Oceania Books

This book has some hilarious moments. I recommend it highly to anyone wanting to learn more about the South Pacific

Sean O'Reilly
Editor-at-large
Travelers' Tales

Editor of 30 Days in the South Pacific

I fell in love with the Solomons during two visits in the mid-1980s. Will Randall has captured the spirit of the islands very well.... the casualness of the process, the friendships of the locals, the dubious expats who drift in and out.

You will enjoy his British wit and laugh at his adventures and fellow islanders. A great holiday read, especially if in the tropics.

As an american i found the book to be very intresting not only for the relaxing journey though the south pacific but also for Randall's british ways, Reading solomon time made me think of Will as Hugh Grant. The conversations with the islanders were very good , the desciptions of the island scenery and people was great and i feel like i came away knowing a remote village in a far flung corner of the map, which is always an indication of a good book.

I was highly impressed with this terrifically real, but straightforward recital of events in really unusual circumstances. For example, the author did not editorialize on whether the village people working throughout the night to process their chickens, so they could obtain more material goods, was a good or bad thing. Likewise with the picture of them working in (I presume) a hot, smoky kitchen in Chicken Willys.

As a typical capitalist American, I of course would have set up the same, but I also want to ask the author: Are these good people better off as they were, or after taking up the reins of commerce?

This new author has real talent.

This book tells the rather self-deprecatory tale of an English school teacher who becomes a volunteer in the Solomon Islands. A chance meeting with an ex-colonial identified as "the commander" sends Will Randall to Rendova Island in the Western Solomons with the vague intention of helping the local villagers create some sort of income-generating project. Randall's first weeks are spent acclimatizing to the slow pace of Solomons life, until a divemaster in nearby Munda suggests he help the villagers set up a chicken farm to supply meat to the local guest houses. Despite the ethnic conflicts raging in the capital Honiara, Will Randall manages with difficulty to locate the correct breeding hens, and Chicken Willy is soon dispensing fried fast food to one and all at Munda Market. Solomon Time is a case study of the naive Westerner in a tropical location who arrives to do good and stays to go native. It's appropriate reading for anyone considering doing something similar.

Where the Forest Meets the Sea is a beautiful book. I first experienced it in 1988, when my grade 2 teacher had it as a project to read all the Australian Children's Book of the Year Award nominations to my class. Afterwards, she conducted a pole. This one was voted the most popular (and there was some pretty good competition! [e.g. Crusher is Coming])

It's the story of a young boy's adventure in the Daintree Rainforest, in Queensland, Australia, told through words and intricately designed collages. The enviromental message comes through clearly in the final question and gives kids something to think about (without being forceful).

I still enjoy reading/viewing this book today.

This is a fictional story but it is based on a real family living in a remote part of the Australian rain forest. You can only take a boat to the beach during high tide and you need to know how to navigate the reef. Unfortunately the reef is not as spectacular as it used to be. The water is not as clear because there has been run off from road construction.

Luckily the forest surrounding the homestead is all protected park land now. However, there are still outside factors that can affect the health of the water and the forest. I think this is a wonderful book and the content is age appropriate. We live in a world we have to protect and we need to honor our children by being truthful with them. The artwork is beautiful and rich and the story is closer to reality than one might think.

This fictional story shows a white father and son taking a day trip to an island off the coast of Australia. The island is rainforest. The boy and his father enjoy the wilderness surroundings. The boy plays by exploring the rainforest alone and using his imagination to think about the creatures that inhabited this place in years gone by. The illustrations are creative as they show the imagined creatures as transparent. I loved the use of illustration in this way as we "see" what the boy was imagining. The story is very nice until the end. When the boy and his father are preparing to leave for the day, the next scene shows the future when the whole island is over-populated with tourist attractions and it shows two children sitting and eating in front of a TV set. This scene is in the imagination as the buildings and such are shown in transparencies.

I loved the story until the end. I think we need to think carefully what thoughts and concepts we are putting into our children's heads. This book is for ages 4-8 and is a picture book. Can we let them have some innocence and wonder before they learn of rainforest destruction? I don't recommend this book unless you skip the last page entirely! At what age is it appropriate for a child to be worrying about destroying rainforests in the name of tourism? My issue with the book is that it gets the reader excited about the Australian rainforest then gives them a punch by warning of rainforest destruction. This is a book with a message, it is obviously written to get children to to worry about serious envionmental threats at a (TOO) young age.

A boy journeys through the rain forest and begins to fantasize about the plants and animals that lived there millions of years ago. At the end of the day, he begins to wonder how it could change in the future.
The forest in this story really exists in Australia. The artist uses relief collages for the illustrations in this book. Many of these "collage constructions" have been exhibited in art galleries around the world. This story makes the reader think about how civilization can affect Mother Nature. Finding the hidden pictures is sure to delight readers of all ages.

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This is one of Jeannie Baker's early books, first published in 1988. It's good to see that it is still in print.

"Where The Forest Meets the Sea" is truly a work of art. It is an ideal companion to her most recent work "The Hidden Forest". It is fascinating to see how her style and technique has evolved and become increasingly sophisticated over the past 12 years.

Jeannie has an unashamedly environmental message to deliver, with her simple story lines dealing with the fragility of very special, ecologically unique areas. She doesn't push too hard with the rhetoric but lets her beautiful, ultra-lifelike, 3 dimensional images provide the perfect supporting context.

Having recently seen an exhibition of Jeannie's work that provided the images for "Hidden Forest" it is clear that it is the visual power of the images that is the most effective means of convincing people of the value of a particular environment.

In the dark forest scenes there are hidden dinosaurs and aboriginal figures providing a mystical quality to the book. The message that comes through is the timelessness of the natural environment.

We are reminded at the end of the book of the potential for man to radically change the environment for the worse. It takes books like this to provide us with insights and observations that will prevent this from happening.

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I read his autobiography, My Wicked, Wicked Ways (also terrific) just before I read this book. It is apparent that the autobiography (MWWW) which was co-authored, really was Flynn's book - he probably just dictated it to the other writer credited along with Flynn. The reason I say this is because by the way that Beam Ends is written,(descriptions mainly),it is clear that Errol Flynn had a true writing talent. Flynn wrote this book when he was about 28 years old. It's a treat for the Errol Flynn fan because you can really hear him speaking throughout the book. The subject is the voyage he and a few friends made from Sydney, Australia to New Guinea aboard his boat the Scirocco. You can see how much Flynn had already lived at that tender age and also how much of a sensitive man he really was. I look forward to reading his one and only novel, Showdown, even though it didn't get great reviews. I really like the way he wrote. His desciptions are very vivid. I highly recommend this book. Men, especially, I believe will find it fascinating. It's a true adventure by one of the world's most adventurous men.

I love Errol Flynn so wanted to read his work, but it was too much sailing and fishing for my taste. He writes well, very conversational, as if you were right there sitting across the table and he were telling you stories. I liked one of his other books better, My Wicked, Wicked Ways just because it had more interesting stories to me. If you like outdoor stories, though, you will like it.

It's amazing, the power 'Television' has to control
an entire population, not only its action but thoughts as well!!
Particularly with some specific meadia!!!

It is almost Orwellian, Down Under, these days!!!

This book is a great read! It's stylish, witty, action packed and full of youthful bravado. A barely twenty year old Flynn and three chums set sail up the east coast of Australia in a sail boat Flynn acquires during a binge. While not all the details are exactly true, the nuts and bolts of his story are. You're right there with him,and at the end, wish he'd written more - before his demons dragged him down. If you're a Flynn fan, or just love a good tale, this book won't disappoint. Errol was a talented man; "Beam Ends" gives us a glimpse of what might have been.

I did not know what to expect when I ordered this book. I found that I enjoyed the wonderful adventure described as well as the language used to convey it. It is a great first book for a then twenty-something author. The characters, the passion for sailing and the descriptions of even the smallest of plants and sea life come alive vibrantly. The author clearly read and learned from the classics, and his wonderful, sharp sense of humor comes through with precise, but natural, timing. This is a book that one will truly enjoy reading over and over again. Errol Flynn's second novel "Showdown" is also a fantastic, entertaining read that is again, full of life, passion and clarity and a book worth reading many times over. Mr. Flynn was a multi-talented man whose talent for writing and storytelling should have been supported and encouraged. His "devil may care" attitude and behavior offscreen masked the damage and insecurity caused by a sad childhood and upbringing. It is unfortunate that he was typecast and that tabloid writers seemed to relish riding the coattails of his fast-rising star and then proceeding swiftly to strike him down.

One of the best guides we have used. Lots and lots of helpful information. Accurate. Good history. Made our week in Easter Island with a car and no guide a very rewarding experience.

I traveled to Easter Island in November, 2005 and this book was essential for planning the trip. None of the major guidebooks such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides devote more than a few pages to Easter Island, but The Complete Guide to Easter Island is as good as its name implies. The book has a section titled Practical Matters that lists hotels and guesthouses on the island. The guesthouses are not reviewed, but the addresses, websites and email addresses are listed which is helpful. Restaurants are listed as well, but the most helpful part of this section is the discussion of prices so that you know what to expect.

Buy this book for the section about the history of the island. The author is passionate about Easter Island and it shows in his writings about the history of the people and the Moai. If I had not read the history, I would have missed out on a lot while I was touring the island. The author goes as far as including appendices about the Rapanui language.

However, the most important section of the book is the description of the sites on the island. The descriptions are short, but are hugely beneficial if you are touring on your own. (I don't like tour groups and so I rented a jeep). Plus the book includes a map of the island and sites which proved to be more useful than the map we got on the island. The author even includes a suggestion for five days of touring on your own. Really good stuff.

Easter Island is an amazing place. Give it time so you can explore. We rented a car and had a tremendous experience during the seven days were on the island. But, I really believe that my experience on Easter Island would have been lessened if I had not had this book to help with the history and to understand what it was I was seeing.

If you are planning a trip to Easter Island, this book will be a very small part of the cost. It is an investment you wont regret.

I can not understand why anyone could be helped by this book. Most of the texts are an expression about how the author have problems with the results of the Heyerdahl expedition and researches . While not being an archaeologist himself Laughlin make statements what is the right thing of history and about all archaeological remains - absolutely questionable why anyone should read this. The counting of archaeological sites is without concern to the areas of the island - one have to investigate these on a map with tremendous work.
One big part of the book is due to the Island's language. What kind of traveller is learning Rapa nui? That is my question to the author.
Forget this book.

Together with Lonely Planets(LP) guide on Chile/Easter Island, this guide basically tells what you need to know about the island. (Reading Thor Heyerdahl books will of course be usefull supplements to these 2 books).

Very good description on the historical facts (not very up-dated on Thor Heyerdahls writings: the birdman and the DNA issue) and an extensive guide to the different sites on the island.

The coverage (about 20 pages) of the different hotels, car rentals etc. under "practical matters" is a bit useless. The book does not tell anything about how good/bad the different hotels, car rentals are. The LP guide is much better on this.
Have a very enjoyable reading.

This guide book has it all. It is up to date, complete, comprehensive. There is a dictionary of the Rapanui language and fold out maps in color.
If you are planning a trip, it is indispensible.

Dreamkeepers is subtitled, "A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia." That's important to emphasize because the spirit-journey is the author's, more so than the Aboriginals.

Harvey Arden is a former editor-writer for National Geographic and co-author of Wisdomkeepers, a book on Native Americans in the United States. In the prologue, he writes,

"I had hoped to garner a few stories from the Dreamtime on this `spirit-journey' of mine into Aboriginal Australia.'" (2)

With that quest clearly stated, he and his guide travel across The Kimberley to seek out and interview a dozen or so Aboriginals to glean from them an understanding of Aboriginal faith and practice, as well as current issues affecting the plight of Aboriginals in Australia today.

Arden is a seasoned journalist and, to his credit, he gives voice to individuals who would not otherwise be heard. This is the strength of the book: The people he interviews are real people with real thoughts and feelings and stories to tell. They deserve to be heard in their own words, and Arden is there to provide the opportunity.

The reader is apt to enjoy Arden's adventures in the bush; his impromptu conversations with Mike, his guide; and, throughout, his humility. He writes,

"I was no anthropologist or scholar or historian ... I wanted to relate to them as human being to human being, ... but no less." (3)

Having said this, the book lacks breadth and depth: The Kimberley is one of many vast areas of Australia, and the spokespersons singled out are but a dozen of hundreds Arden could have just as easily chosen to interview. What's more, the anecdotal nature of the book leaves one hanging. Where is the historical perspective and theological reflection?

The book is what it is - one man's spirit-journey into Aboriginal Australia. If you're willing to accept that, you'll find it worthwhile; if you're expecting more, you might be disappointed.

There is so much mystery surrounding the Australian Aborigines and white Australians seem to want to keep it that way, to sweep these people under the rug. This book doesn't reveal all but provides a window into the rich and ancient Aborigine culture. Best of all, the window is opened by the people themselves. They are not beautiful by western standards, but they radiate goodness and truth and it makes them beautiful. I offer much gratitude to Arden for searching them out and respectfully writing down their stories and showing their pictures. This book is side-by-side on my shelf with "Wisdomkeepers," Arden's beautiful book about our own North American Aborigines. The theme is the same: To honor and respect these ancient people.

Like any indigenous people who have encountered European cultures, profound disorientation has taken place amoung the Australian Aborigals. This book demonstrates the subtle continuance of their personal connection to something far greater than anyone can conceive. A centeredness, a natural power wiser than the intellect persists, is healing, gaining ground.

One of the best i've read recently, so much so I was almost sorry to reach the end. Arden spins the non-fiction tale of his journey through the Australian outback to hear Aborigines' tales of mystery, in the stories of their ancestore; and tragedy, in the segregation and near-annihilation suffered by them, although the tale also had laughs. A trip!

This is a very helpful and earnest book if you want to know about aboriginal life and thought in Australia now. By talking with several men and women in many different places the author gives us simple and sensitive reports accompanied by photographies. This means he tells us what he was told and how and when, as well as about his feelings and doubts, the relationships he did or didn't establish with the people, what he learned and what he couldn't learn but tried to.

Helped me understand the wider implications of the civilisation's actions in their little microcosm.

Demystifies and explains the rise and fall of the once great (albeit small) Rapa Nui community that once inhabited Easter Island by explaining, through forensic and historical research, the destruction they reaped on themselves.

You would think from the title that this is book is actually a flaming, guilt-ridden treatise on environmentalism. But such is not the case. It is in reality a well balanced handling of all aspects of Easter Island. Yes, Thor Heyerdahl and his theories are covered but so is going on vacation there and where to stay. If there is something you would like to know about Easter Island, this book probably covers it in a most readable fashion.

Reviewer: A reader
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about the debunking of Heyerdahl being "excessive". The debunking is limited to only one or two chapters. For readers like me who have read Heyerdahl, this debunking was important because of the attractive neatness of Heyerdahl's theories as he had presented them.

The book is very well organized, with a good selection of photographs and diagrams.

The book's title and the previous review may give the impression that the book is primarily about environmental lessons we can learn from what happened to Easter Island, but in fact it is the best introduction to Easter Island studies that I have seen.

Only the final chapter is about lessons for humanity. The authors' arguments here are elevated by their citing of the well-known Club of Rome study on the Limits to Growth. All of its predictions for the 1990s did actually come true. A fact that is very clear to anyone who has read the actual report. The people of Easter Island flourished and lived well up to the very end when the crash finally hit from their overusing the island's resources. A sad tale, and now a sad history for an interesting vacation spot.

This fine book is the most complete treatise on Easter Island available. It covers all the island's most fascinating aspects, including its geological history, the question of the origin of the Rapa Nui people, flora and fauna, and of course, most importantly, the archeological remains. The writers illustrate how a complex interplay between the natural environment and human behaviour created the island's unusual prehistory, including the demise of the statue cult. Although there are still many unanswered questions about the moai (giant statues) this book gives the qualified answers or at least suggestions as to how these things came to be. It wisely leaves behind all sorts of pseudo-scientific theories and bases its discussion on real archeological evidence, of which there today exists a substantial amount. The only unfortunate thing about the book is the slightly misleading title.

I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about the debunking of Heyerdahl being "excessive". The debunking is limited to only one or two chapters. For readers like me who have read Heyerdahl, this debunking was important because of the attractive neatness of Heyerdahl's theories as he had presented them.

The book is very well organized, with a good selection of photographs and diagrams.

The book's title and the previous review may give the impression that the book is primarily about environmental lessons we can learn from what happened to Easter Island, but in fact it is the best introduction to Easter Island studies that I have seen.

Only the final chapter is about lessons for humanity. The authors' arguments here are diminished by their citing of the well-known Club of Rome study on the Limits to Growth. None of its predictions for the 1990s came true, and this should have been clear by 1992, the year of this book's publication. The authors make no mention of that inconvenient fact.

P.F. Kluge captures the essence and the flavor of Micronesia, from the Federated States of Micronesia to Palau and Saipan, CNMI. Th author worked as a Peace Corps member and helped to write the Constitutions and public speeches. He returned a generation later and found that the American efforts and aid turned "a fish and taro" subsistence economy into a "Spam and cheese cargo cult." I would liked to have read about America's accomplishments, which there are many, discussed more in detail. Of course, he covers all the craziness of the politicians and their selfish motivations, and also talks about some of the special, favorite people in the islands. If you like the islands (anywhere) you'll relate to this narrative and enjoy the writing. I found his recollections realistic and found the overall book entertaining and educational. Recommended reading.

B.C. has got to be right as he's the only attorney in all of the world to have witnessed Northern Virginia, Vietnam with the USMC, Europe, GMUSL, and Saipan and lived to give such a review. Go Bill.

I've been living in Palau for over four years and finally got to reading this book. What a pleasure to sit on my balcony in the warm air reading this brilliant book. A really good laugh at times.

I have a nightmare that I will leave Palau and then not find my way back. This book is about someone who faces that nightmare.

Wonderful insights, of course things move along and Palau is not the Palau of old. I know the author recently re-visited Palau, I'd be interested to know if he found it as welcoming as always.

I know a budding author here who is keen to follow in his footsteps in terms of retelling Palau in a foreigners words. I only hope she uses the respect and humour this author chose to use.

Good book.

Having lived and loved and worked and traveled in Micronesia for nearly 10, unforgetable and unregretable years; having known people who knew P.F. Kluge during his Peace Corps journalism years and closely known some of the principal personalities in "Edge," I can vouch for the book's veracity. However, it reads more like enchanting fiction, without romanticizing, than merely an engaging factual account. I can recommend, without reservation, this delightful read to anyone contemplating visiting or relocating on an employment contract to these islands. It's much cheaper than a plane ticket and provides a preview of what to realistically expect, unlike travel or recruiting advertisements. For better or worse, it will assist in deciding if you are able to fit into small island life.

I am reading P F Kluge's book on loan from a friend. Not only is it entertaining prose but it is perceptive, fresh and even 10 years on very relevant. Although it is written around a trip to the islands, this is no travel book. It is hard nosed social commentary.

Fortunately I am working in Micronesia, with people who remember Kluge. This makes the book more personally relavant. His observations are sometimes stark and even biting, almost to the extent of being satirical. They are not however untrue. Perhaps in their vividness they overpower other more positive aspects of Micronesia as it is for Micronesians.

This should be mandatory reading for anyone dealing with the renegotiations of US funding support for FSM and other Compact countries. I am finding that all too often it is convenient to forget the history of US involvement here and how the impacts of decisions made in Washington and elsewhere in the Trust Territory administration are as much to blame for the 'mess' here as is the conduct of this small population of Micronesians.

I am just a short term Aussie with no liver spots, so I can say these things. Mr Kluge is an American and states them with the clarity of an outsider and the intimate knowledge of an insider.

Find out what happens to the tails of turkeys, why it is dangerous to have sex in Chuuk, how to identify a Peace Corp volunteer by the look in their eyes. This book has it all.

While outsiders trickle into their idea of an island paradise, Micronesians flow out to their idea of a consumer paradise. Only occasionally do we really meet. When that happens you have lasting friendships which Mr Kluge's book chronicles so well.

Enjoyable enjoyable enjoyable. I will read it many times after I depart in a years time because it captures images of the recent social history islands so well.

This book consists of brief excerpts from journals, letters and diaries of those foolish or brave enough to push beyond the known world along Australia's seaboards.

These explorers demonstrated unfathomable foolishness, unquenchable curiosity, bullheaded ethnocentricity, and, in too few cases, a passion for discovery for its own sake. As a reader you will be horrified, entertained, and enlightened by their adventures and misadventures.

I just returned from a trip to Australia and took this book along with me to read. It was perfect for a visitor with little knowledge of Australian history beyond Hughes' "Fatal Shore" (another great read).

This is an anthology of excerpts from Australian Explorers journals ranging from early sixteenth century European Explorers to Australians in the early 20th century. Flannery's introduction for each provides an excellent, concise biography and set up to each explorer's excerpt. In many of the excerpts, an explorer faces death and disaster. The most intriguing initially was Charles Sturt writing of his attempt to find the mythical lake in the center of Australia. He brings a boat, experiences weather so hot it bursts a thermometer his party carries, they suffer from extreme scurvy, and Sturt's desire to be the first to reach the center of Australia. The second explorer I read in this collection was Ernest Giles. His except focuses on an expedition with his assistant Gibson, who goes for help and manages to get lost, and then Giles slowly makes his way back to base camp. Reading The Explorers fascinated me enough that I wanted to read more about specific explorers like Giles, but also about Australian explorers in general.

My only criticism of Flannery's book is that it ends. I found myself wanting to read more of each story. But within a moment of turning to a new chapter, I was engrossed in another adventure. The Explorers is an outstanding selection of historical pieces and a fine example of the editor's art. First-person accounts like this truly offer a window into the minds and times of the people and places involved. (I recommend "Eyewitness to History" for those who enjoy this book.)

What possesses a person to set off into the trackless wastes of Australia, with the almost certain knowledge that death lies waiting to welcome them into his scrawny arms?
Reading this book gives you some of the answers and some of the idea of the pain and suffering undergone by these explorers (and in some cases the hapless Aborigines coerced into seeking water).
There are some amazingly good writers within these pages, quite unexpected when you consider that many of them were ex-convicts or self-taught (and comparing them to some contemporary American explorers); there are some delightful descriptive passages and the occasional bout of whimsy, especially the anecdote of how 'Rocket' got his name - I was in hoots!
An excellent read, which encouraged me to order several old copies of explorers' accounts.
Thoroughly recommended!

Australia's small history makes a book like this diffifult to stay interested in. Of course, we are a lucky country fortunate enough to have prospered from these fine explorers and Flannery captures this brilliantly. But there is a time when the discoveries of a new animal or native remind the reader of how quickly one can lose their mind to something else as one can't help but take it for granted or compare their countries history with one far greater and more enlightening from a place such as Great Britain or America. However, Flannery is aiming to make Australian history sit right up there amongst the cream of the crop for a rich past - we as the reader know this isn't possible but feel a sense of pride in what these explorers did to help develop our free and thriving country. The author does not have much to contribute within the book. He writes a few brief footnotes or may stretch himself to an introduction of a small to mid paragraph for each. Yet, we must remind ourselves this is a history book so there is not much room for creativity. I suggest this book is worthwhile for someone passionate or interested in the Australian history, but if you are made to read this whether it be school or uni do it in sections. Otherwise, you will find it tedious. In the end you will find it rewarding - especially (as an Australian resident) when you next visit Botany Bay, Cape York or wherever it may be.......you will stop and think at just how lucky we are.

Zubrin makes a very good example of how it could be done. The snag is, that he reaches so far in the future, that it is impossible to imagine it as anything else than science fiction. I would have prefered to have some ideas developed about the colonization of the outer solar system. On the other side, the section about Oort cloud settlements has been thrilling. All in all, it's a very good book and certainly worth the investment buying it.

I found Islands in the Sky a very entertaining, enlightening and uplifting book to read. It boldly addresses a wide range of subjects dealing with space exploration and appears to come up with concrete answers! There is an underlying optimism in the whole book that given human ingenuity, anything is possible. This is a far cry from the many 'post-modern' books that crowd store bookshelves seeking to convince us that science is not the answer, that mankind is bad and its actions are always in conflict with the environemnt. This book speaks to those of us who believe that we are the masters of our universe.

Some chapters are too abstruse and perhaps only for the specialist, but most of the book is eminently readable. A must for every space enthusiast.

I'm giving this five stars for the benefit of the chapters by Robert Zubrin and Martyn Fogg, which are ingenious and daringly original analyses of astronautic engineering and terraforming, respectively - each is the godfather of his field. The other material ranges from curiously quirky but not well-thought out (on terraforming Venus) to the kind of worthlessly unintelligent and uninteresting speculations you might expect to overhear from some goon at the bookstore but not to read in print (see the chapter on settling the Oort Cloud). This book was assembled as a "best of" selection from Analog; in a better world it would have been edited by the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, which would have known where to make the cutoff. Still, the good entries are fantastic enough to be well worth the purchase price.

The book deals with ideas about making space travel easy and colonizing space simple. The first few chapters deal with getting out of the gravity well we call Earth with known science and equipment. The next deal with using the resources that could be found on the Moon, Mars, Mercury and even the Oort Cloud (as well as planting a few colonies here and there)with the knowledge we have and the equipment we could have soon. After that is starts to get harder to picture doing all this projects with current technology. By chapter 8, for explain, we are dealing with terraforming and star engineering. Near the end of the book, starting with chapter 11 we are talking about interstellar space ships and the economices of interstellar commerce. But by than, you think all of it can be done! Each chapter helps to hold up the next one. For example, cheap, easy ways to get into space would cut the cost of space travel and allow for the next step which is exploring the planets and finding resources to help the next step.

This book is an excellent collection of essay by the leading producers of cool, far-out ideas alive today. Just reading it will expand your horizons and help you look at the final frontier in a new way.

Some of the essays, such as G. Harry Stine's on Single-Stage to Orbit spacecraft, are on near-term science and technology. Other essays, such as "Islands in the Sky," are longer-term and closer to science fiction. All are good.

My personal opinion is that the asteroids -- not the planets -- are the future of mankind, so the Mars-exploration essays by Zubrin et al. I found less enthralling. But you Mars fans out there NEED this book.

The essay, "The Economics of Interstellar Commerce" alone makes this book worth the cost.

Although I enjoyed John Lewis's _Mining the Sky_ more (simply because my bent is toward the asteroids), this book is better written and required reading. 4 stars.

I read Steve Thomas' book in the evenings while I was staying at Trader's Ridge Resort on Yap. Steve's clarity and attention to detail taught me not only about the rudiments of traditional oceanic navigation, but also opened my eyes more fully to Micronesian culture, and attuned me to how delicately it hangs between the encroachments of the West and the timeless pace of these islands. Even if you will never see a sailing canoe, this book will change your life. Well done.

This book is one of the few good 1980's attempts to document the voyaging culture of the Caroline Islands of Micronesia. It follows Kenneth Brower's 'Song For Satawal', which is now out of print!

Plenty of authentic stuff to make this a good read even if you get queasy at the insecurities and soul-searching and quest for meaning that pervades this account of one man's unique adventure in the Pacific.

There is lots of interesting anthropology (or is it sociology?) here, such as the system for ownership and preservation/protection of marine resources. Good background for anyone working in resource management in the Pacific.

The image that sticks in my mind after reading this book is the agonizing, slow-motion demise of traditional society in the small islands of the Carolines. The Carolines had centuries of Spanish/German/Japanese/USA stepping on their culture, still they managed to resurrect the voyaging skills, but now face the competition of outboards, charts, technological changes. Their oral tradition recorded vast local knowledge of this part of the pacific ocean, but the younger generations for some reason don't have the desire to avail themselves. Youngsters move away, they choose to join the workaday world instead of developing their skills at the traditonal systems that proferred self-sufficiency to their ancestors. The youngsters don't want the old way.

The few remaining navigators are at a loss how to preserve the sailing traditions, so one of them accepts a student from Boston, Mass. This guy (the author, Steve) goes to Satawal, home of the greatest surviving ocean-voyaging practitioners, and he spends a LOT of time learning the language, learning the rules, getting informants to tell him about the legends, secret knowledge and systematics of ocean navigation according to the hand-me-down skills of these descendents of the sailors who populated the pacific ocean islands. In the process he manages to get in unpleasant binds over taboos, local politics, and even gets to go fishing and sailing with the natives. The book is liberally salted with the concepts, specifics, and vocabulary of native voyaging, and there is an appendix at the end that gives glossaries, diagrams, etc.

The book is good but where is the video that I saw on Public Television several years ago?
How do I get a copy?
How do I get in touch with Steve Thomas?

The original edition of Thomas' saga showed an excellent example of the truly gifted amateur contributing to the practical art of cultural analysis. Drawn to solve a personal intellectual problem on how the early polynesians navigated, Thomas chose the solution of walking in their "mocassins" or paddling in their canoes, learning their language and living their culture. I found his journey as intriguing as the quests of Oliver Sachs(Island of the Color-blind People) or Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Civilization) and as intricate as Dva Sobel's tracing of the development of the Chronometer (Longitude). His tool of learning about these people by choosing their most precious historical achievement was inspired. His report by cross-referencing his modern "quantified" vision with their "common sense" qualitative analysis of the sea and its trails is a fascinating tale of multi-cultural experiences. Will he ever return? Even if the island culture is forever changed, one can only hope that he will in some way give us a follow-up picture. Professional scientists and anthropologists should note that Thomas' approach solves the "solipsistic problem" of intercultural communication as effectively as the "Seti Project" hopes to in the future. It is as interesting as Carl Sagan's fiction-- "Contact", but much closer than one might imagine.

The original edition of Thomas' saga showed an excellent example of the truly gifted amateur contributing to the practical art of cultural analysis. Drawn to solve a personal intellectual problem on how the early polynesians navigated, Thomas chose the solution of walking in their "mocassins" or paddling in their canoes, learning their language and living their culture. I found his journey as intriguing as the quests of Oliver Sachs(Island of the Color-blind People) or Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Civilization) and as intricate as Dva Sobel's tracing of the development of the Chronometer (Longitude). His tool of learning about these people by choosing their most precious historical achievement was inspired. His report by cross-referencing his modern "quantified" vision with their "common sense" qualitative analysis of the sea and its trails is a fascinating tale of multi-cultural experiences. Will he ever return? Even if the island culture is forever changed, one can only hope that he will in some way give us a follow-up picture. Professional scientists and anthropologists should note that Thomas' approach solves the "solipsistic problem" of intercultural communication as effectively as the "Seti Project" hopes to in the future. It is as interesting as Carl Sagan's fiction-- "Contact", but much closer than one might imagine.