Australia Books

I discovered this book as a kid, and now that I have over 500 volumes on WWII, this is still one of my favorites. The author was a draftee at about the time of Pearl Harbor, and this is his story from the end of boot camp, through being rushed onto a boat for the Pacific, to his arrival and first several months in Australia in early 1942. It's funny, it's touching, and there is so incredibly much detail. Some of the commentary is dated and hard to understand now, but for a historian, that's part of the fun, looking up the references.
The author was part of the 32nd "Red Arrow" Division, and I've been able to trace his unit's actual movements from the description in this book. None of the names in the book are real, of course, due to wartime censorship; actually, some of the references to censorship are the funniest parts of the book. I strongly recommend anyone interested in WWII in the Pacific to check this out; it's as good as listening to a vet's war stories over a beer!

I am completely in love with the archaeological action series written by Geoffrey McSkimming that is Cairo Jim. They are bright, funny and full of personality that remind you how strange and funny people can be.

In this adventure the protagonist, the poet-archaeologist Cairo Jim, is excavating a site in Turkey with his sidekicks, Doris the macaw (who is Shakespeare's biggest fan) and Brenda the Wonder camel, who is very intelligent, though unable to speak. Together they discover and uncover mysteries of the archaelogical world with the reader pulled aliong enthrallingly. All the characters are cute, charming and unique, even the bad guys who are mean but never sinister.

You finish the book with a warm feeling in your heart and a greater appreciation of archaeology. By the way, this review is aimed mainly at readers from a different country to me (Australia). I can see that there are only two newly-added Cairo Jim books on sale here at Amazon, and as yet I am the sole person to review them. I want to let all international readers know that here in Australia, where the Cairo Jim series has been going for nearly two decades, at the rate of one book per year. Here, Geoffrey McSkimming is a GOD! He really deserves to receive international attention.

I just finished "Caitlin's Country" and I REALLY liked it! It was nicely paced and kept me wanting to know what was next so I couldn't put it down! What a pleasant surprise from a new author! Although as an adult, I could have used more detail, I think it's very well paced for a teen or young adult reader. I'd think it would be especially appealling to teenage girls who have recently been forced to move or to live with a different parent. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to any teen.

As a side benefit, some of the English/Australian terminology explained in it helped me as a Texan to understand some of the terminology used in the "Harry Potter" books that I've read. Quite an unexpected benefit!

The Call Of The Osprey by Norman Jorgensen is a picturebook about the challenging and rewarding task of restoring an old, broken sea boat. A young man befriends and forms a bond with a grizzled old captain, as together they work hard, and the young man learns the importance of carrying on a meaningful legacy. Illustrated by Brian Harrison-Lever, The Call Of The Osprey is an especial delight to share with young readers who are fascinated with ships and the sea.

...a book on meditation without the Eastern mysticism nonesense. An excellent read! Meditation, combined with regular exercise and good diet, can make for a low stress life.

This specialized coverage may find a place primarily in collections strong in Australian writing, but any such collection will find the Cambridge Companion To Australian Literature to be an invaluable compendium blending Australian poetry, fiction, biography, and drama from the last two centuries. Contributors analyze classics, trends, and significant historical and literary influences, providing an important survey of Australian writings. Essential college-level reading for any serious and dedicated course in Australian literature.

This book is a comprehensive design history of Canberra, Australia's capital, covering nearly 90 years history. It focuses on the landscape design of Canberra prepared by Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin and his partner, Marion Mahoney Griffin. The 386-page book, which is lavishly illustrated, explains how the Girffin design was revised, partially implemented, and later resurrected to create the beautiful city that Canberra is today.

Canberra, along with Washington, Brasilia, and Ottawa, is one of the few capital cities in the world that was deliberately planned. In 1911 the Australian Government ran an international design competition to obtain a design for its new capital. Chicago archtect Walter Burley Griffin, who had worked in Frank LLoyd Wright's studio, won the competition -- even without ever having visited Australia or seen the site for the proposed new capital.

The design was an inspired one but Griffin met much resistance in its implementation. The author, Paul Reid, meticulously reviewed archival records to dicover why the building of the capital was such a fraught process. He explains in detail what was intended and what was actually built. The position of the Parliament buildings and other key buildings, the growth of two city centres, the placement of roads and thoroughfares all deviated from Griffin's plan -- sometimes for good reason, but at times to satisfy the whims of various bureaucrats.

The book covers a vast expanse of design history in a very readable style. The many pictures and maps help to guide the reader.

The book is still in print and available for $90 from the National Archives of Australia, its publisher. Contact naasales@naa.gov.au - that's where I got my copy.

I found this book very useful and informative in that it explained cancer in simple terms for non-medical readers. It is a topic that can be very frightening, but Fred Stephens manages to be truthful and dignified in this book. He also discusses not only cancer treatments, but also preventative measures, so it is a book that everyone concerned about maintaining their health and lifestyle should read.

William Bligh, most readers know, suffered a mutiny aboard H.M.S. Bounty in the late 1780s while returning from a botanical expedition to Tahiti. Until the 1984 Hollywood version, which Kennedy broadly endorses, the popular imagination had a very one-sided idea of Bligh and his career. Only now do we know that the mutiny was as much due to Fletcher Christian's on-board nervous breakdown as to Bligh's admittedly hot temper. And as Kennedy shows, the tales of harsh discipline are pure fiction: Bligh gave many more tongue lashings than the real thing. Upon his return to England and his acquittal, he had a brilliant career, successfully re-navigating the breadfruit expedition to Tahiti, then fighting alongside Nelson in the Napoleonic wars. His career ended on a sad note in New South Wales, Australia where as Governor he stood up to corrupt black marketeers and again suffered mutiny. Yet he is a nautical hero through and through, his open-boat journey ranks with Shackleton's as an all time great feat of navigation, and he stands as the direct link between the genius of his mentor, James Cook and that of Bligh's protege, Matthew Flinders. Any dispassionate and thorough biography, such as this, will leave you with respect for this great man.

For anyone wanting to understand the position of Muslim women in a western country this is a must-read.

Deen tackles her subject with understanding, compassion and a real sense of wanting to come to terms with aspects of Islamic culture (such as covering, and more `fundamentalist' tendencies) which vary from her own.

I found especially interesting her thoughts about converts to Islam. Even more interesting were the attitudes of other Muslim women to the choices made by the converts.

I loved Deen's book `Broken Bangles', where she journeyed from her home of Perth in Western Australia to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, investigating the place of women in those societies. This book is every bit as good.

In a time when Muslim women in western countries are being especially targetted for their difference (ranging from naïve curiosity to outright hostility), this book is an invaluable contribution in helping try to overcome fears and prejudices.