding the British commercial bases in Hudson Bay in the early 1780s. He also plied the trade routes between Mauritius (then Isle De France) and India. Based on his talent, and the then government's desire to best the exploits of James Cook, he was selected for a great Voyage of Discovery. Among his many achievements was finding La Perouse Strait (between the Japanese and Russian islands of the North-West Pacific). Tragically, after visiting the British colony in New South Wales, his ships disappeared somewhere off Samoa - and his fate remained an enigma for the French people until the 1960s. Dunmore's narrative brings us both the splendor and the tragedy of La Perouse's career.

Pacific Images by Nordyke and Mattison gives an outstanding history of Captain James Cooks third voyage, from 1776 to 1780. The reproduction of words and pictures from this voyage brings together preceptions of the journalists and artists of the time. The pictures include animals and people (body piercing is not a new thing!) as well as activities of the peoples with sweeping views of the landscape. The authors did an excellent job of presenting the facts in vivid detail after two decades of research. This book not only looks like it belongs on every coffee table, but also can be used as an excellent historical resource.

This book is a history of all of the Pacific Islands. Oliver was trained as an anthropologist and lived for an extended period in the region. He draws on both his training and personal knowledge to not only describe the different islands and their groupings, but also to analyze the reasons for their cultural, political, and economic differences.

The book is divided into three main sections and an epilogue. In the first section, The Islanders, Oliver recounts the prehistory of the islands, noting their geological origin and development. He also discusses the first settlers of the islands, and how and why anthropologists have grouped them into Melanesians, Polynesians, and Micronesians. In the second section, The Aliens, Oliver turns to the subject of contact with Westerners, taking up explorers, whalers, traders, missionaries, planters, blackbirders, merchants, and miners in turn.

The third section, Metamorphosis, is the most extensive. In this section, Oliver identifies strong influences on development in the region, and traces how they have affected the history of each particular island group or island. For example, he notes how the development of a coconut economy was primary in islands such as Western Samoa or the Solomons, while sugar dominated the history of Hawaii and Fiji. Other influences were missionaries (Tonga), Mining (Nauru, New Caledonia), and Bases (American Samoa, Guam). This island-by-island analysis is followed by an epilogue, in which Oliver describes some of the ways in which the islanders and cultures have both lost and gained by their being brought into the international community. The events of World War II are also described briefly, but at the time when the book was originally written, the longer-lasting effects of the war had not yet become clear.

For a history book, the text is exceptionally clear and engaging. The analytical approach helps tie in details and makes the overall picture of the broad region much more comprehensible. The text is not footnoted, but at the end of the book, there is an extensive list of primary sources and suggested readings, organized topically. There is also an index.