Oceania Books

The amazing journey of the ill-fated Dutch VOC ship, Batavia, in 1629, is painstakingly researched and realized in this fine historical epic. History, like this, is unimaginable in the modern sense, though it is evident today in ethnic purging and ruined cultures. The tale of Francisco Pelsaert's incredible survival through adversity where mutiny and massacre would be the rule of the day is high drama. Ms Brockman became the leading investigator in solving the whereabouts of this lost and infamous shipwreck off the coast of West Australia.Her information is gleaned primarily from eyewitness accounts and the diary of Pelsaert to conclude a fascinating chapter seafaring history. Truly, there is no story quite like it anywhere.

Henrietta Drake-Brockman, an Australian novelist who died almost 40 years ago, wrote this book in the late 50s and early 60s - before the Batavia's wreck site was discovered, and the bodies of the men and women who became the victims of a subsequent bloody mutiny were exhumed. It was also a time before email, cheap intercontinental phone calls, and every day air travel. In such circumstances, the fact that the author was able to correctly identify where the East Indiaman was wrecked, and arrange, via letter, for so much detailed research to be conducted in the Netherlands, India and Indonesia can only arouse great admiration. Voyage to Disaster presents the fruits of that research: the first complete English language translation of Francisco Pelsaert's journals (the orginals are in the main Dutch staste archive at The Hague), with supporting material from repositories in Amsterdam and Leiden.

The book divides into two parts. The first consists of a series of thematic chapters covering what could be discovered of the ship, its voyage, and the principal men and women on board. The second comprises a complete translation of the journals, with several supporting appendices. What is missing is any real connecting story - surprisingly, given Drake-Brockman's career as an author, the book has no real narrative and fails, really, to convey the unprecedented drama of the Batavia's wreck and the appalling events that followed it. Drake-Brockman failed, in addition, to uncover any new information concerning Jeronimus Cornelisz, the principal villain of the piece, and he consequently appears as something of a subsidiary character in what should really be his own story.

Voyage to Disaster, then, is an invaluable source book and an important work for anyone interested in the development of the Batavia's story. It is not a narrative history, nor an easy book to read. Recommended for serious students of the subject rather than casual browsers.

Judith Clarke�s most recent book, Wolf on the Fold, depicts an Australian family�s life-time of struggles over a period of seventy years. Clarke, being born and raised in Australia, portrays life in this country most accurately. In the book, she accounts for how this nation was affected by the trials and tribulations of events such as the Great Depression all the way to current problems with Iraq. Clarke�s amazing style of writing and fascinating stories will keep the reader intrigued till the end.
The story progresses from generation to generation. Clarke begins with the family�s struggle to stay afloat during the time of the Great Depression. After the children�s� father dies, the oldest son, Kenny, is responsible for getting a job and supporting his family at the age of fourteen. The story then jumps to the 1950�s; Kenny is now a father with two girls of his own, Clightie and Frances. The girls live through a typical summer in the 1950�s while caring for their mentally insane Aunty May. The girls follow their crazy aunt on hilarious outings throughout their home town. Clarke continues this style of writing all the way up until the 1980�s.
The story then begins telling of more recent events. Frances moves to Israel at the age of thirty-six during the time that Saddam Hussein is in total power. She teaches English to children and soldiers and has a son by the name of Gabriel. One day at the market, Gabriel begins yelling, �Saddam Hussein is a loony.� At this point, Frances is terrified for both of their lives, and is thankful when they are not stoned to death. Clightie remains in Australia and gets married.
The books then jumps to a story of Clightie�s grandson, James. James hears his mother and father arguing every night, and try as he may, he cannot hide the fighting from his younger brother, Davie. James� greatest fear is that his whole family will fall apart around him; that one day they will all be gone. Clarke does an amazing job tying serious problems, such as a family on the brink of extinction, with everyday family problems, such as a ten year old listening to his mother and father argue.
Clarke�s amazing style of writing is intriguing and humbling. By the end of the book, the reader sees how many struggles that they personally may or may not have had to go through. She shows life through a perspective of just how many trials one can overcome. Clarke uses similes such as �the air was as whole as milk� to allow the reader to feel the severity of the situations. Through Clarke�s vivid descriptions and realistic accounts, the reader feels as if they are actually part of the story.
Thus, the story is a vivid account of one family�s difficulty to survive. The title, Wolf on the Fold, is to symbolize a wolf attacking a flock, such as the problems that attack this family. The story�s title comes from lines in a poem that Kenny is forced to memorize. One day, when Kenny finds himself in trouble, the lines of that poem are the only thing he can think of. �Lines of a poem he�d learned at school flashed into Kenny�s mind: �The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold; / And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold.� The situations that occur in this book are real, serious and crucial problems, just like a wolf on attack. Clarke does a wonderful job portraying the harshness of these people�s lives, and how they strive to overcome.

So many beautiful images in this book. Kenny's mum waving goodbye as her 14 year old son sets off to look for work after his father has died... The words of the poem that flashed through Kenny's mind that kept the stranger in the firelight from hurting him... Vonny Cooney trying to teach Daffy Kevin to read... Gabriel's luscious figs in a basket of green leaves in the market in Jerusalem... And the power of Kenny's words, coming down through 70 years of time, "Ride on James! Just keep riding on"!
This book gave me goosebumps. The Aussie's never let me down!

I got this book as a gift and loved it so much that I bought the others in the series (earrings, rings, bracelets). The photos are gorgeous, full-page color beauties and the detailed notes that correspond with each photo are easily found in the back section of the book (where they don't interfere with the photos). If you love jewelry and love learning about ethnic pieces, you'll enjoy this book.

In my opinion, this book was much larger than it really needed to be and therefore more expensive than it really needed to be. I felt like I was seeing some of the same pictures over and over again. I actually looked back a few times to make sure it wasn't the same necklace. The best necklace is actually pictured on the cover, which i guess would make sense. However, I was hoping for more necklaces as interesting as that one on the inside. Many are very nice and have excellent detail, but it actually got boring seeing so many similar items. I wish it would have contained less of the same stuff so that it could have been more reasonably priced. Overall it is a nice book (beautiful photography, nice paper and binding) as long as you don't mind spending that much money. After spending as much on the book as I did, I did not feel I got my money's worth. I can't imagine paying full price for the book. I expected much more for that price.

I find it interesting that nobody has posted a review of this book. Perhaps they finish the book and immediatly leave for the South Pacific, they are all nibbling on lobster somewhere in the Marquesas, waiting for global warming to wash them to higher ground. Well, the South Pacific certainly conjurs up a picture in most minds of palm trees, scantily clad natives and warm tropical breezes. These stories will enforce some of these beliefs and dispel some of the others. Paradise is fairly elusive and the lack of civilization that is much of the draw of paradise can turn around and bite you in the posterior.

I admit that I hand picked the stories initially reading some of my favorite island commentators, so I started with Laurence Shames, Thurston Clarke, Eugene Burdick, J. Maarten Troost and P.F Kluge. My favorite story was Eugene Burdick's "The Black & The White" an engaging tale of lessons learned in paradise. I will reveal nothing of the story, but it is a surprising tale from a different perspective.

All in all the book relies on Islands magazine for a lot of the stories, so if you are a long time reader of the magazine, you will have read the majority of the stories. The stories are engaging and well constructed, hopefully your interest will be aroused and you will further investigate the region. The South Pacific is a wonderful place, much of it has changed very little in the last fifty years. My hope as a travelwriter that covers this region, is that the stories work as kindling, wetting your appetite to read more and eventually visit the region.

If you have ever dreamed of hiking through mountains without all of the rugged turain that goes with them , then the grampions are for you!

50 WALKS IN THE GRAMPIONS is an excellant way to discover the many secrets that hide within the mountains. Good description of fifty different trials for the hiker/walker within you !

A brilliant buy for every keen traveller!

Access Sydney was one of three books I took to Sydney and proved to be the one I used most. The orientation section at the beginning was invaluable. Some of the side bars on food, the harbor and the Olympics were very helpful. The only down side to this book (as with others) is that some restaurants had closed or changed chefs, etc, and there were not enough mid-range hotels to choose from. The illustrations are well done, but some of the other graphics are not the best. Overall, very accurate entries and the break down of neighborhoods was a big help.

I needed this book for a history project iam doing on the battle of el alamein and its great.It goes into great detail about the first battle and second battle of el alamein and includes some primary sources, even though it can be a bit biast at times in favour towards the australeins it's deffenatly a good read for anyone who is interested in this topic.

This coloring book turned out to not be quite what I had expected. It included many pictures of old Hawaiian gods and homes, and I was hoping for more pictures of ocean and beaches and more sweeping colorful pictures of what old Hawaii must have been like, and for more pictures of people from ancient Hawaii. It seemed more for adults than a kids' coloring book. Still, it is an interesting book.

This is a small, pocket sized booklet detailing more than 100 buildings and urban projects completed since 1985.

It is not confined to the harbour sized precincts, which is the more usual focus of more tourist-oriented books. It includes, for example, a library building in the western suburbs University of Western Sydney, and the Joan Sutherland performing Arts Centre in Parramatta. It covers both public and private buildings, large scale and small - and some private domestic architecture and restaurants.

This would be a handy guide for anyone with a serious interest in the city's architecture and redevelopment. However, the print is small. There is a smallish black and white photograph of each project as well. Some are a little too small to fully appreciate the work. That is my only criticism of the book, which otherwise is authoritative as well as accessible to the general reader.

The text is excellent for anyone desiring to research the various arts and performances described in the book. There are numerous photographs that enhance description, and a variey of information that helps to better envision the Pacific Arts, artists's encounters and their struggles to maintain their native arts.