Australia Books

Beautiful photographs of LIFE - from the ovum and sperm joining together to the baby's head emerging at birth, this book takes you there. My son loved looking at the pictures. My husband and I had to take a deep breath to read the part that tells how the sperm gets in there to begin with. He's 7 and it was time. This was the best possible way. Amazing pictures!

This book was given to us when we were expecting our first son and we loved seeing the stages of development. It has become a favorite of our sons from the moment when they both first asked "what happened when we were in your tummy?".

This book was our Bible in Bermuda on our honeymoon! For the most part this guide was right on the mark. Some of the restaurant reviews were off (The Shepards Pie at the Swizzle Inn is little more than chilli with mashed potatoes on top, and jackets really weren't required for men at dinner anywhere we dined over the week) but for the most part it was very helpful.

Amazon's synopsis is right on. The book is thorough, concise. Covers every aspect of planning your trip, then is a constant companion while you're there--restaurant recommendations, sightseeing guide, good maps, guidance on finding the best beaches.

I disagreed only with Fodor's take on the dress code. Guys, you don't really have to wear Bermuda shorts if you prefer other styles. And you won't feel bad without a tie in the nicer restaurants. I saw a lot of mixed-dressing couples (no, not cross dressing!)--she's wearing a nice dress and he's in shorts and loafers without socks.

I found it helpful in selecting my hotel to look at lush color photos available on the Web (always lacking in guide books due to cost and space).

Finally, as always, Amazon will get your book to you real fast.

The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay is a great book which would appeal to a wide range of kids (and adults!). It's Australian without being strange to those from other nations, and contains the brilliant outcome that so many kids would appreciate - a contest with EVERYONE as the winner. The illustrations are bold and gorgeous - coloured lino prints. The birds' characterisations are so human and relatable! A lovely book all round.

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This book was shortlisted for the 1994 "Picture Book of the Year Award". If your child is a budding birder here's a book that will both entertain, as well as inform.

Boonaroo Bay is normally a peaceful place but one day the spoonbill, the darter, the cormorant, the curlew and the oystercatcher had a big dispute over who had the best beak in the Bay. But luckily Pelican who is the wisest of the birds was watching this noisy argument and decided to hold a contest to settle the question.

The contest was very cleverly devised since there were five events: - collect shrimp from the mud....spearing fish......extract a pipi (clam) from its shell....find a worm in the sand....and finally catch a slithery eel.

Each bird won the event for which its beak was best suited. This is a very good lesson in life.

Narelle Oliver is both author and illustrator. Her linocut illustrations although very bold contain lots of subtle detail with accurate representations of the characteristics of each of the bird species.

This book would appeal to all children who are developing a love of birding.

A fascinating look at how the reality show "Big Brother" was presented and viewed all over the world. Since so many countries produced their own local versions of the show, this provided an excellent opportunity for contemporary cultural analysis on a global scale. This is is a riveting read.

"Big Bother" by Dr. Toni Johnson-Woods examines the Australian "Big Brother" reality television program from a celabratory and popular culture theory perspective. Dr. Johnson-Woods lectures at the University of Queensland, and is (among other hats to wear) an expert in popular contemporary television.

Toni explores "Big Brother" in an international context, the production of of the program, the generic markers of "Big Brother" and reality television genre theory in general, the filmic techniques, the program's content and contestants, the audience, and the numerous media representations of the program. As "Big Brother" was such a successful and pervasive program within Australian television culture, it was very much worthy of investigation as a media case study.

I think that it is wonderful for our academics to be recording significant elements of contemporary culture, and using their research to define WHO we are at the moment, and WHAT we do in our recreation hours. Dr. Johnson-Woods has not only written an educational and informative book, but one that is fascinating to read. Five stars!

When I first grabbed this book (from the library) I had this strange feeling that it was going to be extremely hard to understand. Yet the moment I got home and read the introduction I was immediately piqued.

That was over a month ago. Right now I am still facinated, when I have read the book for over three times.

Drouyn covers all the aspects of writing for the screen in this book. The language she uses to describe certain principals (eg: subconscious subtext) is easy to understand even though it's written in a complex manner. Truly magnificent writing.

Coral Drouyn's book addresses the issue of film and television scriptwriting from an Australian perspective. This may seem trivial until you consider that the Australian media industry is different from the US and European versions in a number of fundamental ways. For example, commercial breaks in TV shows are spaced differently and are of different duration from their overseas counterparts. Ms Drouyn covers all aspects of scriptwriting in a manner that any average reader can relate to and understand.

This narrative is mostly about the relationship between Natalie and her mother, Agi. Natalie comes from an upper middle class mainstream Jewish Australian family. Natalie eschews the comfortable upper middle class secular life that her mother envisions for her to become a baal teshuva, a repentant one. Natalie joins a Hassidic sect

Black is a reference to the clothing Hassidic men wear and the rainbow is the joy Agi eventually finds in being the grandmother of five Hassidic children.

Agi is at times meddlesome and disapproving and at others very helpful,

Mother and daughter eventually come to accept each other's differences.

Recommended for anyone interested in the Bal Teshuvah movement, Hassidism, or any non-religious mother who feels lost or distraught because her son or daughter has joined a fundamentalist religion

Helpful book for parents of children who become bal teshuva. Realistic yet heartwarming and encouraging.

A fantastic true story that has exposed the UN for there own incompetence and corruption. This is not a political book, but one of fact, and of sorrow. Once you pick this book up you will not want to put it down. The central character of the book is a real life entrupener David Morris and what an unbeleivable character he is, what he acheived in Somalia on just a few hundred thousnd dollars, put to shame the UN who spent over 1 billion dollars. This book should be a major motion picture, but I suspect the UN would never allow it to happen.

"Blood Money" is a tragic example of how, as the old saying goes, "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." New Zealander David Morris went to Somalia with the idea of making some money as a contractor for the U.N. as the U.N. tried to save the country from starvation and anarchy. While the U.N. fed the people, Morris's company fed the U.N. As chronicled by fellow countryman and reporter Trisha Stratford, somewhere along the way Morris decided to do what he could to help the Somali people. For his trouble and due in part to U.N. bungling, he ended up dead. In the context of the greater disaster that was the U.N. mission to Somalia, Morris's death might seem only a small part. But the trouble he and his company had with the World body are lessons that need to be learned if the U.N. is ever going to be an effective force for international intervention. This book is an excellent journalistic account of bureaucratic failure.

Margaret Wild and Janine Dawson's BOBBIE DAZZLER tells of Bobbie, an energetic wallaby who jumps, skips and bounces. Her friends are impressed with her prowess, but she can't do the thing she most wishes to do - the splits. Only after much practice does she achieve her goal in this funny, satisfying story of determination.

Bobbie Dazzler by Margaret Wild and Janine Dawson is a fun look at four animal friends. Bobbie is a Red-Necked Wallaby and her friends are Koala, Wombat, and Possum. Bobbie has lots of talents like hopping and skipping, but she is sad that she cannot do the splits. After many tries and a lot of determination she and all of her fiends master the new skill. The illustrations are charming I really enjoyed the view of the Australian native plants such as bottlebrushes, eucalyptus, banksias, and kangaroo paws. Karen Woodworth-Roman, www.librarians.info

There should have been a section on Michael Robert Hamilton Holmes a Court. Enigmatic raider and consumate businessman. I felt slightly cheated but I enjoyed the book.

This is probably the best book on the corporate excesses of the 1980s since Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart. Veteran Australian financial journalist, Trevor Sykes, dissects the collapses of Alan Bond, Christopher Skase and a rogues' gallery of other Antipodean corporate scoundrels. He even bravely attempts to unravel the intricate webs surrounding Brian Yuill's Spedley Securities Limited and John Spalvin's Adelaide Steamship group of companies. Although Sykes explains his reasons why he did not delve into such companies as Elders IXL Limited and John Fairfax Limited, this reviewer feels the book's only failing is that it only mentions by way of cross-reference Australia's biggest player of the Eighties, the late Robert Holmes a Court, the South African-born financier and pastoralist who became Australia's first billionaire. Despite this oversight, The Bold Riders is a highly recommended read which should appeal to all business readers around the English-speaking world, particularly regarding Sykes' insight into Australia's Federal and State politicians and their somewhat symbiotic relationships with business.

This is a really gorgeous book and is perfect for nap/bedtime with baby. My son, who is now 2yrs old, still enjoys looking through the illustrations.

Terrific if you have any Australian/New Zealand/Islander connection and want to share some of it with your kids.

These are original poems/lullabies from people living on the islands. My 7 year old loves this book. Even if you never read it all, the book is worth it for the fabulous artwork. This would be a great gift for anyone who has lived in the islands or feels connected to the sea.