Australia Books

I only know of James P. Delgado through his work. He has a very high reputation in the field of marine archaeology and his list of credits is impressive by any standards. As with his other works, you just know the information contained within this book is something on which you can rely.

The wrecks of Bikini Atoll are legendary amongst scuba divers the world over - including a great many who will never have the opportunity to visit them. Naturally, there are several works on the subject which contain varying degrees of accuracy. This is the only book about those wrecks, which include a Japanese battleship, an American battleship and an American aircraft carrier - all from WW2, to mention but three!, which I am happy to give the full 5 stars.

In July 1946, 242 vessels - including some of the greatest warships from WW2, were assembled at Bikini Atoll. The people of Bikini, by the way, were told the forthcoming experiments were "For the Good of mankind" and that they would get their islands back in 6 weeks time!!! But those are points for another day. Up to this moment in world history, there had only been 3 Atomic explosions. The first was a test to see if the device worked. The next two were then dropped on Japanese cities with devastating effects. The next were detonated on Bikini Atoll by an American nation which had no idea what it was doing at that time. Able was detonated at an altitude of about 500 feet and caused minimal damage. Baker was exploded underwater and caused such alarm that Charlie was cancelled. Nevertheless, the damage to the islands was done and many of the ships were sunk. Following further explosions, Bikini has remained uninhabitable.

Leaving aside the emotive issues of the use of a very small and unprotected nation by a world-power, the shipwrecks exist and, therefore, represent a place of ultimate pilgrimage for serious scuba divers from all over the world. When compared with other books on the subject, this one is easily the most complete.

NM

My Dad was there (USS Reclaimer) - swimming in the atoll the day after the blasts, cleaning refuged ships, etc. It's amazing he's still alive.

Nice photos; good summaries. This isn't a full-blown account of Operation CrossRoads but a nice summary of the ships. If you are interested in OC, this is a good book to have on your shelf.

I found this book to be most interesting, with a very accessible writing style.

This is a great mini-coffee table book (get the hardcover if you REALLY dig this stuff!) offering hours of information and photos of the famous atomic bomb tests on naval ships at Bikini Atoll. The 190 page book is broken into nine chapters and has excellent notes on sources. Background information covers the first half of the book while the second is focused on recent dives to many of the famous and lesser known ships that were sunk here. The writing is very informative and the photographs are absolutely haunting, particularly the ones of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga! Several color photos are included in the center. The author pushes no agenda in this book. He merely reports the facts available both "good and bad".

James Delgado does a very good job of reviewing the sunken ships of Bikini Atoll and telling the story of the 1946 atomic bomb tests. I read this book after diving at Bikini Atoll and found it to be a good treatment of a topic that has received too little attention. As far as wreck diving goes, Bikini Atoll is the best in the world, and my only disappointment with this book is that it does not fill the need for a coffee-table-style photographic survey of the incredible shipwrecks at Bikini. That being said, Delgado's book is a nice compromise between such a coffee table book and the more comprehensive historical treatment in Jonathan Weisgall's superb book on Bikini Atoll.

The well-known phrase 'for the term of his natural life' is used by Marcus Clarke to bring home the horrors of transportation and the Tasmanian penal system in the 19th century.
Richard Devine, an innocent man (under an assumed name of Rufus Dawes) convicted of a crime he did not commit, is sent for transportation and assumed killed in a shipwreck. In reality, he is heir to a vast estate (unbeknown to him) and the convolutions of the tale that evolve from this are wonderfully written; the gradual demolishing of Dawes, the unspeakable duality of Frere, the calculating guile of Sarah and the gullible innocence of Sylvia are woven together in a plot that does not end happily ever after. This I think, serves to underline the barbarism and futility of the transportation system.
Based on actual events, Clarke uses his 'hero' to illustrate the depravation and privations that prisoners (and their guards) had to endure. Graphically showing how degradation degrades and power corrupts, the narrative never dwells on gruesome details, instead it relies for effect on the imagination of the reader, which can be more terrifying.
A book that deserves a wider readership.

This was without question one of the most gripping novels I've read in many a day. I first ran across this work in a brief mention by British travel writer/popular historian James Morris, where he thought it akin to the gulag novels of post-Stalinist Russia in subject matter and philosophical content. Add to that a wealth of striking narrative detail, immensely memorable characters (Maurice Frere, Sarah Purfoy, and particularly James North leap to mind), some truly transporting (no pun intended) and incredibly creepy passages, mind-blowing plot twists and turns, and a persistent refusal to provide too pat solutions to characters' problems... Clarke wasn't better than Dickens or Eliot, but neither of the latter could have written this book.

Clarke's masterpiece was published in 1874, after being serialized in 1870-72. Critics have lambasted a few of the less believable elements and some of the pat characterization of a number of supporting characters, but these are flaws to be found in most novels of that time (and ours). Clarke redeems himself by taking the cliches and mannerisms of the nineteenth-century English novel and using them to illuminate a whole new society, one practically mythical to the metropolitan consciousness of the Victorian Anglophone world. This work is a great counterpoint to all those English novels of the day where the hero or villain gets packed off to the antipodes and returns mysteriously changed. The main thrust of the novel, though, was the need to tell the true story of (white) Australian society's beginnings. Clarke, in telling the story of the unjustly convicted Rufus Dawes (aka Richard Devine), provides a panoramic view of early Victorian Australia, from the hellish convict settlements of Macquarie Harbor and Norfolk Island to the nascent frontier towns of Hobart and Melbourne, from the aging memories of the "First Fleeters" (the original convicts who arrived in 1788) to the controversial Eureka Stockade Uprising of 1854. The narrative frequently moves at a deliciously whirlwind pace to accomodate the exciting interaction of characters and history.

Clarke's novel is generally cited as nineteenth-century Australia's greatest and points the way towards more nuanced examinations of the colonial experience in the twentieth century (Peter Carey's JOE MAGGS, about the "off-stage" life of Dickens antihero Abel Magwitch, is apparently very much in this vein). Don't read it just for this reason, though. Please be sure to find the longer, original version, as I was fortunate enough to do. Clarke was forced to produce a revised, shortened version for the original publication, one dictated by his editors that turned the novel into a much more "conventional" Victorian literary production (and has a longer title--FOR THE TERM OF HIS NATURAL LIFE). I understand a TV series was made in the mid-80s with Anthony Perkins as North. If this was the case, then it badly needs to be remade on celluloid, because I can't seem to find the series. It's a magnificent novel whose flaws, I think, are amply counterbalanced by its unexpected joys.

It's a collation of events by various persons involved in the penal settlement of early Australia. Marcus Clarke has interwoven these events into a novel of fiction. These are stark facts; and show, as far as I've researched, very detailed. L.P. Hartely said it all,in this case.."The past is a foreign country.They do things differently there." The more you read on, the more you want to know..

LEt me set the record straight first...I have never read this book. I had seen the mini-series almost 10 years ago on CBC Canada. The series was very gripping and always left me waiting for the next in the sequence. Following the end of the series I was determined that I had to read this book. My last attempt to find it was in 1991 when I was told it was out of print and could not be found anywhere. Luckily I have just tripped across the information again and it prompted me to start looking again. Needless to say (but I must) I am thrilled to find it and now be able to finally read it. I hope it is everything that I know it is and more. It is an epic tale of grand proportions. Now if I can only find the video series AND a hard cover copy to add to my library!

Well, as an Australian living in the year 2000, reading this book, written in the 1880s, is an emotional experience.

For it is through works such as this that we can see our past. We can examine the nature of the beast that gave birth to us. Who we are. From whence we came.

If you want to understand why Australians are they way they are, and have the attitudes and language that they do, then give this book a read.

This was a very practical, down to earth guide to preparing and using herbal medicines. Seldom do you find such a straightforward easy to follow handbook on the proper preparation, storage and usage of both homegrown and purchased herbs. An extremely valuable tool to minister to the health of the whole family, young and old. Attractive full color photos and easy to follow descriptions make for a very pleasant reading experience. Fun and interesting, Ms. Ody includes instructions and cautions to ensure correct usage of these herbs, and avoid unpleasant side effects or complications of existing health conditions. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in herbal medicine for the home.

Dorling Kindersley's Home Herbal is a lovely book containing information on 60 commonly used herbs and how to use them in health remedies. The book outlines common health problems encountered at various stages of the life cycle from babies to teenagers to pregnant women to old age. The herbs are presented with beautiful photos and easy-to-understand instructions how to prepare remedies such as decoctions and poultices. There is also an alphabetical list of health problems, including what herbs to use and how to treat those problems. Another winning book from DK.

This is a very good book for beginers and people who want to make their own herbal remedies. The pictures are clear and beautifuly done. The instructions make it very understandable for everyone. Also included are treatments for a mixture of common ailments and a good "How To" instruction on the preparation of remedies. There is alot of very helpful info. in this book.

From babies to the elderly Penelope Ody addresses the seven stages of life and how to care for ourselves at each one. Her emphasis is on taking charge of one's own day to day health. She teaches us how to make and use syrups, infusions, decoctions, tinctures, tonic wines, capsules, compresses, poultices, hot and cold infused oils, massage oils, ointments, creams, lotions, emulsions, eyewashes, mouthwashes and more. There are full color photos of how she makes these as well as of the plants she uses. There is a remedies for common aliments section that lists the herbs used for specific problems and which way of using it is preferable. I am sure when Shakespeare wrote of the seven ages of man he had no idea how stressful life would be in the 21st century and how necessary health maintenance would be. Penelope Ody has it figured out though. Thank Goodness.

The highlight of this book for me was the wonderful section on making herbal remedies: full color descriptions for crafting syrups, infusions, decoctions, tinctures, tonic wines, capsules, pessaries, compresses, poultices, infused oils, massage oils, ointments, creams, lotions, emulsions, and washes ... the beginning herbalist can feel comfortable knowing she is crafting safely and correctly ... and the A-Z of herbs helps make sure you're using the right plant!

I found this book to be educational, heart-warming, heart-wrenching and entertaining all in one. I enjoyed learning about the history of Ethiopia, its culture and its people. The Hamlins are amazing people who took their love of medicine and passion for helping others and have literally transformed the lives of women in Ethiopia who without a fistula repair would be shunned and destitute.

This is a great book, and I would encourage anyone to read it.

It is said that in some parts of the world the foulest curse that can be uttered is "May you be born again as a woman!" and after reading this story, I now understand why. We in the developed world have no idea what it would be like to be an Ethiopian Woman: betrothed as a toddler, married at nine (the groom promises not to have sex with his bride until she is "old enough." - ha, ha.), pregnant at twelve and left for four or five days, utterly alone, to try and give birth unaided. As in the developed world, many babies are not in a position to be born easily, but unlike here, there is no sterile hospital and a doctor ready to perform a C-section. A girl has no option but to push and push and push until she gives birth to her baby (who has been dead for days by this time) or until she dies.

Death would be the kinder route, once you learn about the mission of the Doctors Reg and Catherine Hamlin. As the poor undeveloped, undernourished girl pushes for days, the corpse of her child causes horrific injuries to the woman's body. She is left leaking urine and often, feces, with no control over her body whatsoever. In a land where water is scarce for drinking and nonexistent for bathing, and where a man wouldn't dream of trying to buy some rags for his wife to keep clean, life becomes a torment that a woman prays would end every day. She is no longer allowed indoors or near other people. Her husband, who has to have at least one son to secure his own future, abandons her and finds another child-bride. Her mother (if she hasn't died in childbirth herself) will probably allow her to return to her home village, but she will be banished to a ragged lean-to that she builds herself with castoffs. Speaking of castoffs, that is all she will be allowed to eat and wear. So she lies completely still, because of an old wives tale (even though there are few old wives) saying that a girl who lies still enough will eventually heal. She may lie this way for twenty years or more, and healing never comes.

If a miracle happens, she hears about the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa. Her injuries, which we now now are called Fistulas, will be healed and she will be able to return to her people and her village, ready to begin life again. The Doctors Hamlin, devout, old-world Christians, dedicated their lives to these poor, forgotten souls. Once Fistulas were as common in Europe, Australia and the US as they are in Africa today, but minimum marriage ages and proper care during childbirth have so solved this problem that the Hamlins had to develop methods of surgery to cure this condition. In the past sixty or so years, they operated upon and cured at least twenty thousand women, all while the world passed them by.

Dr Catherine Hamlin describes a childhood in an Australia that is long gone, and a life that is as full of hardships as any western doctor has ever lived, but she speaks of her life with joy and a devotion to G-d and the women that have no voice, even in their own homes. Dr. Hamlin, devoted and saintly as she sometimes is, can drive you (me) batty with her old-fashioned ways. She and her husband had a motto: these women want what every woman wants -- a live baby in her arms. They were horrified by the 'free love' of the 1960's, and spoke with great reverence for the last Emperor of Ethiopia, before he was overthrown.

I loved the book, and was moved to tears at the plight of these poor young women. I admired the dedication of the Hamlins, especially during their early years in Ethiopia, operating in the corner of another hospital, with thousands of injured young women coming to them, and their attempts to create a hospital of their own. I admired them even more during the years of war and revolution in Ethiopia, while they tried to get supplies and continue their work while under constant threat of death.

If you want to be touched and discover once again how lucky you are (and if you can read this, you are darned lucky, I guarantee it), then this book will make you feel gratitude and compassion for your fellow human beings, no matter where they live. If you think that this is just some sob story, then read the book anyway -- you need to have your soul touched, and I guarantee that this is the book to do it.

I and my friends who have read "Hospital by the River" have all liked
it very much. It tells about an Australian couple
trained in obstetrics who went to Ethiopia and established aa hospital
to help woman in Ethiopia who had suffered the bad effects of early
child bearing. I believe it shows how the Christian life should be lived.

Seldom has a missionary painted such a compelling portrait of hope from darkest despair as Dr. Catherine Hamlin in her inspiring memoir, THE HOSPITAL BY THE RIVER. When she and her husband, Reg, embarked on their careers in gynecology in Australia, they never dreamed their work would eventually take them halfway across the globe to the third world country of Ethiopia to establish a teaching hospital.

Ethiopia's insistence on child-brides and the poor obstetric care in that country is responsible for the high incidence of women who suffer from fistula, a childbirth injury that results in constantly running urine and terrible internal injuries. The personal stories of these women as told by Dr. Hamlin will break readers' hearts. Divorced by their husbands and rejected by their families, many of these injured women live out the remainder of their lives ostracized alone in dark rooms --- all for want of an operation costing only a few hundred dollars.

A simple operation can alleviate their suffering, and most women are curable. (Hamlin takes payment in everything from live chickens to jewelry.) But although two million women suffer from fistula, less than 7,000 are treated each year. The challenges to create a hospital that serves these women --- and then maintain and finance operations --- are formidable.

Hamlin's descriptions will move even the most jaded readers to tears --- and sometimes to a queasy stomach. In one gruesome anecdote, she tells of a woman mauled by a hyena while giving birth (the hyena ate her baby while she was helpless to protect it). However, Hamlin wants us to understand the depth of this despair so difficult to relate to --- the horrific conditions these women live in --- in order to arouse our deepest compassion for their suffering.

In one memorable passage, she describes the life of one such outcast, discovered in a village by a medical worker:

"...They reluctantly showed her a side room. Inside it was dark, and the smell was almost unbearable. In the far corner, against the wall was a raised platform. Peering through the gloom they made out a woman lying on her side with her legs drawn up in a flexed position. Her bladder and bowel contents were leaking into a pool underneath. Because she had been in this position for five years the joints had become stiff... and she could no longer walk...."

This woman --- like more than 20,000 others --- was cured by Hamlin and her team.

This is a book of contrasts, from the gatherings thrown by royalty to the extreme poverty that most of the people of Ethiopia experience. Although the reader has to mine a bit too much detailed memoir to get to the good storytelling, it is well worth the effort. Her tone throughout is one of gratitude. Hamlin is quick to offer copious amounts of praise for others, even those who have perhaps wronged her in some way. She is vulnerable about her own shortcomings, especially as a parent.

Almost four decades after her work began, it's understandable why Hamlin has been called "The new Mother Teresa for our age" by the New York Times, and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. This fascinating account of Dr. Hamlin's work will break your heart --- and offer hope that even the worst circumstances can be changed if we care enough to help. Keep the Kleenex handy.

(...)

This book tells a remarkable story. It is the autobiography of Dr. Catherine Hamlin and the work she and her husband have done to establish a hospital treating obstetric fistula in Ethiopia. What an amazing story. I had never heard of obstetric fistula till a few days ago. I did not know that so many young women (girls, really) in some parts of the world have child birth complications that cause holes in the vagina through which feces and urine leak constantly, leading to the women becoming abandoned pariahs. And the repair surgery costs only about $300 -- but this was essentially unavailable until the Hamlins came to Ethiopia in 1960. What wonderful work they have done, along with their wonderful, competent Ethiopian staff and colleagues. In addition to that basic theme, Hamlin tells an engrossing story about the overthrow of the emperor, the years of communist regime (many of her friends were murdered), and then the current improved situation. What a story! This book about her faith and her work is well worth reading. I hope many, many people enjoy this book and are inspired to donate to this hospital.

Until the release of Michael's new book ("Getting There"), "Into a Timeless Realm" was my favorite of his books -- and I've read them all. His connection with, and love of, Nature is amazing, and is a connection I share (not yet with his depth and consistency yet, but it's coming).

"Into a Timeless Realm" takes you on his most incredible and insightful spiritual journey. Each time I read this book, I come away with more treasures.

I have read all of Michael J. Roads' books and found this one to be absolutely fantastic. It takes you deeply into the metaphysical realm and beyond. When reading it, I felt as though I had personally witnessed what the author experienced. I consumed the book quickly and then read it a second time in order to digest it. A great, well-written book! Definitely one I'm going to keep on my bookshelf.

- this would certainly be one of them!!

In this book, Michael J. Roads describes a spiritual journey unlike any other I have ever come across. It is fascinating, breath-taking, mind-boggeling, almost unbelievable - and yet it FEELS very real and true. There are a multitudes of insights throughout the book, and each time I revisit this book I find new ones. If you have never read any books by Michael J. Roads, I would recommend to start of with one of his earlier books, like 'Journey into Nature' or 'Journey into Oneness', simply because 'Into a Timeless Realm' ties these into a much larger universe and it is always fun to begin a journey with the first couple of steps. :)

If you have already read his earlier books, treat yourself to this one - it will keep you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end!

First off I would love to send my heartfelt love to Treenie who recently transitioned from her physical, and thank Michael for being so generous in giving us an insight into who she was as an incredible individual on his website. She became self-aware even before he did, according to Michael.
This book was the first one I picked up (thanks to a friend's recommendation) from the series and was amazed at the intensity and the hard-to-believe-this-is-real kind of stuff. I loved it, and I also enjoyed the writing aspect of it that was I found to be fluid, easy-to-read, well put together, and with good, dynamic literary content. Upon reading the book, it feels like a narration, and one that keeps you guessing what's next. The adventures are beyond words, beyond what I've even read in science fiction books. Reality is far more bizarre, and exquisitely creative than even what our fantasy novels can depict. And Michael here goes to places that are very hard to believe, because their existence runs completely against every scientific tenet and notion out there. Like the famous out-of-body researcher and pioneer, Robert A. Monroe, Michael visits another reality in a non physical state that is apparently adjacent to ours, and provides our reality with most of its raw 'materials.'

Because the book flows very easily, some of the events can be more accessible for the average reader. However, the events described were hard to swallow for me, and admittedly so, there are realities that our 5 senses wouldn't be able to interpret because they occupy such frameworks that barely deal with any sense of time, space, gravity and depth.
Yet, according to Michael J Road's experiences, there exists an even greater variety of species, inhabitants, and individualized consciousnesses that inhabit and function in such realities.
This book is a must-read for any explorer, scientist or mystic for it holds a concept of reality that shatters our worldview. This book was a bold one to write on Michael's part for that I say thank you.

The incomparable Michael Roads has done it again! A wonderful author who makes the other realities very real to us has another great adventure to tell in this book.

An inspirational and mystical account of his true voyages into accelerated consciousness, Roads is a natural storyteller. While others may have similar experiences, what sets him apart is his ability to share his story coherently.

A story of connecting to Source, other potential future realites, other beings from other dimensions/parts of space---this is my kind of book, and my story as well.

Thank you, Michael Roads, for giving us such a fun adventure!

Best book I've read in a long while. A rollicking, fine adventure story made all the more amazing in that it is the true life story of one of Australia's forgotten heroes. A "must" read!

Hi. Anyone who has read any of my other reviews (two were slipped in by my daughter when she was a pre-teen - unbeknownst to me) knows that I have read the Urantia Book. Cover to cover. If you are at all curious about that tome, and find the very premise of it a barrier that you simply can't overcome, I suggest starting with this biography about Sir Hubert Wilkins. Why? Because he was there - he knew the principal players who were responsible for bringing the Papers to fruition (and that's what they were at first - "papers" - the kind of thing that a professor may have on the drawing board for years before publication). Moreover, Wilkins evidently witnessed some of the paranormal events and wrote very matter of factly about it. For that particular insight you have to dig out one of the other two biographies of him or find my article about him online wherein I quote from a letter Wilkins left for his secretary. You can find that on the Square Circles website where they catalog the Spiritual Fellowship Journal. I believe my article about Sir Hubert is in the Spring 2004 edition. This book of course goes far beyond my article reguarding Wilkins life - but not far enough reguarding Wilkin's involvement with the Urantia movement in the 1940's and 50's. For a full and very clear picture of that please read the Sherman Diaries - again available through Square Circles Publishing and Amazon. These diaries contain many, many letters to and from Wilkins. This guy was there folks. If you want to call the Urantia Book all manner of silly names then knock yourself out. But - when you awaken, try writing a paper on the nature of reality or the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross. Then, compare your offering with this amazing book. After all these years of on-again off-again reading I have come to this (personally undeniable) conclusion: If the Urantia Book is what it says it is then that is incredible. And/or - if the Urantia Book is of human origin then that too is incredible. Either way you cut it, it's the best I've found on these far reaching matters. Now, to Wilkins it seems to have been simply another adventure, another journey except he went inward this time - not out into the wilderness. This was a serious man - one of the last of his kind. He led an amazing life, and to acknowledge it the United States Navy sent his ashes to the North Pole abroad the USS Nautilus - the first nuclear powered submarine. So, after you aquaint yourself with the life of Sir Hubert (knighted for his many and myriad accomplishments) ask yourself - why would he participate in the Urantia movement? There was no pecuniary gain. It was time consumming. He would pick up and go to the ends of the earth on a regular basis. Would he sit around the musty reading room at 533 (I've been there) because he had nothing better to do? Hardly. Read this book about him - this is clearly the best of the three. This man could literally have stepped out of an Indiana Jones movie or been a character in Casablanca. Truely unforgettable...................

Simon Nasht's book is like an icebreaker charting a course through the Antarctic and revealing one of its greatest explorers. It is hard to believe that one person so "aggressively modest" could have done so much with so little. Up until now, few had remembered him. What a pity. Thanks for bringing him back to life. Now, when is the movie coming out?

This true account of one man's lifelong exploration
of the polar regions makes history come alive. Yet for some reason Hubert Wilkins amazing exploits have faded from public memory.
This biography about a far-sighted adventurer who understood the importance of polar ice caps on global climate. It is a page turner that deserves a place on every bookshelf,an inspiration to the youth.

THE LAST EXPLORER: HUBERT WILKINS, HERO OF THE GREAT AGE OF POLAR EXPLORATION tells of the most successful explorer in history: a self-taught farm boy from the Australian outback who became a cameraman, reporter, pilot, spy and adventurer. His surveys were captured on camera, he helped map the Canadian Arctic, and his amazing life has only not received much in-depth coverage in past because he avoided publicity. Author Simon Nasht discovered Wilkins' journals, records and photos and used them to recreate his life and achievements: any library interested in adventure biography will welcome this vivid account.

Lifted - The fourth section of Moments and Milestones gives us, the readers, a welcome respite from the drama and angst of previous chapters. The author takes us on an internal journey of discovery that leads to the awakening of a new and brighter consciousness.

Looking - Section five, finds the author using his new found sense of self-worth empowering him to become an adventurer. Traveling overseas in a hopeful search for both purpose and meaning. It is at this point that the story really became engaging for me. Life in a strange and exotic land with romantic love seemingly just around the corner. Exciting!

The pace of the writing seems much more clear to me now, though still furiously frenetic. Perhaps I am just becoming used to the author's style.
Lifted and Looking provides a bouncy almost buoyant feel good adventure that completely enthralls the reader.

Up next is 'Loving'! (The story I originally picked this book up to read.) Can't wait!

The third and fourth installments of Moments & Milestones, with the lilting alliterative continuance of L-words, Lifted and Looking, is filled with an empirical exploration of the author's personal acquaintance with hallucinogenic drugs, and also a graphic annotation on earning a living "in the flesh." In fact, Mr. Mulder's exploration of meth is as fully rendered as Carlos Castaneda's exploration of peyote buttons. The little voice (the wee scientist, sort of a Jiminy Cricket) also takes us vividly into the world of legal prostitution and "escort services" in Australia. It's a catalog as long as Don Giovanni's and as spicy as Frank Harris'.

Mr. Mulder has indeed presented us with an immense life, and we still have more "L's" to go. Plus, his evident love and enthrallment with the world down-under inspires. The carefully crafted description of Sydney and its pristine environs compliments the work.

I recommend Moments & Milestones highly, starting with Little and going through to the last L (whatever that will be), which I am looking forward to reading. I am now proceeding to Loving, and then to Lunacy with all the interest of a newbie at life's circus. "Come one, come all. Step right up and listen to that little voice . . . ah, another L-word, but I think an important one, for there is plenty to "l"isten to in "l"ittle's voice.

As a part-time member of the New Age movement I was thrilled to read the account of Timothy Mulder's spiritual awakening. He details his past problems with organized religion and his devout connection to rationality and the scientific principle. When his investigation of the physical world dovetails into his shamanistic experiences, the results are a completely believable perspective on the nature of reality.
Though he has not yet discovered all the answers to life, in truth his journey seems to have only just begun, Mulder is definitely a man on a mission. Truth has become his goal.
Where that quest takes him is anyone's guess, but I for one intend to be there as the hoped for answers are revealed.

I found myself reading 'Lifted' with both hands holding on tight to my Kindle while perched precariously on the edge of my seat. This chapter of Timothy Mulder's memoir dealt with his experiences with drugs, one drug in particular and the effects this had on him both mentally and physically. It also describes how he came in touch with his inner psyche. I felt this section was well written. It was as though I was present in the room as the scenes played out. When the Author hit rock bottom and finally decided it was time to make a change, I felt as if I too needed to come up for air.

"Looking" is a good title for this 5th chapter of his memoir. It details how he made a change and began looking for who he wanted to be and the efforts he made to be that person. It talks of his success as he left his former self behind. There is a golden light at the end of this tunnel....and once again I find myself anxious to explore the next installment of his book.

What more mischief is in store for our hero? I thought I had seen it all. Timothy Mulder opens our eyes to a reality unknown to some and yet keeps our sympathies while he struggles with life and its revelations.

He gives hope where none is expected and passion where missed. Shows love and concern for the lonely and opens your eyes to a new reality with his discoveries.

Highly recommended and still wanting more...
I look forward to the next installment.
Sondi

I am a cookbook addict and cook quite a bit. I use this book all the time and consider it a classic! Enjoy!

This book is fantastic. It's beautifully presented and for some reason, with each of her books, I feel like I can cook like she does. All the recipes look easy (and the ones I've tried are) and they look delicious. Each is tempting and makes you want to get into that kitchen.
After an introduction, there are various chapters; Soup, Salads, Vegetables, Roasts and Simmers, Pasta Noodles and Rice, Pies and Tarts and then Tools. There is a glossary too and conversion charts which can be a great help.
So far I've tried the Grilled Asparagus with Balsamic Butter, Baked Chicken and Pumpkin Risotto, Vietnamese Noodle Salad and the Spinach and Fetta Pie. Everything has been so yum and easy to prepare because her instruction is clear and concise.
All of her books are worth taking a look at and in each one there is something delicious for everyone. You would be hard pressed to find that you couldn't make something from one of these amazing recipes. I highly recommend this book. It's great.

rodboomboom pretty much says all that needs to be said, however being in the design and print industry, I wanted to add some comments about the quality of this book. It's a bit oversized format and may not fit in tighter bookshelves, but I am sure you have a spot for it somewhere. The photography is excellent. Images of tantalizing food, sitting on rustic wire racks and cutting boards and utensils against a white background, which fits with the theme that these are modern versions of classics. The spot varnish on the photography with white backgrounds really makes the food pop off the page. Some of the recipes have a series of smaller photographs which show the process of cooking the food. The design and layout is very clean. This is the first Donna Hay book I have added to my collection, but it won't be the last.

This is a fantastic cookbook. My cousin sent it over to me from Sydney, Australia & i love it! I use it all the time - the pad thai is easy & delicious, the three cheese tart was scrumptious and my boyfriend LOVES the egg & bacon tart......yum! She doesn't overuse words making everything confusing, she uses a simple easy to follow text and the pictures make your mouth water. oh i made the french fries this morning for a breakfast treat.....mmmmm!!!!

This is a cookbook that makes your mouth water. It is an ideal gift, and a book to treasure. Many interesting approaches to classic dishes, lots of ideas, and a number of very simple, straight-forward dishes. You'll use this one! It won't sit on the shelf collecting dust.

I bought this book as a guide before my honeymoon. I had already looked around a couple of eco-tourism web sites and booked a couple of hotels; in one case, I changed my mind because of this book and ended up canceling a booking. It's a well-organized guide with astonishing clarity and frankness. Some off-hand tips include who to talk to (first names) at travel agencies/resorts/etc. for tips and deals, what times of day and/or days of the week you should avoid certain activities, what environment to expect at a hotel or resort (Partying backpackers? Couples only? Family-oriented? Rich lazies?), which buses leave early/late or stay overnight, how to deal with hagglers, general Fijian pronunciation tips and cultural guidelines (including an apparently conservative dress code in the villages that I would have regretted not knowing beforehand), where and how women will feel safe, and of course, which restaurants and accommodations offer the best deals. You're probably also well-off to visit www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree for first-hand travel tips, but the Moon guide book is a great buy.

Awesome book, well written and very insightful.
South Seas Photography uses all these Moon South Pacific books and the Fiji Book for all our travels throughout Polynesia.
Easy to use, perfect for detailed information, easy to carry and share.

Karl Meinhardt
www.SouthSeasPhotography.com

The 8th. Edition of David Stanley's Moon Fiji handbook continues to be the essential guidebook for travelers to Fiji. And whether you are a seasoned Fiji traveler or an eager first-timer, you will find Stanley's book critical to getting the most of your Fiji visit.

Compared to the earlier editions, this one is totally revamped and redesigned. It's compact, attractive, and very usable. Information is easily located and details are ample. Every section is updated and expanded to include current relevant information, insofar as any destination guidebook can be anyway.

Each geographical region of Fiji is fully detailed covering related visitor attractions, accommodations, dining options, activities, recreation and more. Specific recommendations make each section extremely valuable. Stanley pulls no punches in both his criticisms and compliments to vendors of accommodations, restaurants, activities and others. Descriptions and explanations are quite trustworthy.

Detailed maps and interesting photography makes for a well laid-out book. Placement of the Background reference section to the back of the book make the tome usable. The opening section with such things as "The Best of Fiji," and "Island-Hopper Special," plus "Culture and the Real Fiji" and others get the reader quickly immersed in Fiji and offer practical ideas for getting the most of a Fiji visit.

The book's regional Fiji sections provide all the detail and information needed for planning a visit to these storied and historic South Pacific islands. Whether you see one area such as Nadi and the Mamanucas, or take in Suva, the Coral Coast, Lomaiviti, the Yasawas, Taveuni, or the "Friendly North" of Vanua Levu, you'll find Moon Fiji a fine and very useful traveling companion. Like the saying goes, don't leave home without it! As a veteran Pacific Island traveler, I'll have my copy of Moon Fiji along on my next Fiji stop.

This book IS Fiji. Even the people who live there should own a copy for themselves as a guide to their islands' resources.

The indispensable information and guidance within Moon Fiji about trip planning, transportation, dining, lodging, entertainment, recreation, tours, events...will save the traveler the cost of the book many times over.

I've edited other publishers' guidebooks and am most impressed with the excellent composition and layout of this book, the perfect refinement of seven previous editions. It is amazing that: so much information has been included; the type size is big enough to be easy to read: and yet the book is small enough to carry everywhere.

Don't waste your time searching the Internet for information about the Fiji Islands. It's all in this book, including reviews, maps, photos, telephone numbers, schedules...and, if you must, a list of the top twenty Fiji websites. There is too much more info to mention.

Let me be succinct and direct: Anyone who is planning to visit the Fiji Islands must have this book--they will be handicapped there without it.

We've been talking about going to Fiji for years, and have looked at other books, but this book trumps them all. It's very thorough, with excellent descriptions that make us wish we could pack our bags and go today. Author David Stanley obviously loves Fiji, and his passion comes through in his writing. We also appreciate the way he doesn't sugar coat the less than perfect. This seems like a book you can really trust. And the history sprinkled throughout (great stories of Capt. Bligh, for instance), the interesting boxes full of fun information, and the very useable maps make it easy to get educated in all things Fijian. We also love the beginning section with beautiful color photography. It would be nice if all photos could be in color, but we'd happily trade the excellent info in the book for color pictures.

This book provided us with our new dream adventure vacation: A stay on the Yasawa Islands, where there are no motorized land vehicles or roads. You can stay in a thatched "bure" and make a vacation exploring the island chain via a catamaran line that offers a kind of "Eurail Pass" for island hoppers. Who knew such a place still existed?!

"Moonlight Downs" is surely one of the more unusual mystery novels out there right now in that it is set in the wasteland of northern Australia, features a female sleuth who is half Aboriginal and half European and uses a lexicon of Australian English and Aboriginal expressions that will be completely unfamiliar to most non-Australian readers.

Author Adrian Hyland has fashioned a complex mystery story that does not sort itself until the final pages of the book. Meanwhile, protagonist Emily Tempest, travels many miles through the outback trying to find the murderer of an old family friend who was the revered leader of a small Aboriginal band trying to reestablish its traditional way of life in a wasteland oasis. The problems that Aboriginal people have living between European settlements and traditional encampments are well and sympathetically laid out as the story line uncoils.

The author thankfully provides a glossary of Aboriginal and Australian words and idioms at the outset of the book and be forewarned--you will have to access those references frequently until well into the book. This is an intelligent and interesting novel with a good mystery core that any reader of the genre will appreciate greatly.

Finally, kudos to SOHO Crime for continuing to delivery excellent international mysteries to the American market.

(4.5 stars) Part white and part aborigine, Emily Tempest has "a foot in both camps." As a child living with the aborigines at Moonlight Downs while her white father worked at the Moonlight cattle station, Emily was a happy member of the community until she was fourteen, when her natural curiosity and tempestuous nature led her to violate a strong community taboo. Immediately, she was sent off to boarding school in Adelaide, her best friend, and partner in the violation, an aborigine, facing a worse penalty within the community. After starting three degrees (including law) and finishing none, she traveled the world, eventually finding her way back "home" for the first time in twelve years, just as Lincoln Flinders, the father of her best friend and the leader of the community, is found murdered. There is no dearth of motives.

The aborigine community has recently had its ancestral lands restored by the Australian courts after whites had appropriated it for cattle grazing and development, and resentful whites have been trying to buy or lease it back. Racial tensions and cultural conflicts underlie intercommunity relationships, and some of the aborigines' most sacred sites have been deliberately destroyed by whites. Aborigine youth who have lived in Bluebush, the nearest community, no longer feel the ties to the land that their parents and ancestors have had, and the community's future is threatened. Emily Tempest is determined to find out who murdered Lincoln Flinders, and she is in a unique position to do so, but she also has her enemies, both inside and outside the aborigine community.

Australian author Adrian Hyland, who won the Ned Kelly Award for this atmospheric and dramatic first novel, creates a narrative that moves at warp speed, filled with action and excitement. At the same time, he also invites contemplation of the natural world and the lives of the aborigines who identify with nature on a visceral, even mystical, level. Their needs are basic, their lives are not pretty, and their land is infertile, making their ability to be happy because of their culture and beliefs significant by contrast.

Hyland's dialogue is earthy, filled with aborigine and white slang (for which there is a glossary in the front), and he is often profane, preferring to show his characters and their lives as they really are, instead of the way an "overcivilized" reader might wish them to be. His remarkable ability to recreate the seemingly bleak North Australian landscape and the people who consider it "home" puts the reader in touch with life's most basic needs and the aborigine culture which has developed there. Despite its movie script ending, this unusual and captivating mystery, the first in a projected series, is one of my favorites for the year. n Mary Whipple

Daisy Bates in the Desert, a white woman's life among the aborigines
Sorry by Gail Jones, set in W. Australian bush

"Given a Wantiya mother, a knockabout miner father and a Warlpuju foster mob, it wasn't exactly surprising that I often thought of geological formations as having lives of their own. I imagined them as enormous creatures, crawling through time..." That's Emily Tempest thinking to herself. She's a small, clever, confident and often headstrong young woman who is about to find herself hunted down by murderers in the bleak, dry Australian outback. To her sometimes confusion, she and those who know her usually think of her as a black woman misplaced in a white world or as a white woman misplaced in a black world. She's as much at home in both as she's not at home in either. When she decides to visit the extended family group she grew up with, who now have been given official title to their ancestral land, the Moonlight Downs, she finds herself at cross purposes with just about everyone she knows or meets. There are the people -- the Moonlight mob -- she ran with as a child while her father worked. They include probably the two most important people in her life...Lincoln Flinders, the aging leader of the Moonlight mob, and his daughter, Hazel. Then there are the whitefellers, especially those who center around Bluebush, the nearest town to Moonlight. Bluebush is one of the worst Australian outback towns you'll hope never to be stuck in...drunks, cast-offs, opportunists, manipulative government officials and up-from-the-bootstraps bullies. Some are pleasant enough, some aren't. Some are wealthy landowners, most are not.

When Lincoln Flinders is found dead, killed in a gruesome manner that might make some think the murderer is a blackfeller, Emily decides it couldn't have been that way. Her decision to investigate is complicated by the plans some of the whites in Bluebush have to develop Moonlight Downs whether the aboriginal owners like it or not. Emily eventually figures things out, but not before the author, Adrian Hyland, has given us a straightforward and engrossing look at life in the outback, both among the aboriginal groups and the whites. He manages this with clear and even evocative language that doesn't fall back on poetic descriptions of aboriginal life or rugged outback beauty. Dreams and Diamond Doves play a part, but with a casual and unromantic acceptance of how people believe in things.

Adrian Hyland is a first-rate writer. He brings us into Emily Tempest's life and times with a minimum of fuss. His descriptions are vivid but restrained. This works because he knows what he's talking about and because he knows how to create characters we can imagine for ourselves. Emily Tempest, somewhere in her late twenties, has been drifting around for several years. She drinks, she rolls her own and her mouth sparks out with casual obscenities. She knows how to live in the bush, identify rocks and how to keep drunks in line while she serves booze at her temporary job in town. She can take care of herself. She's also thoughtful, sometimes impetuous and likes to read. Her bonded relationship with Hazel Flinders is complex.

As much as Moonlight Downs is a fascinating look at outback life amongst the blackfellers and the whitefellers, and as much as Hyland has created an intriguing lead character in Emily Tempest, more than anything else Hyland has written a fine mystery. You need to pay attention while reading this book. There's a lot going on with more than one or two plausible theories behind the murder of Lincoln Flinders. And Hyland keeps the plot honest. Most of what we learn either drives to the solution or creates reasonable alternatives. As with enjoying any good mystery, it pays to be a bit suspicious of reasonable explanations. Hyland also handles the need for a solid flash finish. The last six fairly short chapters place Emily and then Emily and Hazel in the middle of brutal killings, mistaken assumptions, desperate chases and a stand-up resolve by Emily not to give the killer an ounce of satisfaction...all in the heat and rocky outcrops of the outback. It's quite a scene, and leads to an entirely satisfying conclusion. I'm looking forward to Emily Tempest's next appearance.

An exciting new author creating an unusual persona by way of a native Australian detective.

After several years of seeing the world, half-aboriginal Emily Tempest returns home to the Moonlight Downs camp in Australia's Outback. Emily struggles to readapt to living in the "Blackfeller" camp, but is getting there thanks in part due to a warm welcome home from her friend Lincoln Flinders although his daughter, her former best friend Hazel, makes her feel like an outsider.

She is stunned when Lincoln is found dead, a strangulation victim. Even more shocking is the killer carved out his kidney. The locals assume sorcerer Blakie Japanangka murdered and then mutilated the body of the camp's leader. Emily assists police sergeant Tom McGillivray in trying to find Blakie, who has vanished. When information surfaces that makes the prime suspect look innocent, Emily looks into a land dispute as the motive for killing Lincoln with the organ removal used to throw blame on the aborigine sorcerer.

This is an interesting look at the aborigine culture from the perspective of a person who had one foot in that and one in the white Australian society before she became a globetrotter. Emily is the strength of the story line as her relationship with Hazel seems to be a microcosm of the two groups. Although the whodunit especially when it detours into an avarice land deal seems a stretch and lacks suspense, readers will enjoy this insightful visit to the Outback.

Harriet Klausner