Oceania Books

Let me begin with a quibble. The book is filled acronyms. Ms. Juhn makes an attempt to identify these with a beginning listing but may acronyms are omitted. The same problem is repeated with the names of the persons involved. These problems result perhaps because the author is too familiar with her subject matter. It makes for opaque reading at times.

The book would also benefit from additional critical analysis or more exposition of the forces at work on people at an individual level. But, this information may not have been abundantly available.

My biggest problem is with the author's cavalier minimization of the social forces at work and the implications of not addressing these in the final peace accords. For example the author says "There are no villains and no heroes in this story. History is the procession of people fighting to preserve a way of life or to change it. This is no less true in El Salvador than it was in the United States during its own civil war."

I suppose the author would not be an admirer of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. There is a powerful vector in human history that is propelled by people's being marginalized and humiliated. Individually a person may be made to feel worthless or deficient. When many people experience this emotion together, as a result of the same causes, powerful social forces may be set in motion.

Too what extent is the current gang violence in El Salvador the result of the failure of the peace process to hold accountable those responsible for the death squads? What will be the long term consequences of the continued concentration of wealth in a few hands?

I appreciate the author's efforts but must express my reservations.

The peace process in El Salvador was very difficult to understand for outsiders, even Salvadorans like me. This book succeeds in claryfing not only the actual events, but also the underlying motives and incentives for each of the parties involved.

The book begins with a good historical analysis, which puts into perspective all the decisions taken during the actual peace negotiations. Once the historical motivation is clear, the actual strategies for the negotiation begin to make perfect sense.

All in all, this book really shines at explaining the underlying interests of the parties and the tactics they resorted to in achieving a truly remarkable agreement.

This book is an excellent study of the behind-the-scenes policy making during the Salvadoran peace process. The author obviously had access to many of the persons involved in the process. It is also lacks the left-wing bias found in much of the U.S. literature on El Salvador. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the Salvadoran Civil War as well as for those who study the topic of negotiated settlements to civil conflicts.

Pretty accurate however some of the prices listed in the Guide Book are outdated so double check all quoted prices.

I'm surprised this is only the second review on this book. I agree with the previous writer that one probably needs to read more than one travel guide on a country as big and diverse as Australia, but I would definitely give this guide more than just 3 stars. I think it deserves at least a four, but to sort of counteract his paltry three stars, I'm going to give it a 5. :-)

For one thing, although he's right about the photos being rather sparse, having worked in the publishing field for a few years once, this is obviously intentional to keep the costs down. It more than compensates for that by having detailed, well written, informative text. Also, I have a recommendation below on how to approach these guides in terms of how to use the shorter, more photographic guides, versus the longer, less visual ones like Frommer's.

For example, if you want beautifully illustrated, glossy photos of Oz, you can pick up the Insight guide, the Dorling Kindersley, or the Nat'l Geographic guide, all gorgeous guides visually, but they are five to seven dollars more than this one, and contain 200-300 fewer pages of text. They are truly beautiful, stunning, and graphically very well-designed and laid out books, and after looking at them, I almost felt like I didn't need to spend $4000 on a real trip to Oz anymore since the photo essays in these books were so good. You can take an armchair excursion for $30 for the DK book and save yourself several thousand dollars. Plus you don't need to sit in those cramped coach seats for 14 hours, which doesn't especially appeal to me since I'm 6'4" and I'm not exactly built for that.

My recommendation here is to spend a couple of hours with any of these guides just looking at the great photos on the glossy pages in the cafe of a Border's or B & N bookstore, make mental notes on what you're interested in from there, and then buy and use the bigger but less lavishly illustrated Lonely Planet, Fodor's, or Frommer's guides to get more information. If you use this two-pronged approach you'll get the most for your money, or you could even buy one of each if you're flush with cash. The DK, Insight, and Nat'l Geographic guides are great too, I just happen to prefer getting two to three hundred pages worth of information and fewer photos for 30% less.

For one thing, most of us have seen all the amazing pictures of Oz to begin with. And I'd seen several nature specials on Australia, and I didn't need to be convinced of how cool a country it is to visit from a natural beauty and photographic standpoint, or I wouldn't be thinking of plunking down thousands of dollars of my hard-earned money to fly half way around the world for a vacation in the first place. :-)

Whichever way you decide to go, happy travel guide browsing and buying!

I tend to prefer the layout of Frommer's guides, and this one was no exception: easy to read with easy to find, relevant info. Of course, no one guide to a country this size can cover it all in depth. Insight and Nat'l Geographic have the best pictures, and Let's Go is the best budget travel guide and might be worth buying even for non-hostelers. Daytrips to Eastern Australia is a good supplement for longer stays there.

The first reviewer said Frommer's has only 30 pages on Melbourne (it has 46) and 30 pages on Sydney (it has 90). That's plenty for a country guide, and Frommer's gives a good variety of restaurants, hotels, and sights both in the cities and the countryside. Don't expect 90 pages to say it all about a city of 4 million. Check the Internet, AA club guides, city books, tour companies, and spend all the time in Oz. And buy this book. It's the most complete I've seen.

Finding this book in Dallas at a major bookstore was next to impossible.Seems like there is little demand for books on the South Pacific. This may be due to expensive airfare to the area and lack of crusie ships traveling in those waters. The book contains the regular Frommer sections and much of it we have "tossed" since we are traveling on a cruise ship. Dining out, hotels, ect. won't be of much use. When I searched various web sites I did not find a lot of great information. This book at least puts the reader in touch with what's worth seeing in Tahati, Moorea and Bora Bora---these are stops our ship will make.The book has a copyright date of 2007 and the sites discussed throughout the book won't be changeing.We found the reading and recommedations to be good. Now we just have to see how accurate they are when we visit. If you are traveling to French Polynesia, this is the best book we have been able to locate. Hotel and dining prices are changeing so rapidly throughout the world I would personally not count of the book prices as being up to date.

It appears this is the first edition of the Tahiti and French Polynesia guide, and the only version I could find on Amazon was the Portable version. Maybe a more full version will come out in the future, but for now I just picked up the portable. We're planning our honeymoon to Tahiti, and the book has been invaluable in doing so. You can kind of tell it's a first edition though -- there are even some typos I've come across! Also, there is definitely a lot less information than other guides I've used from Frommer's, but I'm guessing that is the point of the "Portable" line of guides to keep them more travel-sized. Some of the information is a little outdated (already!), but using it as a starting point allows you to take what you learn from there and do the rest of the research online. For example, the exchange rate between XPF & USD is already off by about 10% (not in the favor of the USD), and the Sofitel Moorea they speak of was closed through all of 2006 for renovations, making me think even though this is a first edition, the information was put together in 2005 at the latest because there is no mention of the renovation -- and the hotel would obviously need to be re-evaluated by Frommer's after re-opening.

All in all though, there are some great money saving tips, a lot of information about places to eat, foods to try and sights to see, all in one portable book that we will definitely be taking with us when we go in July. Can't wait! Thanks, Frommer's for helping us save money by planning this ourselves instead of enlisting the help of a travel agent.

is suprisingly good! Probobly because it is based on the Tahiti section of the South Pacific guide (now in 10th edition) it doesn't contain most of the first edition problems - inacurate info, little info etc. It is really nicely researched and though it is quite a slim volume it is really helpful. One of the best guides to Tahiti & Her Islands.

Ive bought this book to prepare my trip to indo. The info is pretty good for surfspots, very sharp and clear, also the Lingo section is really good. The only critics could that there are too much ads and coupons, and design has been not taken care at all.

Tracks mag wrote:
"The best advice I was given when travelling to Indo for the first time was "Buy Indo Surf and Lingo". Its the quintessential Indo surf guide, providing all the knowledge needed for a hassle-free, surf-rich tour. It's definitely Indonesia's most comprehensive and up-to-date surfing guidebook, updated every 6 months unlike the other guides that followed. It's an amazing book of wisdom with fantastic photos that's helped countless travellers on their Indo sojourns. Every known wave in Bali is mentioned with a chart unique to Indo Surf & Lingo that lets you know exactly where to go on every swell size and wind direction. There are also pointers to surf in the outer islands, with a great selection of invaluable travel tips and local idiosyncrasies to make your search easier. The best attribute in my view is the Indonesian language section. There's nothing better than being able to communicate in a foreign country. It will earn you respect with the locals and ultimately get you closer to the culture, and - the tube! This book is as important as your sunscreen, surfboard and reef booties if you are travelling to Indo this year! "

Surfers Journal USA wrote:
"Delivers very useful maps, equipment, travel, lingo and surf tips that will help the first time traveler negotiate the back alleys of Kuta and survive various scenarios like an old hand"

Surfing Mag USA wrote:
"Made by a surfer, for surfers. Filled with helpful secrets, the book describes the sensational reefbreaks of Indonesia in amazing detail. Dozens of tips - the insider's perspective that's great when traveling abroad"

Australian Long Boarding wrote:
"There is no doubt this latest updated edition is THE Definitive Surfers' Guide to Indonesia, a must have for the first-time visitor and seasoned veteran alike. Don't leave home without it!"

Surf Life for Women wrote:
"The ultimate travel resource for anyone going to Indonesia. Crams everything you need into one glossy publication. This book is a definite must have. If you've never been to Indonesia, and you want to do it right, "Indo Surf and Lingo" is the perfect travel companion."

Magic Wave Mag Bali wrote:
"If surfing is your religion, never travel without your Bible." First published in 1992, Indo Surf & Lingo has long been considered "the Bible" for surfers coming to and surfing in Indonesia. It was the first surfing guidebook to be published on Indonesia, and is the most frequently updated. If you have any doubts about what a bargain the book is for its surf information alone, just take a look inside and check out the over $200 worth of discounts available at restaurants, hotels, surf trips, etc. Your payback is immediate!!! What a deal. If you need to know anything like what spots break on which tides, where you should go on your next surf mission, or how to say "where are the waves" in Indonesian, don't leave your hotel room without this book"

Surfermag Travel Forum wrote:
"Yep, this book rules. I used it last trip and scored epic surf away from the crowds. Saved more than it costs with the discount vouchers too (free beer at poppies and tubes was a cool bonus). My opinion? Get this book and don't look back"

Ernie, Mentawai Surf Cats, San Francisco wrote:
"This book was like my bible my first year in Indo, and I'm still referring to it often as I study the language. It's the most important resource for surfers traveling Indonesia there is!"

Waves mag wrote:
"The original Indo Surf guidebook has established itself as an invaluable traveling companion when planning an Indonesian surfari. Recently updated with more great colour photos, it offers the latest travel tips and local knowledge to help you sidestep dodgy rip-offs and crack all of Indo's mindless variety of waves. There's even an ingenious chart that predicts wave size at every reefbreak in Bali based on the size of the beachbreaks out the front of the Kuta hotels - worth the price of the book alone!"

Free Surf mag wrote:
"A fabulous how-to book for first-time Indo surfers. Shows you there are ways to beat the crowds and make your adventure one you'll never forget. Complete with maps, photos and descriptions of the main breaks to give you a clear idea of your daily options. There's plenty of good advice tucked into the pages, aimed at making sure you take full advantage of the adventure that awaits you. This is an honest surf guide and you'd be mad not to take it with you."

Bali Now wrote:
"The Tube Junkie's Bible. No surfer should leave home without it! Describes all Bali's surf spots in exciting detail, with information on the best winds, tides and swells for each break and an easy-to-follow chart for predicting wave size anywhere on the island. Reviews the sensational reefbreaks of Java, Sumatra, Lombok, Timor and Sumba, including such promisingly-named sites as Lacerations, Scar Reef and Supersuck. Chock-a-block with tips on bargaining, food, language and how to stay clear of sorcerers"

Australia's Surfing Life wrote:
"A more than handy purchase that could save the novice Indo traveler incredible hassles. There's all sorts of interesting things: maps and descriptions of most good spots in Bali, a clever little guide that tells you where to surf in any given conditions, the best restaurants in Kuta, how to drive without getting killed, tips on getting a good doctor, how to bargain, and an easy to handle language section - and even a Checklist to make sure you don't leave anything at home. This guide's become the adopted Bible for Surfers heading to Indo on the hunt for perfect waves. At around the cost of a carton of beer, you'd be a goose to step onto Indo soil without a copy. Great value with $$$ worth of Free Discount Vouchers! So buy it eh?"

Surfer Paul McCalman wrote:
"Such an informative, detailed, picturesque and affordable package. I read through it last night and must admit I had some long, hollow, sweet dreams."

Just got back from my first Bali trip and this book was a fantastic help. It is a rare thing when everything you read in a book is true - but everything was exactly the way the book said it would be. From the surf line-ups, breaks, crowds, tide influences, people, food recommendations, language - everything! Plus the free beer vouchers were a great bonus, worth far more than the book cost! Peter Neely has done a great job cramming so much info into the book, and all of it was spot on! I can't thank him enough. Maybe one day I'll bump into him in Indo somewhere - I'd love to buy the guy a beer! Hey, if you're a surfer going to Bali, you'd be mad not to get this book.

An excellent detailed history of Easter Island and the Rapanui people confirmed by the decendents we were priveledged to show us the Island. It goes well beyond the facinating stone figures to the why and how of their constuction, destruction and restoration to the tradgedies of the natives existence up to the recent past.

This concise account of Easter Islan history presents some new scholarhsip and rehashes the same stories of the islands remarkable facts and people. Easter Island is known for its isolation and its statues, as well as its startling degree of population decline. Easter Island was discovered, forgotten and then rediscovered. Its people originally arrived on canoes as part of the Polynesian expansion and colonization of the Pacific. Originally the island was forested and may have sopported larger mammals and other beasts, however in short time the trees were cut down and only chickens, brought by the polynesians, remained. The population embarked on the construction of the great stone statues, and then proceeded to fight endless wars. The art of canoe building was forgotten. When Europeans arrived diseases decimated the population untill few remained. The few that did remain were interviewed about their naitonal myths but no information could be found on the giant stone structures, that the people then living seemed in no position to be able to create with the tools they had.

A good book.

Seth J. Frantzman

As the author of "The Complete Guide to Easter Island" and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Easter Island Foundation, I believe I can state, with all due modesty, that I am duly qualified to evaluate Steven Roger Fischer's "Island at the End of the World" -- and my general view is that this is a valuable resource anyone interested in Easter Island should have on her or her bookshelf. Until now, the history of Easter Island has been featured as chapters in larger works or in highly abbreviated form. Worse, the history of Easter Island histories has been rife with inaccuracies that are largely the product of scholars and writers regurgitating past errors without any attempt to verify facts or to take the latest information in account. Nor is there any shortage of misinformation about Easter Island (and a lot fewer mysteries than most people understand), so it's good to see such a comprehensive work devoted to the subject.

Having said this, I must nevertheless express some reservations about a few things Fischer included because they are factually inaccurate or represent poor judgment on his part and may reflect other, more serious errors. In other words, while I wouldn't go to far as to say one or two blunders are representative of the whole work, the fact that they exist (and the fact that the book covers such extensive territory, where more arcane and obscure information may be buried in the wealth of data), is cause for some concern.

1) The Chincha Islands / guano mines story (page 89). It just won't die. It's one of many myths about Easter Island -- that Peruvian slave raids in 1862 brought Easter Islanders to mine guano on the Chincha Islands off the coast of Peru. Yes, Peruvian slavers captured hundreds of islanders and took them to work as indentured servants for rich Peruvian land owners -- but this was on coastal Peru, not the Chincha Islands, and certainly not in the guano mines. It's a legend that appears countlessly in Easter Island literature and has been resoundingly debunked by island researcher Grant McCall, who conducted extensive genealogical research into the matter and has revealed repeatedly that there is no evidence whatsoever to substantiate the claim that islanders were ever on the Chincha Islands. Amidst the many horrific things Europeans did to the early Easter Islanders, this legend is far from incredible. But it's simply not true. Of course, legends deserve their space in history, but Fischer fails to adequately qualify his statements in this regard. It's surprising. Wrong and surprising.

2) Fischer repeatedly refers to the Easter Island palm as "Jubaea chilensis" (the Chilean Wine Palm) -- see, for example, page 8 -- when in fact the Easter Island palm has its own name and scientific classification: "Paschalococos disperta" (a/k/a the Feather Palm). John Dransfield of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, designated the Easter Island palm thus to specifically distinguish it from the Chilean Wine Palm. While there is some evidence to suggest these two palms were similar in size and possibly appearance, they are nevertheless distinct species. (Surviving, empty endocarps or seeds have been found on Easter Island -- and they are clearly not the same species as the endocarps of the Chilean Wine Palm; this was part of the basis upon which Dransfield developed a separate classification for the Easter Island palm.) Oddly enough, Fischer even cites the scientific literature in which Dransfield's classification is made but nevertheless fails to refer to the Easter Island palm correctly. Again, surprising. Wrong and surprising.

While a more detailed follow-up would be undeniably meritorious, these are but two points worth making initially. They may sound like picayune points, yes -- but, when it comes to Easter Island, it is my firm belief that there's more than enough misinformation out there already -- between the ridiculous "ancient astronaut" nonsense to the now defunct diffusionist theories of Heyerdahl. Therefore, the closer we can get to an accurate understanding of Easter Island, the better.

I would like to be able to recommend Fischer's "Island at the End of the World" without reservation but I can't. I do recommend it, however -- but with the qualification that should accompany anything written about Easter Island (including my own book): Trust but verify.

P.S.--
Another reviewer has mentioned that "Originally the island was forested and may have sopported [sic] larger mammals and other beasts". While the former is undeniably true, the latter is not. No evidence whatsoever has emerged to substantiate the notion that any land mammals or "other beasts" were on Easter Island before the colonists from eastern Polynesia arrived (unless by "other beasts" one means migratory sea birds!). And though the colonists may have brought with them the dog and the pig when they left their homeland, neither of these evidently survived the long ocean voyage to Easter Island. The chicken did, however -- and, together with the Polynesian rat, these represented the only land animals on Easter Island until the early European explorers arrived in the 18th century.

When I was in high school I never got why they made us read depressing books, even if the books were old. It proves this book's points about adult's hypocrisy that when Baz Luhrmann turned Romeo and Juliet into something that kids watched without being forced by school, adults suddenly started worrying that the same story they'd been forcing their kids to memorize for exams might romaticize suicide. By contrast (and since the official review on Amazon gave the ending away I don't feel bad for saying this), Ranulfo gives his updated Hamlet a more positive solution to his family problems and the potential madness personified by Matt's alter ego/imaginary friend/demon, the joker. Besides making this book less likely to get banned than would be an accessible young adult book in which the lead kills his mum's new boyfriend, I guess the new ending is more plausible for a modern teenager than giving up everything for the sake of dad's honour. It's kind of like in the old days romances could make the parents the main obstacle between the lovers, but in a modern romance parents' disapproval stopping kids from hooking up is less believable. Ranulfo's message seems to be that parents' problems are not yours to solve, and that if conscience doesn't make us all cowards, it can make us martyrs pointlessly sacrificing ourselves for stuff we have no control over, and I guess that's the point of the references to the attacks on the world trade centre and the futility of violent political protests.

Matt is the child of divorce. His mother has taken up with a sleazy salesman. His father now "haunts" their house late at night obsessed with and humiliated by his broken marriage. This trauma, in addition to the death of Matt's best friend in a hostel fire, has sent Matt, "athlete, top student, and Mr. Cool at Elsinore High," into a tailspin. His response to an insane world is to retreat into the chaotic persona of The Joker who questions everything Matt has been taught and leads Matt into a wild dance on the edge of sanity.

"All my life I had asked the wrong questions. Questions which already had answers. Questions provided to me by the authorities," Matt says. With the Joker's questions, and a solemn promise to help his father knit their family together again, Matt treads in the footstep of one of literature's most famous madmen, Hamlet.

Ranulfo's JOKER is at its most enjoyable in its humorous allusions to Shakespeare's melancholy prince. The famous windbag Polonious is personified by a high school principal, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are beach bums, and Elsinore's resident bad boy Brad stands in as Fortinbras. The scene in which Hamlet puts on a play to reveal his father's murder is transformed into Matt staging a rap sequel to "South Pacific." Prostitution, pollution and revolution have overrun the island, which is ultimately destroyed by a tsunami.

While Ranulfo occasionally twists famous lines from Shakespeare's play into the vernacular of an Australian teen, JOKER is largely free from the kind of language that can make Shakespeare's HAMLET difficult to read. Instead, Ranulfo focuses on Matt's internal conflict, and his questions about life's meaning and mortality. It is written in extremely short sections, jumping from reality to Matt's morbid fantasies about what the future might hold.

The difficulty in retelling a story as well known as Hamlet is the inevitability of comparisons. The layered complexity of Shakespeare's play is rendered in JOKER as a monologue told solely in Matt's voice. HAMLET is a puzzle. It contains great poetry, lots of bizarre Elizabethan jokes, and a malleable plot that opens itself to endless interpretations. By comparison, JOKER is straightforward. It even ends happily and no one dies, making it comedic, instead of tragic.

Readers already familiar with HAMLET are best placed to understand the humor in JOKER. But it may appeal more to those readers who have not read HAMLET, or have found the play confusing or irrelevant to their lives. JOKER is HAMLET as it might be interpreted by a teenager reading the play for the first time. It is most successful when read on its own terms and not compared to its predecessor.

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

Apparently, JOKER is the classic story of Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library), torn to pieces, set in modern-day Australia, and stuck back together again. Having never read Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library), I can't say anything about JOKER 's relationship to that story, but I can definitely say that it is a brilliant novel.

It's the real story of Matt, a teenage boy with problems like any other, and the story of Joker, one that blurs the lines of fact and fiction. Joker drives Matt to do things he would not normally do, to say things he would not normally say, to eventually throw away his life as a popular, athletic high school student with a great girlfriend and great friends. Perhaps the change came when Ray, his best friend, died in a fire; even if Ray's murder wasn't the cause of the change in Matt, it couldn't have helped.

Now Matt is never alone; he always has Joker, though it is never clear who or what Joker is, or if he is a figment of Matt's imagination or if he is real, or maybe even another part of Matt himself.

This is a beautifully written, at times disturbing, and certainly moving story. Reminiscent of a darker Francesca Lia Block, Ranulfo follows Matt as he destroys his life, runs away, and eventually returns, seeing all the possibilities of what could lie ahead of him. Readers looking for straightforward, clear, easy to follow, black-and-white stories will not find that in JOKER, but anyone looking for fantastic writing, realistic characters, and a story that's not so easily pulled apart will love this novel.

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

This book has a lot of information. It really helps you to decide what to do and where to go in Australia.

The greatest book I have ever bought about Australia, It has a lot of information related about this great country. It also has specific details on relevants information. This book is quite fun when you star to read it.

I recomend this piece to everyone how wants going to Australia.

The "cultural" part of this book (and earlier editions) is useful viz, why seek a job in Australia and what to expect in day to day transactions. Information on "quality of life" is more for singles, families with young children, or retirees (although, unless a retiree comes from one of the few countries with reciprocal health-care agreements, s/he will pay a lot for private medical coverage).

This book fails to present clear info on the ever evolving requirements for work/migration visas and what services a given visa allows your family to access. You must dig here and elsewhere and Web forums (since even Australian state websites are self-contradictory or outdated) to discover that admission on a temporary work visa (which is locked to a specific job) gives no access to state benefits despite the fact that you pay 40% taxes + local council taxes if you buy a home. With limited exceptions and reimbursement, you are gouged this way for 2 yrs before you can apply for a permanent resident visa (with additional requirements if you make this move over age 44). During that time your child is NOT allowed to compete for a merit-based slot in a state "selective" school, in most Australian states you must pay full school fees of $4500 to $5500/yr/child (primary & secondary, respectively, NOT twice this as an International Student as some state Web sites state), and would pay full University course fees ($40,000+ for 3 year course, more for 4) again despite full tax payments. With permanent residency, these restrictions disappear and your child can compete for a university place in a predetermined field of study (major) at a fee comparable to in-state US 4-yr state university tuition and a generally higher standard of instruction. The logic behind this is commendable: strong incentives to stay and contribute long-term. So, those with children and esp. those approaching age brackets 44, 49, and 54 should push toward permanent residency asap because the process can be slow.

Written in the same style as all the Lonely Planet books, this book enabled us to plan a fantastic holiday to Tonga. The information was precise and exact, and laid out in an easy to use arrangement with helpful section headings. My normal complaint about guidebooks is that the maps are often worthless, but here they were accurately drawn and had all the relevant places correctly marked. Although two years since being published we didn't find any information that was drastically out of date. If you are travelling to Tonga this is the guide to buy.

This was a very interesting guidebook. I found it to be very helpful in all aspects. It was very easy to read. I especially liked the boxed sections on various nuances of the country and culture. The language section was also very helpful. Great Guide.

As usual, Lonely Planet provides all possible advice for anyone visiting Tonga. This guide meets the Lonele Planet standard. For those who have used or read other LP guides in the past, nothing more needs to be added... Don't go to Tonga without it !

A great combination of thoroughness and readability. Bellich offers insight into the makeup of a New Zealander and supports his positions with plenty of detail.

James Belich, one of the world's leading historians in New Zealand Maori history, (the other is Michael King), writes this must have for any New Zealand history enthusiast or student. I can imagine it being a bit dry if history is not your thing. If it is, however, this is a great book. Clear, concise, and masterfully wielded, the information in this book is crucial to the subject of early NZ history. Though scholarly in nature and heavily cited, it is entirely readable and is worth the price for it's bibliography alone.

Belich is the leading historian in NZ. he has previously made his name by reappraising the way we view the Maori Land wars.

Here he has undertaken to write the only general history of New Zealand. This is supposed to be Volume one, though there is no set date for vloume two to appear.

He mixes passion for his subject with a great turn of phrase - for example the way he describes New Zealand as being the product of two sets of boat peoples (Maori and Pakhier) is poingent given the way in Maori mythology Aoteroa is said to be a canoe and a fish and also given how Kiwis refer to new arrivals as "boaties".

Although somtimes this weighty book gets bogged down with lists of facts and accademic arguments, none the less, its both a great read and the seminal work of Kiwi history.

I enjoyed this book as required reading for a World Civilizations class in college. THe approach is much different than that of traditional texts; it provides the student with the original documents, enabling the student to do the work of an historian. In putting together the facts and analyzing them logically, this is a great excercise in critical thinking and a great way to "get inside Mao's head".

Enjoy!

The bulk of this book consists of primary documents from the hand of Mao Zedong. These documents provide the reader with a good understanding of the outlook that Mao employed, and how that outlook evolved over time. Additionally, this book contains a good selection of secondary documents that focus categorically on the good and bad consequences of Mao's leadership as well as the variety of ways in which people have perceived and continue to perceive Mao as a leader.

The introduction to this volume is probably its strongest feature. Timothy Cheek gives an incredibly good run-down of Mao's influence on Chinese history, and he does so in a little more than 30 pages. Cheek roughly covers the years 1915-present, and does so in a way that both the new and more experienced students of Chinese history have something to learn. I really felt the Cheek did a masterful job of combining richness of substance with concise writing. The introduction to this book should probably be included in the syllabus for any modern Chinese history course.

One more note: Cheek's analysis of Mao himself was very even-handed; not too supportive and yet not to critical. His basic thesis in this regard is that Mao started out as a very pragmatic leader who played a big role in restoring China through unification, but then Mao became detached from his party, the people, and reality. This thesis seems solid, and provides a reasonable, disinterested basis for reflecting on Mao as an historical actor.

A friend recommended this book to me for introducing me to the history of modern China, as background for my first trip to China. I found it really helpful to get a good introduction to modern Chinese history and culture. As a result, I certainly got more cultural enrichment and insight out of my trip. So I am passing this recommendation along to others. Mao is fascinating and China is a great country to visit.