Australia Books

A plug for the "local talent" !! I just took a couple of weeks off to travel from Auckland down to and around the South Island, using Peter Mitchell's book "Great Escapes" as part of my routing.

I had put together a general itinerary and then incorporated excerts from about a dozen of his rides into my travels so that, instead of just going directly from Point "A" to Point "B", I would purposely detour to take advantage of recommended roads from the book and, when time permitted, would take off altogether on some of his suggested "diversions". Worked out terrifically !! The descriptions and directions are "spot on" (particularly his description of the Takaka Hill as "tortuous"), and the information and suggestions provided were fabulous for an impressionable immigrant such as myself.

If you're heading off into an area that you're not that familiar with, and want to really enjoy the ride like the locals might, pick up a copy of this super little book and stick it in the tankbag. If you don't get your money back in grins, then shame on you!

Victor Solomon
K75RT with substantially less tire tread than before it left!

Three trips to New Zealand on a motorcycle. First two without "Great Escapes" and 15,000km, saw a lot. Using an American authors book was just barely ok. The third trip this last time for 10 weeks, did 12000km. Using the "Great Escapes" book I experienced New Zealand up close and personal. It's a GREAT book and an absolute must in order to get "inside" what I consider one of the great countries of the world!!

Peter Mitchell, in his GREAT ESCAPES, motorcycle touring guide to New Zealand has raised the bar in the domain of motorcycle tour guides. I should know.

It was 1995, I got sucked into a bet and the next thing I knew I was riding a Buell S-2 Thunderbolt or a leisurely tour of 37 of the United States. Sure, I saw a lot. But, I also learned alot and if I had a book like Peter Mitchell's GREAT ESCAPES, the fantasy trip of a lifetime would have been much more graceful.

The first thing that strikes one about GREAT ESCAPES is that Peter KNOWS of what he speaks. This is revealed, not in words, but in the physical construction of the book. We'll get to content in a moment, but those of you who ride (and who among us has not dreamt of riding New Zealand) will appreciate the 6"wx8"t size of the book, coupled with the spiral binding. Ever tried to fit a "normal" book in the top of a tank bag? Mitchell makes it easy, in fact convenient.

In the book, New Zealand is divided into the North Island and the South Island. Mitchell does a neat transition between the two by, you guessed it, by turning page 90 into a primer on "Crossing Cook Straight". Frankly, this book threatens to make even the most unseasoned motorcycle tourer look like a pro.

The rides (23 North Island / 22 South Island) are described in precisely the kind of detail I want and need. Where to start, distance, time, when and where to plan fuel stops, suggested diversions, safety considerations weather, hotels, and the one item that makes motorcycling so special to me. . . FOOD. This is not book, this is a valuable tool that I hope Mitchell comes to the US (like so many of my riding makes from his Homeland) and replicates the book.

To insure you've little else to pack when headed to New Zealand, GREAT ESCAPES is packed full of information on "What makes a motorcyclist", basic riding skills , accommodations (lodging for you Yanks)and enough weather information to qualify you for a job at the Channel 4 Meteorologist here in New York City.

The book has imbued me with a list of 3 things I must do:

1) Learn more about the fabulous country of New Zealand 2) Ride more 3) Consider a tip to New Zealand to explain to Peter Mitchell what we call "stock effluent" in the United States.

Bottom line: Don't even think about leaving the USA without reading GREAT ESCAPES cover to cover.

Courtney L. Canfield New York City

I've got hundreds of motorcycle books, this one goes on top.

This book has the most breathtaking photographs I have ever seen! If you're looking for a photographic journal of Australia, then look no further! My mother and I were searching for a book to get my brother (who's just about to return from studying abroad in Australia) because his camera and all of the pictures he'd taken were stolen! Hopefully, this book will be a good substitue for his own pictures. This book is absolutely magnificent!!! I highly recommend this book, it is worth every penny!

After spending some time in Australia and wanting to take something home with me to remind me of a fantastic trip, I stumbled into a small gallery in The Rocks district of Sydney.

From that point on I have had a Ken Duncan panograph on my wall and this book on my coffee table. Ken has the gift to create pictures that invoke amazing feelings in the audience. His picture of a field of Sunflowers is aptly named "Field of Joy". I sat in his gallery and watch a dozen people walk in a smile when they saw the Field of Joy picture on the wall. It was the most natural reaction.

Ken's work is beautifully portrayed in this book in large, page and multi-page covering panographs. It will be a favorite with you, your family, and your friends. I know, as I have one friend who has flipped through its pages at least 20 times, and keeps coming back for more.

Are you a bit leery about buying a book of photos without seeing some of the photographers work? No problem. Check out Ken's web page at kenduncan.com.

If you are interested in, have been to, or are thinking of going to Australia, this is the book for you. It is broken up into the five Australian states of New South Wales, Southern, Northern Territory, Western, Queensland, and a section for Tasmania. It is the Highlights of Australia Book.

If you are interested in panoramic photography or photography in general, this is the book for you. It is a portfolio of one who has mastered the panoramic format. All of the photos are in stunningly rich color and have good page coverage so you aren't squinting and you don't need a magnifier.

This is a fantastic coffee table book, and well worth it's price.

The most breath taking photographs I've ever seen are found within pages of this "Divinely inspired" book. Coffee tables won't do it justice...definitely suitable for framing! The art and the artist are the genuine articles...the sincerity of the artist and the inspiration behind the works come through in a powerful way with the most amazing color and clarity. Whether you love Australia or good art, this book is a must have!

We found this to be an excellent handbook. There were handy maps of each region and fairly comprehensive reviews of things to do both in the major destinations and off the beaten track. For example, on our visit to the Waitomo region we noticed a few nature sites noted on our driving map withoout explanation. Checked the location in the Moon Handbook and discovered memorable side trips we would not have taken otherwise.

This book is great for backpackers and students. It is also helpful members of Hostelling International and VIP backpackers. It explains the cheapest way to travel and the must sees in New Zealand

A must for traveling and truly enjoying the people and countryside. Details of out-of-the-way places as well as the city life. Able to get around without driving (on the wrong side of the road). Will long remember all of the friendly people and the cleanliness of cities and countryside.

To me the amazing coincidence of the narrative by Joseph C. Meridith on the Patrols of the USS. Hanna DE449 in 1953-1954 is that it almost perfectly coincides with the time that I was a Radarman on the Hanna. It is like he wrote my history of that time in my Navy experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and it will be treasured by me and my family. The Patrols were a great experience with all the sailors on board wanting to be on the small parties that were able to go ashore to walk around the islands. The ones that I remember the most were Ponape, with its absolute breathtaking beauty and Truk with its abundant Japanese navy ships that had been damaged during World War II. The book is a great treasure of information on the islands written by a man who recorded his observations in a colorful and well written manner

World War II in Micronesia laid a foundation for hundreds of books and thousands were written. For those of us who were there right after the war few books have recorded what it was like. This author, a naval captain of a Destroyer Escort, told his story and wove in history and the continuing story of the people. And he told the story we lived. Casual inspection tours of twenty islands in fifteen days. Landings that started in a small boat and ended swimming in across a rocky beach. Local administrators who had shamefully little support from the US government and still carried on trying to do a decent job. Priest and missionaries who carried on in the wake of war, building communities with Navy discards. Hopeless ocean searches that sometimes were successful. And a little boredom. For those who were there, a very true book.

I ran across this book looking for information about the USS Hanna (DE 449), a WWII Destroyer Escort ship named after Private Billy T. Hanna USMC, who died on Guadalcanal in 1942.

I highly recommend reading this to anyone interested in Micronesia and War in the Pacific. It is very readable and well worth the effort. Written by the USS Hanna's captain, Joseph C. Meredith, the book details the ship's patrols of Micronesia, and the Bonin and Volcano Islands in 1953-54.

Captain Meredith describes the seven patrols he captained, giving intimate observations on the islands they visited, the people, history and geology. The stories of the attempts of foreigners to discover, exploit and dominate the islands, provide a real understanding of the islands and their people.

His emphasis on Japanese influence on the islands gives a real understanding of WWII and the Pacific, of what it was like to be there, and of the reasons and strategy of the War in the Pacific.

He researched the history of Micronesia in great detail, providing an accurate view of how Micronesia became what it is today.

This book is also available from a different publisher. CRESSCOURT, an Australian publisher. The author is James Cumes but on this edition he has taken his middle name and now writes under the name James Williams.

It is an excellent book but I thought I'd mention this in case you find it hard to get this book under the original name he used. I bet this would be a good movie since it shows little known facts about a group in Australia during the trying times of WW2 and Japanese invasion.

Clearly it's hard not to get carried away on this one. This author is so steeped in place and subject and so skilled in crafting a human canvas uniquely suited to this locale and litany of experiences that anyone associating major Australian fiction with paulhoganist one-dimensional pap needs to read this book.

It's easy to raise comparisons to Dostoevsky and Kings Row and War & Peace and Gone With the Wind and The Sundowners, but yet in some respects these comparisons appear dwarfed when held up as standards by which to evaluate the enormity and all-encompassment of the piece at hand.

Twice I've read HAVERLEIGH, and each time I was mesmerized by the characters, the surroundings, the historical accuracy. The Kokoda Track, (The New Guinea campaign including Milne Bay and typified by the Kokoda Track) is recognized as a defining moment in Australia's history; and yet, few know about it. This was where the invincibility of the Japanese Army was first broken. Mr. Cumes doesn't "just" tell the story of young Australians in WWII. Instead, he takes you there in his words, through his characters and gives you the gift of seeing first-hand what happens to people in the dredges of war. His characters capture your heart, and take you beyond what you think happens before, during and after a war to the people in and around the war. Mr. Cumes gives you cause for retrospection; he allows you to wonder "what if"... I will read HAVERLEIGH a third time. And I know at the end of the third reading, I will have the same reaction as the first two. As I close the book, I will breathe a deep sigh of gratefulness that Mr. Cumes transported me to another time, another place - and for those moments I was reading... into another person. If you appreciate excellence in writing and history, and want to meet some incredible characters, you must read this book!

The style of writing drew me quickly into the novel. Peter and his thoughts about being hungry and the closeness to his father made me want to keep turning the pages. I had not read about this book, so as I continued to read a question popped into my mind. Something is wrong here; but what? I teach English to 9th graders and this is a book I would like to use in all my classes. The art museum, the mice, the planes create enough confusion that the young reader would fly with this book.
Great writing, reading.

This was an exciting novel about peter and his Dad. This was a great book with many different settings. Peter and his Dad were very close. Considering they were partly homeless and Peter's mother had died. They have been running away from the C.I.A. when his dad gets put into the hospital. Peter gets put into foster care. He hates school and his teacher. I would recommend this book to people who like intense books.

This review first appeared in the "Ephrata (PA) Review":

Fensham, a teacher for 15 years in her homeland of Australia, set out to fill a void--a novel for children who have family members suffering from schizophrenia.

"Information booklets were not enough to ease their pain and bewilderment," she writes. "I searched the library for a fiction novel that might both entertain and inform, but could find nothing."

Fensham penned "Helicopter Man" so skillfully that it reads first and foremost like a novel--not a story superimposed on facts about mental illness.

As the story opens, 12-year-old Pete and his father are "camping" in a dilapidated shed on someone's property. Pete's father must stay hidden or on the move. Convinced that a spy network is out to get him, he freaks when helicopters pass overhead.

The story is told from Pete's viewpoint, through journal entries and letters to a friend, which lends a fresh authenticity to the account. Pete's entries range from musings on the past to his daily concerns, gradually revealing how he and his father have arrived at their present homeless state and how they are extracted from it.

The story is gripping, the characters believable and likeable. American readers will be tickled by some of the Australian English and will enjoy piecing together the meanings of colloquialisms such as "chucking a wobbly."

This is the first time that I have read the work of Mr. William Trevor. If his collection of short stories, "Hill Bachelors", is any indication of the man's talent I will read whatever else has been published. The volume contains 12 stories that all share parallels, however they do not need to be read as a collection, they all can stand-alone.

The stories could be classified as redemptive, however at least one describes a Faustian Bargain. Many of the stories are dark, and others bear results that were never intended. Still others are the results from lack of attention or care, and they are of wreckage both physical and mental. I think it is valid to say they describe the fragility of many relationships, and the ignorance that prevents the forming of contact until a destructive event takes place. It is not a collection of tales that portrays the best in people, but it somehow does not read as oppressively as the storylines would seem to demand.

One story details a horrible crime and uses a snapped rose bush as a metaphor. The same unlikely force cleans up the debris from both, before the mess from either becomes too great. A wedding eve party shows how uncertain the next day's events can be when the smallest of unintended events does or does not take place. My favorite had to do with Priests and Ministers, burned out homes and lost congregations. In this story Mr. Trevor illustrates the senseless behavior of a people, a nation, and the religions they adhere to. He brings together that which should not meet, and the result is what should happen but somehow surprises when it does.

This is a wonderful set of stories that are all complete, however when read together have enough commonality that the Author's message is not so much repeated as it is reinforced as they are read. Marvelous writing, highly recommended.

These twelve new stories from William Trevor are "small gestures," resonating with meaningful nuances, requiring one's full attention. For this reason, it may be worthwhile to read each story twice to fully grasp the meaning from within its depths. Reading these stories will leave you in awe.

This was my first encounter with Trevor's short stories. Truly, he has mastered the form. Born in Ireland in 1928, Trevor now lives in Devon, England. The stories in this collection are drawn from those two countries. They are filled with barking sheepdogs, laborers, misty hills, tulips and bluebells, and rays of sunlight "like arrows in the sky" (p. 144). They are about everyday turning points in life, and lost opportunities. In the first story in the collection, "Three People," Trevor reveals a secret that binds three lonely characters together for fourteen years. In "The Mourning," we follow a lonely, 23-year-old Irish laborer as he carries a bomb through the streets of London. In "Good News," we find a nine-year-old actress "wondering in what way her dreams would be different now, reminding herself that she mustn't cry out in case, being sleepy, she ruined everything" (p. 62). A "melancholy" 51-year-old mother misses her children in "A Friend of the Trade." When she and her husband attempt to drop an "unpresentable" friend, she discovers "empty love is not absurd" (p. 106).

This is a collection of well-crafted short stories that has inspired me to read more William Trevor.

G. Merritt

In several of Trevor's sparsely worded stories we find characters who give too much of themselves. "The Virgin's Gift", "Good News" and "The Mourning" all tell of those who turn their souls over to others, and are unsettled with the outcomes. I was sad when done, particularly when finishing "Good News", because I knew that the characters had been disappointed or were about to be.

I was drawn to the character of Clione in "A Friend in the Trade" - she was decisive enough to know that she was the object of unstated affections, but not strong enough to confront her admirer frankly. She was so powerful in her humor and her work, but she had long accepted her status quo, so she did not know how to be single-minded in adversity. She acted like a shallow school girl in telling her husband of their friend's affections, but she became more complex in that telling. I wonder about her still - I wanted to know more about her after the story was told.

Good stories, these. Minimalist short stories are my preference - they allow me to imagine, to dream, and to pretend.

I've always thought economics was a dry, theoretical subject area. HOW WRONG I WAS! Ms Edwards makes the topic crunchingly relevant and digestable. The key concepts are clearly explained and related to recent events. I never knew how economics contirbutes to shaping our community.
This book has left me with a sense of urgency regarding economics. Government policies matter, not just for short-term budget balancing, but for long term impacts on how we think and act.
The autor's experience at the upper levels of the public service gives startling insight into why our politicians only seem able to create mind-numbingly similar 'solutions' to still unresolved problems.
A first-rate read. (Especially if you know an economist and you need some educated ammunition to argue your point!)

One of those books that expresses perfectly that gut feeling you have in your stomach that something is not quite right. Highly recommended!

This is a good book. It doesn't get bogged down in economic language or take too long to read. It provides a historical context to the last few decades of Australian politics and the way things have been done. It takes note of the relationship between the Tax Office and it's bureaucrats and those on the edge, the back bench Members of Parliment, and outer government agencies.

It goes into detail of the nature of Economic Rationalism. Although we may feel we understand it, this book gives examples and help us understand that which is around us but not necessarily understood. It talks about people, and how people see the world. It doesn't humiliate those of either side of politics and doesn't dismiss the beliefs we, or they have.

It is however, focussed wholly on the Australian experience of politics and the economy. This may put some international readers off, but on the other hand we already have enough books about how the American Market works. This book provides a good balance for those of us not under the American sphere of influence.

In the wake of the Tampa crisis and the appalling problems in refugee detention centres in Australia and the expensive 'Pacific solution' for the processing of asylum seekers, this book is a timely wake up call. It traces how the term 'security' has been used by governments as an organising principle, as a justification for policy, as an emotive term to encourage support for policy positions and military action.

It's an important book with global resonance in this time of the 'war on terrorism' structured by a strong philosophical framework which helps us think in new ways about global politics.

This book is an incredibly important addition to what's available on Australian foreign policy and defence relations. It's particularly timely because of the Tampa crisis of late 2001, the current Liberal Government policy of mandatory detention and the 'Pacific solution' for asylum seekers.

It traces Australian history to evaluate how 'security' as an idea has been an organising force and powerful signifier used by governments for their own purposes. What has happened during and since Tampa proves the thesis of this book in a startlingly contemporary way.

The book also has a solid philisophical underpinning that gives the book wide relevance in international relations studies and should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in global politices.

This book will become influential I think, in how we perceive the current war on terrorism, in general, and Australia's invasion anxiety, in particular.

This book is an incredibly important addition to what's available on Australian foreign policy and defence relations. It's particularly timely because of the Tampa crisis of late 2001, the current Liberal Government policy of mandatory detention and the 'Pacific solution' for asylum seekers.

It traces Australian history to evaluate how 'security' as an idea has been an organising force and powerful signifier used by governments for their own purposes. What has happened during and since Tampa proves the thesis of this book in a startlingly contemporary way.

The book also has a solid philisophical underpinning that gives the book wide relevance in international relations studies and should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in global politices.

This book will become influential I think, in how we perceive the current war on terrorism, in general, and Australia's invasion anxiety, in particular.

Robert Louis Stevenson started to write "In the South Seas" in 1889, sailing at the "Equator", during his second cruise on the Pacific. This trip was taken in the company of his wife, Fanny, his stepson, Lloyd Osbourne, his mother, Margaret Stevenson (Maggie)and a French nurse on service with the Stevensons, since 1887, Valentine Roch; His purpose was to engage in a serious work about of the South Seas, based on his personal experience and on his collection of a lot of informations about the manners and habits os its native inhabitants. However, his wife is not glad. She tells him that his condition as a social scientist is not as good as a writer. Robert Louis Stevenson didn't attempt to Fanny's advice, and he decided to keep on doing his work. Many critics recognize "In the South Seas" as the best travel's book published in the 19th Century. However I believe it is not only a simple travel's book. I think it is like an autobiography, with numerous and reasonable reflections by the author about human life, the occidental cilization, and peoples who live in remote places, without frequent contact with tje white's world. RLS reveals in his book what he has analyzed and understood about these peoples, expressing his ideas about their religion, art and life style. The language the author uses does not have the common prejudiced traceq which is a characterist of European writers. As he mentions the missionaries's action in Pacific islands.he denounces it with strong words and considers this action a crime against these péoples who are not sighted as human beings by Europeans and Americans, at that time, but simply savage men. The characters who appear in "In the South Seas" are represented by RLS with vivid details and we can perceive them as real people. I think "In the South Seas" is an essential book to study the Pacific Islands history and to understand its peoples; moreover, I consider Robert Louis Stevenson a pioneer in anthropological studies on this world's area. In his book, he really announces a new sight on Anthropology - on the Historical Anthropology as it was recently idealized by Marshall Sallins. Unfortunately , the historians of the Cultural Anthropology don't mention a single word about Robert Louis Stevenson's book; and I think is still time to redeem this great injustice.

If you read only one "South Seas" book from the 1920s back, this should be the one. This Penguin issue corrects a number of inaccuracies from previous editions, including Stevenson's own error in their departure date (!) It is the classic travel and observation book of the Pacific. The early descriptions of the Marquesas are unmatched, as are the accounts of the several islands they visited in Kiribati (Gilbert Islands). The account of Tem Binoka will give you a real eye opening into an absolute ruler and his ways in the late 19th century. Reading this could start a life long interest in Pacific literature.

In his book, In the South Seas, Stevenson gives an accurate and in depth look into the people and culture of the islands of the South Pacific. The book describes Stevenson's two year journey from the Marqueses Islands, to Tahiti, then Honolulu ,and finally Somoa. Stevenson uses the great adventures he experienced and his masterfully writing skills to paint a breath taking view of the islands and thier many beauties.