Oceania Books

I read his autobiography, My Wicked, Wicked Ways (also terrific) just before I read this book. It is apparent that the autobiography (MWWW) which was co-authored, really was Flynn's book - he probably just dictated it to the other writer credited along with Flynn. The reason I say this is because by the way that Beam Ends is written,(descriptions mainly),it is clear that Errol Flynn had a true writing talent. Flynn wrote this book when he was about 28 years old. It's a treat for the Errol Flynn fan because you can really hear him speaking throughout the book. The subject is the voyage he and a few friends made from Sydney, Australia to New Guinea aboard his boat the Scirocco. You can see how much Flynn had already lived at that tender age and also how much of a sensitive man he really was. I look forward to reading his one and only novel, Showdown, even though it didn't get great reviews. I really like the way he wrote. His desciptions are very vivid. I highly recommend this book. Men, especially, I believe will find it fascinating. It's a true adventure by one of the world's most adventurous men.

I love Errol Flynn so wanted to read his work, but it was too much sailing and fishing for my taste. He writes well, very conversational, as if you were right there sitting across the table and he were telling you stories. I liked one of his other books better, My Wicked, Wicked Ways just because it had more interesting stories to me. If you like outdoor stories, though, you will like it.

It's amazing, the power 'Television' has to control
an entire population, not only its action but thoughts as well!!
Particularly with some specific meadia!!!

It is almost Orwellian, Down Under, these days!!!

This book is a great read! It's stylish, witty, action packed and full of youthful bravado. A barely twenty year old Flynn and three chums set sail up the east coast of Australia in a sail boat Flynn acquires during a binge. While not all the details are exactly true, the nuts and bolts of his story are. You're right there with him,and at the end, wish he'd written more - before his demons dragged him down. If you're a Flynn fan, or just love a good tale, this book won't disappoint. Errol was a talented man; "Beam Ends" gives us a glimpse of what might have been.

I did not know what to expect when I ordered this book. I found that I enjoyed the wonderful adventure described as well as the language used to convey it. It is a great first book for a then twenty-something author. The characters, the passion for sailing and the descriptions of even the smallest of plants and sea life come alive vibrantly. The author clearly read and learned from the classics, and his wonderful, sharp sense of humor comes through with precise, but natural, timing. This is a book that one will truly enjoy reading over and over again. Errol Flynn's second novel "Showdown" is also a fantastic, entertaining read that is again, full of life, passion and clarity and a book worth reading many times over. Mr. Flynn was a multi-talented man whose talent for writing and storytelling should have been supported and encouraged. His "devil may care" attitude and behavior offscreen masked the damage and insecurity caused by a sad childhood and upbringing. It is unfortunate that he was typecast and that tabloid writers seemed to relish riding the coattails of his fast-rising star and then proceeding swiftly to strike him down.

Together with Lonely Planets(LP) guide on Chile/Easter Island, this guide basically tells what you need to know about the island. (Reading Thor Heyerdahl books will of course be usefull supplements to these 2 books).

Very good description on the historical facts (not very up-dated on Thor Heyerdahls writings: the birdman and the DNA issue) and an extensive guide to the different sites on the island.

The coverage (about 20 pages) of the different hotels, car rentals etc. under "practical matters" is a bit useless. The book does not tell anything about how good/bad the different hotels, car rentals are. The LP guide is much better on this.
Have a very enjoyable reading.

One of the best guides we have used. Lots and lots of helpful information. Accurate. Good history. Made our week in Easter Island with a car and no guide a very rewarding experience.

I traveled to Easter Island in November, 2005 and this book was essential for planning the trip. None of the major guidebooks such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides devote more than a few pages to Easter Island, but The Complete Guide to Easter Island is as good as its name implies. The book has a section titled Practical Matters that lists hotels and guesthouses on the island. The guesthouses are not reviewed, but the addresses, websites and email addresses are listed which is helpful. Restaurants are listed as well, but the most helpful part of this section is the discussion of prices so that you know what to expect.

Buy this book for the section about the history of the island. The author is passionate about Easter Island and it shows in his writings about the history of the people and the Moai. If I had not read the history, I would have missed out on a lot while I was touring the island. The author goes as far as including appendices about the Rapanui language.

However, the most important section of the book is the description of the sites on the island. The descriptions are short, but are hugely beneficial if you are touring on your own. (I don't like tour groups and so I rented a jeep). Plus the book includes a map of the island and sites which proved to be more useful than the map we got on the island. The author even includes a suggestion for five days of touring on your own. Really good stuff.

Easter Island is an amazing place. Give it time so you can explore. We rented a car and had a tremendous experience during the seven days were on the island. But, I really believe that my experience on Easter Island would have been lessened if I had not had this book to help with the history and to understand what it was I was seeing.

If you are planning a trip to Easter Island, this book will be a very small part of the cost. It is an investment you wont regret.

I can not understand why anyone could be helped by this book. Most of the texts are an expression about how the author have problems with the results of the Heyerdahl expedition and researches . While not being an archaeologist himself Laughlin make statements what is the right thing of history and about all archaeological remains - absolutely questionable why anyone should read this. The counting of archaeological sites is without concern to the areas of the island - one have to investigate these on a map with tremendous work.
One big part of the book is due to the Island's language. What kind of traveller is learning Rapa nui? That is my question to the author.
Forget this book.

This guide book has it all. It is up to date, complete, comprehensive. There is a dictionary of the Rapanui language and fold out maps in color.
If you are planning a trip, it is indispensible.

There is so much mystery surrounding the Australian Aborigines and white Australians seem to want to keep it that way, to sweep these people under the rug. This book doesn't reveal all but provides a window into the rich and ancient Aborigine culture. Best of all, the window is opened by the people themselves. They are not beautiful by western standards, but they radiate goodness and truth and it makes them beautiful. I offer much gratitude to Arden for searching them out and respectfully writing down their stories and showing their pictures. This book is side-by-side on my shelf with "Wisdomkeepers," Arden's beautiful book about our own North American Aborigines. The theme is the same: To honor and respect these ancient people.

Like any indigenous people who have encountered European cultures, profound disorientation has taken place amoung the Australian Aborigals. This book demonstrates the subtle continuance of their personal connection to something far greater than anyone can conceive. A centeredness, a natural power wiser than the intellect persists, is healing, gaining ground.

One of the best i've read recently, so much so I was almost sorry to reach the end. Arden spins the non-fiction tale of his journey through the Australian outback to hear Aborigines' tales of mystery, in the stories of their ancestore; and tragedy, in the segregation and near-annihilation suffered by them, although the tale also had laughs. A trip!

This is a very helpful and earnest book if you want to know about aboriginal life and thought in Australia now. By talking with several men and women in many different places the author gives us simple and sensitive reports accompanied by photographies. This means he tells us what he was told and how and when, as well as about his feelings and doubts, the relationships he did or didn't establish with the people, what he learned and what he couldn't learn but tried to.

Dreamkeepers is subtitled, "A Spirit-Journey into Aboriginal Australia." That's important to emphasize because the spirit-journey is the author's, more so than the Aboriginals.

Harvey Arden is a former editor-writer for National Geographic and co-author of Wisdomkeepers, a book on Native Americans in the United States. In the prologue, he writes,

"I had hoped to garner a few stories from the Dreamtime on this `spirit-journey' of mine into Aboriginal Australia.'" (2)

With that quest clearly stated, he and his guide travel across The Kimberley to seek out and interview a dozen or so Aboriginals to glean from them an understanding of Aboriginal faith and practice, as well as current issues affecting the plight of Aboriginals in Australia today.

Arden is a seasoned journalist and, to his credit, he gives voice to individuals who would not otherwise be heard. This is the strength of the book: The people he interviews are real people with real thoughts and feelings and stories to tell. They deserve to be heard in their own words, and Arden is there to provide the opportunity.

The reader is apt to enjoy Arden's adventures in the bush; his impromptu conversations with Mike, his guide; and, throughout, his humility. He writes,

"I was no anthropologist or scholar or historian ... I wanted to relate to them as human being to human being, ... but no less." (3)

Having said this, the book lacks breadth and depth: The Kimberley is one of many vast areas of Australia, and the spokespersons singled out are but a dozen of hundreds Arden could have just as easily chosen to interview. What's more, the anecdotal nature of the book leaves one hanging. Where is the historical perspective and theological reflection?

The book is what it is - one man's spirit-journey into Aboriginal Australia. If you're willing to accept that, you'll find it worthwhile; if you're expecting more, you might be disappointed.

Helped me understand the wider implications of the civilisation's actions in their little microcosm.

Demystifies and explains the rise and fall of the once great (albeit small) Rapa Nui community that once inhabited Easter Island by explaining, through forensic and historical research, the destruction they reaped on themselves.

You would think from the title that this is book is actually a flaming, guilt-ridden treatise on environmentalism. But such is not the case. It is in reality a well balanced handling of all aspects of Easter Island. Yes, Thor Heyerdahl and his theories are covered but so is going on vacation there and where to stay. If there is something you would like to know about Easter Island, this book probably covers it in a most readable fashion.

Reviewer: A reader
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about the debunking of Heyerdahl being "excessive". The debunking is limited to only one or two chapters. For readers like me who have read Heyerdahl, this debunking was important because of the attractive neatness of Heyerdahl's theories as he had presented them.

The book is very well organized, with a good selection of photographs and diagrams.

The book's title and the previous review may give the impression that the book is primarily about environmental lessons we can learn from what happened to Easter Island, but in fact it is the best introduction to Easter Island studies that I have seen.

Only the final chapter is about lessons for humanity. The authors' arguments here are elevated by their citing of the well-known Club of Rome study on the Limits to Growth. All of its predictions for the 1990s did actually come true. A fact that is very clear to anyone who has read the actual report. The people of Easter Island flourished and lived well up to the very end when the crash finally hit from their overusing the island's resources. A sad tale, and now a sad history for an interesting vacation spot.

This fine book is the most complete treatise on Easter Island available. It covers all the island's most fascinating aspects, including its geological history, the question of the origin of the Rapa Nui people, flora and fauna, and of course, most importantly, the archeological remains. The writers illustrate how a complex interplay between the natural environment and human behaviour created the island's unusual prehistory, including the demise of the statue cult. Although there are still many unanswered questions about the moai (giant statues) this book gives the qualified answers or at least suggestions as to how these things came to be. It wisely leaves behind all sorts of pseudo-scientific theories and bases its discussion on real archeological evidence, of which there today exists a substantial amount. The only unfortunate thing about the book is the slightly misleading title.

I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about the debunking of Heyerdahl being "excessive". The debunking is limited to only one or two chapters. For readers like me who have read Heyerdahl, this debunking was important because of the attractive neatness of Heyerdahl's theories as he had presented them.

The book is very well organized, with a good selection of photographs and diagrams.

The book's title and the previous review may give the impression that the book is primarily about environmental lessons we can learn from what happened to Easter Island, but in fact it is the best introduction to Easter Island studies that I have seen.

Only the final chapter is about lessons for humanity. The authors' arguments here are diminished by their citing of the well-known Club of Rome study on the Limits to Growth. None of its predictions for the 1990s came true, and this should have been clear by 1992, the year of this book's publication. The authors make no mention of that inconvenient fact.

B.C. has got to be right as he's the only attorney in all of the world to have witnessed Northern Virginia, Vietnam with the USMC, Europe, GMUSL, and Saipan and lived to give such a review. Go Bill.

P.F. Kluge captures the essence and the flavor of Micronesia, from the Federated States of Micronesia to Palau and Saipan, CNMI. Th author worked as a Peace Corps member and helped to write the Constitutions and public speeches. He returned a generation later and found that the American efforts and aid turned "a fish and taro" subsistence economy into a "Spam and cheese cargo cult." I would liked to have read about America's accomplishments, which there are many, discussed more in detail. Of course, he covers all the craziness of the politicians and their selfish motivations, and also talks about some of the special, favorite people in the islands. If you like the islands (anywhere) you'll relate to this narrative and enjoy the writing. I found his recollections realistic and found the overall book entertaining and educational. Recommended reading.

I am reading P F Kluge's book on loan from a friend. Not only is it entertaining prose but it is perceptive, fresh and even 10 years on very relevant. Although it is written around a trip to the islands, this is no travel book. It is hard nosed social commentary.

Fortunately I am working in Micronesia, with people who remember Kluge. This makes the book more personally relavant. His observations are sometimes stark and even biting, almost to the extent of being satirical. They are not however untrue. Perhaps in their vividness they overpower other more positive aspects of Micronesia as it is for Micronesians.

This should be mandatory reading for anyone dealing with the renegotiations of US funding support for FSM and other Compact countries. I am finding that all too often it is convenient to forget the history of US involvement here and how the impacts of decisions made in Washington and elsewhere in the Trust Territory administration are as much to blame for the 'mess' here as is the conduct of this small population of Micronesians.

I am just a short term Aussie with no liver spots, so I can say these things. Mr Kluge is an American and states them with the clarity of an outsider and the intimate knowledge of an insider.

Find out what happens to the tails of turkeys, why it is dangerous to have sex in Chuuk, how to identify a Peace Corp volunteer by the look in their eyes. This book has it all.

While outsiders trickle into their idea of an island paradise, Micronesians flow out to their idea of a consumer paradise. Only occasionally do we really meet. When that happens you have lasting friendships which Mr Kluge's book chronicles so well.

Enjoyable enjoyable enjoyable. I will read it many times after I depart in a years time because it captures images of the recent social history islands so well.

I've been living in Palau for over four years and finally got to reading this book. What a pleasure to sit on my balcony in the warm air reading this brilliant book. A really good laugh at times.

I have a nightmare that I will leave Palau and then not find my way back. This book is about someone who faces that nightmare.

Wonderful insights, of course things move along and Palau is not the Palau of old. I know the author recently re-visited Palau, I'd be interested to know if he found it as welcoming as always.

I know a budding author here who is keen to follow in his footsteps in terms of retelling Palau in a foreigners words. I only hope she uses the respect and humour this author chose to use.

Good book.

Having lived and loved and worked and traveled in Micronesia for nearly 10, unforgetable and unregretable years; having known people who knew P.F. Kluge during his Peace Corps journalism years and closely known some of the principal personalities in "Edge," I can vouch for the book's veracity. However, it reads more like enchanting fiction, without romanticizing, than merely an engaging factual account. I can recommend, without reservation, this delightful read to anyone contemplating visiting or relocating on an employment contract to these islands. It's much cheaper than a plane ticket and provides a preview of what to realistically expect, unlike travel or recruiting advertisements. For better or worse, it will assist in deciding if you are able to fit into small island life.

Out of five stars, "Escape from Hermit Island" deserves a six! Not only is it a gripping and well told adventure tale, it is also an interesting commentary on dealing with cultural conflict in an isolated part of the world known to few of us. As a cruising sailor, I read many books that chronicle the experiences of those that go farther than I and travel to the exotic places. This is a book that I couldn't put down. The tenacity, perseverance and skills of these two women were extraordinary and their story riveting. A true story that reads like a novel and not just for sailors, their eventual triumph is uplifting for anyone who values success achieved against incredible odds.

We were there some years ago on our sailboat - husband, wife and 2 teens (15 & 17). There were only 90 people on the Hermit Islands group - and I can't imagine anything unfriendly happening there. Contrary to most South Pacific islands - the chief gave us presents when we were there - the opposite to the normal situation. We stayed 1 month - the chief offered to build us a house and rent it to us for $1. a month if we stayed. "Escape" seems a gross exaggeration for this remote paradise.

This book fell into my hands as a gift not too long ago and I was totally engrossed after the first few pages. We don't often have the perspective of two women traveling alone, in a desolated part of the world, stuck and having to pull upon resources few of us have had to test. I was touched by their determination and zeal for continuing a lifestyle some might not understand. This is a story of grace under hostile fire and my admiration for the writers is large and appreciative. Bravo! I hope there is a serial!!

This a a great story about courage, independence and adventure! Although Leslie is my sister, I still came away from reading it thinking that these are two amazing women. We at home only knew small amounts of what was going on via email reports. Their experiences make for a compelling read...enjoy!!

I read "Escape" and completely enjoyed it. I've read dozens of sailing books and rank this one up there with the best, it's nonstop adventure from the first page to the last. The story is really more than a just an amazing survival story of two woman and a sunken sailboat--it's about following your dreams and continuing to pursue them even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Because the story is so incredible, some people are claiming the story is either very exaggerated or totally fabricated. I know Joy and went to her seminar on the book at the Oakland boat show and I am confident the book is a completely true and accurate account of what happened. Enjoy it!

I gave this book as gift to a history buff and have not heard if he liked it.

Hell Wouldn't Stop is perhaps one of the better research resources I have yet read regarding the battle of Wake Island. Having read several more books on Wake Island since writing my first review I must make some editing.
I do however, commend Chet Cunningham's work to compile these lesser known tales of Wake's enlisted men and officers alike. Such firsthand accounts, while repetitive provide valuable insight into the battle and subsequent imprisonment of the survivors.
Cunningham, NO RELATION TO THE GARRISON COMMANDER, has given a voice to the many enlisted servicemen whose stories would have otherwise gone untold.
Most Wake island stories are either officer's accounts or historical perspectives that rely on officer's accounts.
Cunningham, whose brother survived the battle and was the source for much of the book's material, was a Marine Private; his experiences reveal the unfortunate class differences between officers and enlisted men throughout the entire ordeal.
It is a shame that these enlisted men were forced to endure considerable hardships in Japanese captivity with such little advocacy or support from the commanders who surrendered them.
One man tells of the often lauded Marine Maj. Devereaux jotting down minor infractions like not saluting in his "little book" for later punishment, while his men endured 14 hour days of labor and frightful treatment by the Japanese.
This book is almost entirely first hand anecdotal material with little editing around mis-remembered facts.
If you can mentally overlap the stories as you read this book is fascinating, if not it is easy to get lost in its non-linear format. THINK TARANTINO IN BOOK FORM.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS!

Hell Wouldn't Stop is probably the most complete resource available concerning the invasion of Wake Island and the POW experiences of the survivors. The personal accounts are quite gripping. However, since this book is an oral history, given by survivors, and transcribed verbatim, most events are repeated very often but from the unique perspective of each survivor.

The repitition gets tiresome occasionally but the author allows each man to tell his complete story, long or short, so these accounts do not appear edited.

The survivors of the Wake invasion became the first POWs of the Pacific Theater. Their accounts are important since they spent the longest time in the brutal Japanese prisoner of war system.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII

In this eye-opening book, author Chet Cunningham pieces together oral testimony from the surviving members of the Marines and civilians and weaves a startling picture of the battle itself and the horrors that the men were forced to face as POWs.

On December 8, 1941, the Japanese launched thier first attack against Wake; a scant five hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eight of the Marines' twelve F4F Wildcat fighters were either destroyed outright or damaged so badly as to be unflyable. For the next fifteen days, the Marines and civilians endured daily bombing raids. On December 11, the Japanese tried an amphibious landing, but this was beat back by the defenders at tremendous loss to the Japanese. Three destroyers were sunk, a light cruiser heavily damaged, and hundreds of Japanese sailors and Marines were killed. However, this action only offered a brief respite for the Wake defenders, for on December 23, the Japanese returned in much greater numbers and successfully landed on Wake.

After much savage fighting in which the Americans inflicted much greater losses on the Japanese than they suffered themselves, Commander Winfield Scott Cunningham, perhaps somewhat prematurely, decided to surrender to the Japanese. Major Devereux was in charge of passing the surrender order to the surprised and angry Marines. Many contimplated mutiny and threatened to continue to fight, but in the end, all surrendered to the Japanese. This surrender began the defenders' three and one half years as POWs.

In no greater battle have the Marines fought so bravely against such unbelieveable odds. These men held out for fifteen long and stressful days against an enemy who was better equipped and more numerous than themselves. The amount of damage they were able to inflict on the Japanese is staggering considering there were less than 500 Marines on Wake. It is a true testament to their skill and desire to survive that they held out for so long.

This book gives a unique look at the battle as told by the members of the Wake Marines. The stories are heroic and horrific at the same time. Many of these men charged into battle with little regard for thier own lives. Their only objective was to stop the Japanese, which they did very effectively. The story of the Japanese POW atrocities brings to light the mistreatment that these brave Americans were forced to endure for forty four months of captivity. Surviving on very little food and water, these men survived on sheer will and determination. The acts of cruelty that the Japanese took out on these men is simply unforgivable. Its no wonder that so many of these brave Marines called the Atomic Bombs an act of deliverance. If not for their use, they would have been forced to endure a much longer time at the hands of the sadistic Japanese.

I found this to be a very interesting and eye opening book. Many historians can write about a particular battle, but the only way to get a true sense of how it REALLY was to be there is to hear it from the survivors themselves. These heroic men tell their tales in graphic detail. Each aspect of the battle is described; from the initial bombing to the thwarted invaision, to the surrender. These men were the first heroes of the war. Their heroic example served as a benchmark for all future battles. It is a testament to their will to survive and thier guts that they managed to hold out so long. Read this well-written book and learn first-hand what it was like to face the Japanese and slap them in the face.

Chet Cunningham does a valant job in letting the few remaining survivors 'tell their story' and does a great job in sharing the sacrifices of his brother, Kenneth Cunningham, who wrote a short account of his survival during the defence of the island and time spent in the 'hell' of the prison camps. This book is much better in factual detail and better balanced than 'Given Up for Dead' by Bill Sloan.

Zubrin makes a very good example of how it could be done. The snag is, that he reaches so far in the future, that it is impossible to imagine it as anything else than science fiction. I would have prefered to have some ideas developed about the colonization of the outer solar system. On the other side, the section about Oort cloud settlements has been thrilling. All in all, it's a very good book and certainly worth the investment buying it.

I found Islands in the Sky a very entertaining, enlightening and uplifting book to read. It boldly addresses a wide range of subjects dealing with space exploration and appears to come up with concrete answers! There is an underlying optimism in the whole book that given human ingenuity, anything is possible. This is a far cry from the many 'post-modern' books that crowd store bookshelves seeking to convince us that science is not the answer, that mankind is bad and its actions are always in conflict with the environemnt. This book speaks to those of us who believe that we are the masters of our universe.

Some chapters are too abstruse and perhaps only for the specialist, but most of the book is eminently readable. A must for every space enthusiast.

I'm giving this five stars for the benefit of the chapters by Robert Zubrin and Martyn Fogg, which are ingenious and daringly original analyses of astronautic engineering and terraforming, respectively - each is the godfather of his field. The other material ranges from curiously quirky but not well-thought out (on terraforming Venus) to the kind of worthlessly unintelligent and uninteresting speculations you might expect to overhear from some goon at the bookstore but not to read in print (see the chapter on settling the Oort Cloud). This book was assembled as a "best of" selection from Analog; in a better world it would have been edited by the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, which would have known where to make the cutoff. Still, the good entries are fantastic enough to be well worth the purchase price.

The book deals with ideas about making space travel easy and colonizing space simple. The first few chapters deal with getting out of the gravity well we call Earth with known science and equipment. The next deal with using the resources that could be found on the Moon, Mars, Mercury and even the Oort Cloud (as well as planting a few colonies here and there)with the knowledge we have and the equipment we could have soon. After that is starts to get harder to picture doing all this projects with current technology. By chapter 8, for explain, we are dealing with terraforming and star engineering. Near the end of the book, starting with chapter 11 we are talking about interstellar space ships and the economices of interstellar commerce. But by than, you think all of it can be done! Each chapter helps to hold up the next one. For example, cheap, easy ways to get into space would cut the cost of space travel and allow for the next step which is exploring the planets and finding resources to help the next step.

This book is an excellent collection of essay by the leading producers of cool, far-out ideas alive today. Just reading it will expand your horizons and help you look at the final frontier in a new way.

Some of the essays, such as G. Harry Stine's on Single-Stage to Orbit spacecraft, are on near-term science and technology. Other essays, such as "Islands in the Sky," are longer-term and closer to science fiction. All are good.

My personal opinion is that the asteroids -- not the planets -- are the future of mankind, so the Mars-exploration essays by Zubrin et al. I found less enthralling. But you Mars fans out there NEED this book.

The essay, "The Economics of Interstellar Commerce" alone makes this book worth the cost.

Although I enjoyed John Lewis's _Mining the Sky_ more (simply because my bent is toward the asteroids), this book is better written and required reading. 4 stars.

I read Steve Thomas' book in the evenings while I was staying at Trader's Ridge Resort on Yap. Steve's clarity and attention to detail taught me not only about the rudiments of traditional oceanic navigation, but also opened my eyes more fully to Micronesian culture, and attuned me to how delicately it hangs between the encroachments of the West and the timeless pace of these islands. Even if you will never see a sailing canoe, this book will change your life. Well done.

This book is one of the few good 1980's attempts to document the voyaging culture of the Caroline Islands of Micronesia. It follows Kenneth Brower's 'Song For Satawal', which is now out of print!

Plenty of authentic stuff to make this a good read even if you get queasy at the insecurities and soul-searching and quest for meaning that pervades this account of one man's unique adventure in the Pacific.

There is lots of interesting anthropology (or is it sociology?) here, such as the system for ownership and preservation/protection of marine resources. Good background for anyone working in resource management in the Pacific.

The image that sticks in my mind after reading this book is the agonizing, slow-motion demise of traditional society in the small islands of the Carolines. The Carolines had centuries of Spanish/German/Japanese/USA stepping on their culture, still they managed to resurrect the voyaging skills, but now face the competition of outboards, charts, technological changes. Their oral tradition recorded vast local knowledge of this part of the pacific ocean, but the younger generations for some reason don't have the desire to avail themselves. Youngsters move away, they choose to join the workaday world instead of developing their skills at the traditonal systems that proferred self-sufficiency to their ancestors. The youngsters don't want the old way.

The few remaining navigators are at a loss how to preserve the sailing traditions, so one of them accepts a student from Boston, Mass. This guy (the author, Steve) goes to Satawal, home of the greatest surviving ocean-voyaging practitioners, and he spends a LOT of time learning the language, learning the rules, getting informants to tell him about the legends, secret knowledge and systematics of ocean navigation according to the hand-me-down skills of these descendents of the sailors who populated the pacific ocean islands. In the process he manages to get in unpleasant binds over taboos, local politics, and even gets to go fishing and sailing with the natives. The book is liberally salted with the concepts, specifics, and vocabulary of native voyaging, and there is an appendix at the end that gives glossaries, diagrams, etc.

The book is good but where is the video that I saw on Public Television several years ago?
How do I get a copy?
How do I get in touch with Steve Thomas?

The original edition of Thomas' saga showed an excellent example of the truly gifted amateur contributing to the practical art of cultural analysis. Drawn to solve a personal intellectual problem on how the early polynesians navigated, Thomas chose the solution of walking in their "mocassins" or paddling in their canoes, learning their language and living their culture. I found his journey as intriguing as the quests of Oliver Sachs(Island of the Color-blind People) or Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Civilization) and as intricate as Dva Sobel's tracing of the development of the Chronometer (Longitude). His tool of learning about these people by choosing their most precious historical achievement was inspired. His report by cross-referencing his modern "quantified" vision with their "common sense" qualitative analysis of the sea and its trails is a fascinating tale of multi-cultural experiences. Will he ever return? Even if the island culture is forever changed, one can only hope that he will in some way give us a follow-up picture. Professional scientists and anthropologists should note that Thomas' approach solves the "solipsistic problem" of intercultural communication as effectively as the "Seti Project" hopes to in the future. It is as interesting as Carl Sagan's fiction-- "Contact", but much closer than one might imagine.

The original edition of Thomas' saga showed an excellent example of the truly gifted amateur contributing to the practical art of cultural analysis. Drawn to solve a personal intellectual problem on how the early polynesians navigated, Thomas chose the solution of walking in their "mocassins" or paddling in their canoes, learning their language and living their culture. I found his journey as intriguing as the quests of Oliver Sachs(Island of the Color-blind People) or Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs and Civilization) and as intricate as Dva Sobel's tracing of the development of the Chronometer (Longitude). His tool of learning about these people by choosing their most precious historical achievement was inspired. His report by cross-referencing his modern "quantified" vision with their "common sense" qualitative analysis of the sea and its trails is a fascinating tale of multi-cultural experiences. Will he ever return? Even if the island culture is forever changed, one can only hope that he will in some way give us a follow-up picture. Professional scientists and anthropologists should note that Thomas' approach solves the "solipsistic problem" of intercultural communication as effectively as the "Seti Project" hopes to in the future. It is as interesting as Carl Sagan's fiction-- "Contact", but much closer than one might imagine.

David Morgan has written a fascinating book on the history of the Mongols and Genghis Khan. The book provides an overview of the government, religion, and politics of the Mongolian Empire and provides a very good start to understanding the Mongols. This is an excellent source to learn about one of the greatest military and social leaders in history, and is recommended for anyone who seeks a greater understanding of role of the Mongols in world history.

Morgan writes an academic book of 13th century Mongolian history, culture and building of their societal infrastructure in 1986. Avoiding the titillating slash, burn, rape and pillage aspects of their conquests, a popular depiction of the Mongolian Yellow Horde, his scholarly topics give an insider's view of Medieval Mongolian society, politics, warfare, taxation, communications, laws, and adoption of conquered peoples' technology, culture and religion.

The first illustration is a 2-page spread, Map 1 (of 3 maps) of The Mongol Empire (pxii-xiii) providing an eye-catching beginning, which stretches from Korea to Italy, and emphasizes a central grayed patch of the subjugated Middle East south of the Black to the Aral Seas. The book includes 33 b&w illustrations about 1/2-1 page each, 12 pgs of references, and a 12 pg index in the original 1986 edition (reviewed). The second edition appears to be a briefly re-edited original and adding a final Chapter 9, "The Mongol Empire since 1985," about 20+ pages, unread.

It is amazing that they did this all on horseback, an indigenous part of 13th century Mongolian culture. Siberian and Mongolian peoples have a non-materialistic culture reflecting the resource-limited landlocked region. It is amazing that this was a family-owned enterprise and its Fall was exacerbated by not building a firmer and broader governmental base of infrastructural strength and succession. For example this period included a new adoption of a written formalization of the Mongolian language (p10) (like Arabic) and conversion from a Shamanistic religion towards Islam (p44). Included is the dispersal of Mongolian bloodlines (Chap6) begetting the Cossack, Tatar and Turkic peoples and expansion of the Islamic and Moslem religions adopted from Persia in modern-day Iran.

Morgan's book is a very good read that will broaden and deepen one's understanding on how the Asiatic Mongols created a vast empire, which enslaved more than half of the world's population, during a fundamentally important century in world history. His book's admitted limitation (p6) is his lack of fluency in Eurasian and Middle Eastern languages, so he is inherently limited to English translations and their biases.

Thus his book is limited to compiling previously published works, unfortunately not really getting inside the heads of the Mongolian leadership and uncovering and interpreting the whys and wherefores of their culture and motivation. Even after perusing the 6th Century BC Chinese Sun Tzu, "The Art of War," one is still left with an unsatisfied curiosity and understanding. Perhaps a more intimate multicultural, multidisciplinary anthology on this topic will be researched and written in the future.

The Rest of the Story

The 13th century was an exciting Renaissance era of the High Middle Ages in Medieval Europe. Innovative examples were the start of non-secular universities of higher learning and adoption of the magnetic compass, gunpowder, and printing on paper technologies. Surgical medicine and mechanical clocks was invented at the time and engineers started harnessing super-human/animal power using windmills, belts and gears with machinery. Gothic art and architecture was started at this time with building fortified castles for protection and roads for trade, not war (Roman).

Later in the 14th Century, Eurasia's Black Plague killed off half of its population, a wasting systemic immune disease caused by bacterium in fleas spread by rodent hosts, originally carried by the Mongolians (p133). The spread of this disease was exacerbated by long periods of war, climatic change, crop failures and subsequent famine in conquered China and Europe. This self-limiting event effectively ended the Mongolian empire.

Even with fast horses and a nomadic society with armies of half million (p88) and their supply lines, it is hard to imagine crossing the formidable cold, high deserts of current Central Asia. Serious consideration of recent work in Palaeo-Climatology is needed to believe a century of successful Mongolian conquest. Unbeknownst to the author, a much more favorable lush grass steppes existed 700-800 years ago. Now referred as the Medieval Warm Period, the geologic record in Northern Europe coincides with a peak in solar activity named the Medieval Maximum (1100-1250). Also there is a fundamental Milankovitch theory on cyclic climatic change due to the earth's eccentric orbit and tilt wobble.

The climatological Jet Stream across Central Asia follows a southeasterly direction from the Eurasian Arctic towards the Mongolia and Tibetan plateaus, bringing much more rain to the Middle East and Central Asia, further enhancing the nomadic life style and encouraging imperialism. Palaeoclimatolgists have shown that Central Asia, the Caspian Sea region and Altai Mountain range had "a milder, less continental climate with more precipitation approximately from the 9th to 12th centuries" by analyzing sediment cores in Lake Baikal, the deepest and largest lake in Eurasia, just north of the Old Silk Road in Siberian Russia.

Additionally, NE China was wetter during the Medieval Warm Period upon analyzing pollen cores in the Maili Bog in NE China's (Manchuria) Jilin mountainous province, indicating more monsoon rains during that 200-year period. Thus conclusively palaeoclimatogists have shown that a warmer and wetter climate existed in 13th Century Eurasia thus facilitating a great surge in a hungry, mobile Mongolian population and resulted in conquest, imperialism and world domination.

And the palaeoclimatological Little Ice Age starting in the 14th Century effectively ended the Mongolian Empire precipiated by Europe's Great Famine of 1315-1317.

From teaching in the UK, Morgan emigrated to the States and is now the senior member of a staff of three in Middle Eastern History. He has been Professor of History and Religious Studies (Islam), U Wisconsin, Madison since 1999. He was recruited to grow its Middle East studies program, the smallest part of the Dept of History, College of L&S. He was Director of Middle East Studies, 2002-6, with research interests in the history of Iran and Islamic Central Asia. With a Middle East History section having 1 TA and 5 grad students, even with the CIA's current emphasis on growing America's understanding of Middle East's language, ideology and culture, only a small dent is being prepared at U Wisconsin. BA 1966, Oxford; PhD 1977 U London, thesis: Mongols in Iran; on faculty of U London's African and Oriental Studies program for 24 yrs.

In the wake of Jack Weatherford's extremely popular "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World," I'm guessing interest in Genghis Khan and his Mongolian Empire is reaching new heights. I must admit that I, too, was introduced into the fascinating world of the Mongolians through Weatherford's bestseller, so I owe him alot for introducing to me what I consider a new passion in life.

Weatherford's work, while being extremely well researched and well written, is extremely revisionist, and gives a very forgiving and optimistic account of Genghis Khan, his predecessors, and their abilities. Weatherford takes great pains to combat the traditional stereotypes of Genghis Khan and the Mongolians as barbaric, mass-murdering hordes. At the same time, I feel that since for many people Weatherford's book will be the very first people read about the Mongols, alot of people will get an impression of the Mongols that is a little too favorable and optimistic, and this is where David Morgan's "The Mongols" comes in.

"The Mongols" is, in a word, sober. On one hand, it definitely breaks away from the precedent set by medieval scholars in viewing Genghis Khan and the Mongols as purely forces of wanton destruction. Whenever Morgan evaluates a primary source, which he does often, he takes great pains to weed out any political motivations to skewer numbers and accounts that existed at the time, of which there were many. This means that Morgan never overestimates Mongol detruction, but he doesn't underestimate it either, which what Weatherford seems to have done, basing his book on select sources. I therefore recommend "The Mongols" as a good, middle-of-the-road source for establishing the historical events of the 12th to 13th century. When reading "The Mongols," one always gets a sense that Morgan is a level-headed, unbiased thinker, which is the perfect type of historian necessary for a period as tumultuous as the years of the Mongolian Empire. It's a good followup to "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World," together the two books give an good picture.

Additionaly, since this book is part of "The Peoples of Europe" collection, this book includes a special focus on the Mongols interactions with Europe, including both direct interaction in the invasions of Russia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, and indirect interactions in the forms of the emmisaries, missionaries, merchants, and diplomats that were excanged between the East and the West. Much to my surprise, being a part of "The Peoples of Europe" series did not exclude a very thorough and extensive coverage of Mongol activity in Persia, Central Asia, and China, so when viewed as a whole, Morgan's work is still a very complete coverage.

David Morgan's hisory of the Mongols is a "must read" for anyone serioussly interested in Mongolian history and culture. This is a well written, highly readable and comprehensive study of the largest empire the world has ever seen.

Morgan's book is easily the best introduction to one of the more interesting peoples of history. It's as much an account of the historiography of Mongol studies as it is a study of the Mongol people, as Morgan details the extant sources available to modern scholars for the subject. This is important, given the scope of the Mongol empire, which at its peak reached from China to Hungary, encompassing all that was in between. Such breadth of conquest places great demands on historians, limiting anybody who is not a polyglot of the languages of the era to base their study on the region in which they specialize and translations of the other languages. A student of Persian, Morgan makes an excellent case for the quality of the sources in that language.

Still, the lack of a written Mongolian language (not developed until the reign of Chingiz Khan) means that much of the history of the empire is lost to us, and that what does exist is produced by outsiders. Nevertheless, Morgan does a first-rate job of describing its expansion and operation. He explains that the Mongols owed their incredible success to their use of mounted warriors, a natural role for a nomadic people. This heavy use of horses both gave them and also limited their conquests: Morgan theorizes that inadequate pastureland may have been a critical factor in the withdrawal of Mongol invaders from both Hungary in 1242 and Syria in 1260. But the most revealing factor of the importance of the Mongol army in its historical achievements lay in the overthrow of Mongol rule; it was in the areas where the Mongols were able to maintain their nomadic lifestyles (and thus their military advantage) that Mongol control proved most enduring. In all, Morgan provides a good, concise overview of a fascinating subject.