Oceania Books

I agree with Dressage Wanabe. This book is good, but not for very young readers. When Dusty's father begins to become an alcoholic and there are some scenes that I would rather not relive, they would signify that this book shouldn't be read by younger readers. Personally, if I had known one of those parts was in there, I would have skipped over it.

And yes, the beginning was a little slow. However, I liked this book. After a prolonged drought, Dusty and her family are in the pits of financial trouble. When Dusty begins competing on the Snow Pony, however, income begins to come back into the family account. Dusty's best friend Sally goes off to boarding school and they begin to slowly seperate, like two friends just drifting away. As things become worse in Dusty's life, including school, financial problems, her father drinking alcohol, ect., Dusty finds that her consolation is in a beautiful mare that only she can ride. Together, the two battle through tough times and end up overcoming one of the biggest challenges of them all.

I think this a good book. I gave it only four stars for some of the mature content, but besides that, mature readers should be able to enjoy this book. Especially if they like horses or reading about family difficulties. Or both!

A wonderfully written story for anyone who loves horses. My daughter and I read this book together. We had to look up some of the Australian slang words and some of the "scenes" were a bit mature for a pre-teen (family strife involving an alcoholic dad and sexual fondling of a young girl). We picked this book up after reading Alison Lester's other horse book, The Quicksand Pony, which was also very enjoyable - and more appropriate for a younger reader. Although we both enjoyed The Snow Pony, I would recommend it only for the more mature reader.

I thought the book was excellent, I could not put it down! There was an exciting part in every section of the book, I could not believe what happened in the middle of the book. The beginning of the book was kind of slow, but it will pick up, trust me. Anyways, about the book, there is a girl named Dusty, she has a brother, a dad, and a mom. Dusty's mom is in show jumping, she trains horses to show jump at their house. Her dad, Jack is a hard worker on their farm. Dusty, her dad, and her little brother go up to the cabin and see a beautiful horse and her mate. Dusty and her father watched them run in the snow, that's how dusty got the perfect horse. Dusty's mother trained the snow pony to jump and she could jump like no other horses in the world could. Well that's all that I'm going to say. Anyone who likes horses this is the book for you. Have fun reading, I'm sure you won't put this thrilling book down.

I gotta tell you Dusty is an interesting charcter. She's alot like her father but is much stronger than him in ways of the heart and helps comfort her whole family during the tough times that come in the book while being a teenage girl. She is really inspiring how she never gives up on the snow pony and I must tell you if you want a heartwarming story but one where bonds are constantly being pushed then you'll love this book, you have my word on it.

I loved the book it had a few boring bits but it was still exciting.Its a fantastic book and probaly my favourite!!!!!

I have been using Lonely Planet guides for all of my overseas trips. I would not think of traveling without one. The guide is shall I say more geared to the adventurer than the high end tourist. It does cover more expensive establishments but only as a part of the whole. I have not personally gone to Australia yet but I did spend a great deal of time planning the trip. Then fuel prices went throught the roof and then the stock market collapsed. Sort of put my trip on hold for a while. When I do go, this will be in my pack.

good book that will be great assistance in planning trip to Oz, as well as during my journey

I'd heard from friends that the Lonely Planets guides are spot-on for travel. I bought Australia before I went in Sept. 2008 and we used it at Uluru (formerly Ayres Rock), in Adelaide, and in Sydney. It was EXTREMELY helpful. The listings are informative and we agreed with most evaluations they made. When you go that far for a vacation, you certainly don't want to waste time finding your way around or waste money by going to bad venues. This book will help prevent both. The only negative is that the book is heavy and was a bit of a chore to haul along!

This book is a wealth of information all contained in one volume. The travel tips, itineraries and even restaurant information are well researched. My only complaint is I'd like to see more detailed maps of some of the more off the beaten path areas - such as Kirra Beach, were I am going. Other than that, this book is a great product and I'd highly recommend it for anyone going to Australia for their first time.

The Guide is great to get an overview over the many attractions in Bali - lots of pictures and some nice overview maps of the island's regions. However, the descriptions are on the short side and it does not contain detailed street maps that could be useful for orientation. But overall a nice introduction!

Colorful guidebook has marvelous images that create an immediate illustration of Bali and Lombok.

While the practical references are a bit truncated (foreign embassies listed are only Australia and USA; hotel & restaurant listings are scanty), the cultural & special interest tips are excellent.

The guide works its magic by tying photos to text. The reader can zero in on an image and immediately see the relevant text. This is a highly practical format, leaving no mystery as to whether some place or item may be of real interest to the individual reader. Therefore, reader can figure out what he/she wants to see & do without slogging through chapter upon chapter of text.

I spend a lot of time in Bali and I think this is probably the most useful guide for the average traveler to Bali & Lombok. It has quite a few entries....

If you have a limited amount of time in Bali, and an even more limited amount of time to prepare for it, this guide will suit you very well indeed!

Bali and Lombok are just two islands in the Indonesian archipelago... and one of the most popular tourst destination. This book is crammed with wonderful information as well as photographs by well known photographers, maps, drawing etc... of Bali and Lombok. I found it very wonderful that it covered both aspects of Bali and Lombok's culture regarding religion, music, dance etc... The book is much different from Lonely Planet with maps in colour with icons regarding the village and what the villages are well known for. For example the village of Taro in central Bali in Gianyar Regency is famous for it's white breed of Cattle and there is a little bit of information talking about that village. The book covers all of Bali as well as Lombok.

Denpasar Bali's capital contains many sections like the Museum... the market and so many places of interest. For Kuta its beaches which are popular with many Australians and well known for the surfs... Gianyar regency in central Bali was well known for it's cultural and artistic creation. The famous village of Sebatu and Peliatan are famous for their Legong Kraton dancers... wonderful and graceful like butterflies or heavenly nymphs... Klungkung regency in east Bali was home to the powerful rulers with the title of "Agung Dewa" and most revered... Klungkung was a historical city and site where the golen age of Balinese history began the mass exodus of many Hindu-Javanese fleeing Islam came to the royal court bringing their traditions and tansplanting it in Bali while the ancient art form disappeared from the island of Java as a whole...

Lombok hasn't been developed to tourism yet but it is slowly starting to. The island is very lovely with it's lush green rice fields and wonderful people who are of Balinese race and Sasak origin... They produce wonderful crafts like clay jars, pots, weaving etc... If you want to know more you will need to read or grab hold of the book yourself...

There is even a section on food and the types of food eaten with lovely photographs of food and things to buy in Bali... This is great and I guess it is too good to be true too... Excellent work and research I must say went into making this book...

I grew up in California, and continue to love the scenary and the people there. I thought it was the best place on earth, until I made it to Hawaii. Wow! Do I love Hawaii! I was convinced it, too, was the greatest, until I arrived in Tahiti. Now there's a really awesome place!! When I got back, I spoke with my cousin, the world traveler. She said, "You'll really love Bali, it's much more beautiful than Tahiti." So far, I haven't been able to test her views, but this book certainly helped me to see the many beauties of Bali and the neighboring island of Lombok (which she didn't tell me about).

The scenery, animals, arts, temples, crafts, costumes, and dance are vivid, colorful, intricate, and involved. This guide to the two islands features over 700 color photographs that give you a sense of this beauty in very many ways. Even the smallest images are crisp and distinct.

The book is also a good size to slip into a pocket while traveling, so that you don't have to be burdened with excess weight or bulk. That will help, because this guide has many details of streets, restaurants, and the insides of temples that you will wish to refer to when you are in Bali or Lombok.

This guide has the details of all of the festivals on the two islands, which are reportedly a high point of any visit there. You also get lots of detail on local history and traditions (which will be unfamiliar to many in the United States).

The book breaks the two islands into regions so you can get a flavor of how being in one area compares to another. For example, you can go as an eco-tourist, as a cultural tourist, a scuba tourist, or a plain old beach tourist (but there is good surf for those who like surfing and wind surfing). Bali offers lots of variety for those with different tastes and preferences, and the guide makes it clear how to plan for each. Golf has even made its way to Bali.

I was also glad to see that the book contained many website addresses to obtain additional information.

I cannot report on the accuracy of what is here, because I have not been to Bali. On the other hand, the information made sense in terms of what I know about other islands, and Hindu and Moslem countries.

This guide is so rich in photographs and detail that I can have quite a few "trips" just by reviewing the material here. So even if I don't make it to Bali for a few more years, I will have enjoyed some of the wonders of this wonderful island. I hope you will have the same opportunity.

After you finish enjoying this delightful guide, I suggest that you think about where else you know little about and might like to see. If your time and budget do not permit much travel, you could perhaps use these DK Eyewitness Travel Guides to provide pleasant diversions in the meantime. Then, when you are ready to go to a new place, you'll have an informed view of which one to pick.

Grasp the potential all around you, with all of your senses!

Australian travel writer Michael Moran boned up, so to speak, before his leisurely sweep through the cannibal islands. The cannibals are mostly Christians now, of somewhat puritanical bent, but not so strait-laced that they do not tease tourists about who's for dinner.



Nevertheless, this is more ambitious than the usual drool of travelogues, and consequently somewhat disappointing in that it shoots high but hits low too often.



Moran has lived in Poland and knows Polish and German, useful because he wants to explore the present in the context of the recent past -- the colonial era of Germany, Russia, Japan and Australia. Polish comes in because Poles did, especially the anthropologists Bronislaw Malinowski and the Russian Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay, who introduced the concept of living at length among one's subjects. Moran has unlimited admiration for him.



For the missionaries, his feelings are mixed, as they should be.



Having packed his boxes of 19th century books, Moran then visits Port Moresby, in 2000 and still one of most dangerous places. Moran explains he will not visit the Highlands, even more dangerous, and he is glad to get out of Moresby for the eastern or island provinces: Massim, New Ireland, New Britain, Buka, (very briefly) Bougainville, the Trobriands.



It was hot.



Moran tries, not too successfully, to keep three balls in the air: flashbacks to the early years of white contact, meetings with Melanesians, meetings with `expatriates.'



The theme of the book becomes, "the beautiful children of Melanesia." These are contrasted with the fierce (but usually amiable once introduced) older men and the sullen, resentful young ones.



These, in turn, are contrasted with expats, who are either like Moran or, more often, western rejects, drunks, liars, con artists.



It's all a little too pat and somewhat skimpy on the Melanesians.



The attempt to analyze Papua New Guinea politics is interesting and may even, who knows?, be fairly accurate. That trying to impose parliamentary democracy on the sons of headhunters, people so poor that even the chiefs buy cigarettes one at a time, was a mistake seems obvious. But parliamentary democracy has failed in places with much stronger claims to be part of the modern world than Melanesia.



Melanesia is a violent place these days. But it always was. Whether it is more violent is a question Moran does not ask.



"Beyond the Coral Sea" is beautifully written; no other contemporary travel writer I know is in the same league. (I would have to go back more than half a century to Vincent Cronin's "The Golden Honeycomb" to find its equal.)

The isolated islands of the Coral, Solomon and Bismarck Seas were the last to be explored by Europeans, leading author Michael Moran to delve into the magic of these largely unspoiled colonies. BEYOND THE CORAL SEA travels the footsteps of some of the early explorers of the Coral Sea islands, considering history, cultural changes, and anthropological facts.

This is the first book on the Island Provinces of Papua New Guinea rather than the Highlands for a hundred years and what a brilliant book it is! Finely-written with beautiful photographs (particularly of children and island landscapes) as well as excellent maps.

Clearly a product of extensive research, this book gives the reader a balanced insight into a vanishing world in a way that is both informative and hugely entertaining. The islands are still almost pristine and 'stone-age' in character but not for much longer I fear. The stories the author tells of characters both historical and modern are almost beyond belief - often hilarious - obviously the apex of European eccentrics vsited New Guinea.

This is travel writing of the highest quality about a place most readers are highly unlikely to visit. The account of the great Polish anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski in the Trobriand "Islands of Love" is both penetrating and enlightening. Moran is one of those rare travel writers who respects what he sees and communicates this to the reader with dry humour and deep understanding. As a missionary tells him, life in Papua New Guinea can be both "terrible and wonderful" by turns. Moran steers us through this difficult cultural labyrinth with brilliance. I am looking forward to the Polish edition next year!

"Beyond the Coral Sea" will become the standard work and required reading for anyone contemplating a trip to Papua New Guinea - even those who are not.

As a traveller who has spent a total of about 18 months in and around the island regions of Papua New Guinea, I found this book to be just what I look for before and during a trip to any area. Moran's trip illustrated exactly what a traveller will experience while in the country and also gives the historical background so that time is not wasted trying to discover how a culture or area has come to be what it is.

While looking over the harbor of Rabaul and seeing the Duke of York Islands and the southern end of New Ireland, I felt as though I could feel the history taking place. Even Moran's encounters with modern day expatriots in airports and towns ring so true to my experiences that I felt he was writing about my trip without me knowing it.

It is my goal to gain this insight for every country I visit but it is hardly realized. This book fulfilled that goal for Papua New Guinea and raised the bar for my travel reading in the future.

What an amazing book. Using the original source materials--Bligh's diary, the transcript of the Bounty Court Martial, Fletcher Christian's brother's defense of the mutineers, and other materials--the Editor R.D. Madison has put together a book which is impossible to put down. Indeed, the book leaves the reader wishing it were twice as long. Madison refuses to take sides in the Bligh v. Christian debate, and lets the record speak for itself. Since the record is contradictory and nobody is unbiased, the effect, in cinematic terms, is more like "Roshomon" than either of the two Bounty movies. William Bligh comes across as an incredibly brave man with an indomitable will--yet he has a tendency to whine, and worse, he stoops to securing affidavits which do not even pass the smell test. Fletcher Christian comes across as a 23-year old hothead who lets the men talk him into leading a mutiny--and can't control the situation after the mutiny. Christian petulantly refuses to have dinner with the Captain on the eve of the mutiny. Clark Gable, he clearly ain't. The moral world of the Bounty is painted entirely in shades of gray; the men of the Bounty are imperfect and all too human.

Not only is the reader treated to a great detective story, but it is a story with an absorbing and instructive sequel. The book ends with a contemporary account, first published in the 1830's, of the subsequent history of Pitcairn's Island as told by the last survivor of the Bounty, "John Adams" (an alias). Adams described a harrowing descent into mayhem and murder by the mutineers who made it to Pitcairn's Island along with their native friends. The disputes began with a dispute over--you guessed it--who would possess a native woman. Except for Adams, Fletcher Christian his gang were all killed, along with the native men. In the end, John Adams sets up a harmonious society based on Biblical principles.

I have been scratching my head for two whole weeks since finishing this book, pondering its meaning. And that is a high recommendation, indeed.

This book is a collection of early documents relating to Fletcher Christian's mutiny against William Bligh in 1789 on the HMS Bounty. The editor claims to have gathered together for the first time "the relevant texts and documents" related to this famous event that has intrigued readers for 200 years. In all, ten documents whose publication dates range from 1790 to 1870 are included. The first four documents make up the body of the book and consist of a series of published statements by William Blight and responses by Edward Christian, Fletcher's brother. Fletcher Christian died on Pitcairn Island and never put his story in print. These four sections are followed by six Appendixes. The first Appendix contains a transcript of Bligh's orders and a botanical description of the breadfruit that the Bounty went to Tahiti to obtain. The remaining five Appendixes are narratives of the lives of those who stayed on the Bounty after the mutiny.

All of these early texts are preceded by a delightful and informative Introduction by the editor that relates the early lives of both Bligh and Christian and discusses their relationship leading up to the mutiny. It describes the mission of the Pandora to seek out the Bounty and bring back any mutineers they can find. Also covered is the trial and disposition of those sailors brought back from Tahiti. Lastly, the Introduction goes on to summarize the history of Bounty documentation and scholarship, from Bligh's first published account right on through the famous fictionalized Bounty trilogy by Nordhoff and Hall. The Introduction is followed by a one page listing of suggested further readings.

The first section of the book is Bligh's 1790 account of the mutiny and subsequent voyage of he and 18 crew members in the ship's 23 foot boat. He quickly recounts the details of the mutiny on the first four pages and then spends the remaining 62 pages on his heroic and epic voyage across 3,600 miles of the South Pacific that took about a month and a half. Bligh depicts himself as a dedicated leader who saved the lives of all but one crew member in this fascinating and arduous journey.

The second section of the book is the proceedings of the court martial of those brought back to face charges of mutiny, published in 1794 by Edward Christian in an attempt to exonerate his brother. This text consists of a written statement by Bligh, a series of interrogations of the Bounty crew regarding the events of the mutiny, and an Appendix by Edward. A picture of Bligh as a tyrant emerges from this testimony. It is 86 pages long and somewhat repetitive, but still an interesting document to read. The 20 page Appendix at the end of is Edward Christian's attempt to show that his brother had cause for his actions. Although he does not try to justify his brother's actions, he tries to show the state of desperation that his brother was driven to by Bligh's actions. Bligh was at sea when this was published and, when he returned home, he published in 1795 "An Answer..." to the statements of the Appendix which is included as the third section of this book. To this Edward Christian wrote and published a "Short Reply..." that is the fourth section of this book. This interchange in writing between Bligh and Edward Christian is wonderful to read because it presents both sides of the story in a very balanced and fair manner. Without having Fletcher Christian to defend his own actions, this set of documents is the next best thing we have to a fair presentation of both sides of the case.

The above documents alone would have made a wonderful and enlightening book. The editor goes on to present in the Appendixes documents that tell the story of those men who followed Fletcher Christian to Tahiti or Pitcairn Island. The first Appendix is a copy of Bligh's orders to go to Tahiti and a description of the breadfruit he was to bring to Jamaica. The second Appendix is an 1870 retelling of a journal kept by one of the sailors who was taken by the Pandora from Tahiti as a mutineer. It tells of the harsh treatment these 14 received aboard this ship and how four died when the ship sank. The next two Appendixes are accounts written by crew members of a ship that visited Pitcairn Island 19 years after the mutiny in 1808. They tell the story of the crew that landed there with Fletcher Christian and their history and families. By this time only one of the nine members of the original Bounty crew that landed on the island remained alive. The last two Appendixes are the story of one of the Tahitian women who married a Bounty crew member and the story of the last surviving crew member himself.

Altogether these various documents pieced together tell what we can know of the Bounty mutiny. They make fascinating reading, more interesting than the fictional accounts. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in tales of the sea.

What an amazing book. Using the original source materials--Bligh's diary, the transcript of the Bounty Court Martial, Fletcher Christian's brother's defense of the mutineers, and other materials--the Editor R.D. Madison has put together a book which is impossible to put down. Indeed, the book leaves the reader wishing it were twice as long. Madison refuses to take sides in the Bligh v. Christian debate, and lets the record speak for itself. Since the record is contradictory and nobody is unbiased, the effect, in cinematic terms, is more like "Roshomon" than either of the two Bounty movies. William Bligh comes across as an incredibly brave man with an indomitable will--yet he has a tendency to whine, and worse, he stoops to securing affidavits which do not even pass the smell test. Fletcher Christian comes across as a 23-year old hothead who lets the men talk him into leading a mutiny--and can't control the situation after the mutiny. Christian petulantly refuses to have dinner with the Captain on the eve of the mutiny. Clark Gable, he clearly ain't. The moral world of the Bounty is painted entirely in shades of gray; the men of the Bounty are imperfect and all too human.

Not only is the reader treated to a great detective story, but it is a story with an absorbing and instructive sequel. The book ends with a contemporary account, first published in the 1830's, of the subsequent history of Pitcairn Island as told by the last survivor of the Bounty, "John Adams" (an alias). Adams described a harrowing descent into mayhem and murder by the mutineers who made it to Pitcairn Island along with their native friends. The disputes began with a dispute over--you guessed it--who would possess a native woman. Except for Adams, Fletcher Christian his gang were all killed, along with the native men. In the end, John Adams sets up a harmonious society based on Biblical principles.

I have been scratching my head for two whole weeks since finishing this book, pondering its meaning. And that is a high recommendation, indeed.

This is my first review. I feel that some of the 'rave reviews' I read for this volume did not adequately describe several flaws that I feel need mentioning.

I bought this book because I wanted to read the contemporary accounts of the Bounty mutiny to gain an understand of both sides of the issues involved, and to make a personal decision on what happened and why. This edition was touted as allowing me to do just that. However I found that the editor, in his introduction, tries to do some of my thinking for me. I feel that, in a book of this sort, the editor should not be telling us his version of the story, particularly at the beginning of the book. Mr Madison may well believe that Captain Bligh was the villian in this tragedy with Mr Christian the poor sensitive victim, but I wish he would keep it to himself and limit himself to background and supplemental material.

Another disappointment is that apparently, the chapter titled "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Court-Martial held at Portsmouth, August 12, 1792." is not the real minutes at all, but a partial transcript provided by Edward Christian (Fletcher's brother). I'm not sure I understand why the actual court transcript was not available and what is missing in the version we have. I do know we have to rely on a version published by the 'defendant's" brother. Is that really conducive to getting an objective picture?

That said, the book is still interesting and does give the reader a fairly comprehensive picture of the events of that spring morning in 1789.

Under inauspicious circumstances -- failing health -- Banfield arrives on Dunk island off of Australia's northeast coast. But as island lovers everywhere know, more often than not islands have a way of reintroducing vitality to the soul and regenerating failing health. Consider Robert Louis Stevenson! Such was the situation of Banfield when he arrived on Dunk Island.

Banfield's greatest skill within this book is his journalistic training and keen powers of observation. His descriptions of island birdlife, in particular, present detailed glimpses of behavior and how individual birds interact with the rest of the island. "With the aid of a good telescope and a compact pair of field glasses, birds may be studied and known far more pleasurably than as stark cabinet specimens," he writes. It's no surprise to find out later that Banfield eventually persuaded -- similar to Thoreau and Muir in America -- the Australian government to set aside Dunk Island as a protected wildlife area.

Banfield also turns his attentions to other island life, such as the coral reef and fishes surrounding the island, and including Aboriginals living on Dunk Island. While sounding condescending now, nearly a century later, his observations offer interesting insights into times past.

Banfield's book reminded me of a non-political, "Desert Solitaire"-esque Edward Abbey turning his attention to a tropical island, in that the location is both a background and a source of detailed information. I enjoyed reading about the behavior of all island life and appreciated Banfield's obvious patience and skills as an observor. Being an island aficionado myself, I felt like I was enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of some of my favorite places revisited.

Overall, an excellent book to add to your library, whether travel, island, bird, or environmentally related.

Ah the island life...a wonderful memoir of a more nostalgic time. Great read.

The Confessions Of A Beachcomber is the fascinating autobiography of a man who left a high-stress, dead-end career to live the simple live of a beachcomber on Dunk Island off the northern coast of Queensland, Australia. An avowed disciple of Thoreau, Banfield sough as simple a life as possible and maintained that life on his tropical island for twenty-five years. He involved himself in observing the flora, fauna, and aborigines of the island, and through the publication of The Confessions Of A Beachcomber became one of Australia's highly regarded literary figures. Now available to an American readership through this Dixon-Price edition, The Confessions Of A Beachcomber is especially recommended reading for any one who has ever felt like chucking so-called "modern life" and return to a simpler, more basic existence in harmony with the environment and all that nature has to offer the contemplative life.

Under inauspicious circumstances -- failing health -- Banfield arrives on Dunk island off of Australia's northeast coast. But as island lovers everywhere know, more often than not islands have a way of reintroducing vitality to the soul and regenerating failing health. Consider Robert Louis Stevenson! Such was the situation of Banfield when he arrived on Dunk Island.

Banfield's greatest skill within this book is his journalistic training and keen powers of observation. His descriptions of island birdlife, in particular, present detailed glimpses of behavior and how individual birds interact with the rest of the island. "With the aid of a good telescope and a compact pair of field glasses, birds may be studied and known far more pleasurably than as stark cabinet specimens," he writes. It's no surprise to find out later that Banfield eventually persuaded -- similar to Thoreau and Muir in America -- the Australian government to set aside Dunk Island as a protected wildlife area.

Banfield also turns his attentions to other island life, such as the coral reef and fishes surrounding the island, and including Aboriginals living on Dunk Island. While sounding condescending now, nearly a century later, his observations offer interesting insights into times past.

Banfield's book reminded me of a non-political, "Desert Solitaire"-esque Edward Abbey turning his attention to a tropical island, in that the location is both a background and a source of detailed information. I enjoyed reading about the behavior of all island life and appreciated Banfield's obvious patience and skills as an observor. Being an island aficionado myself, I felt like I was enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of some of my favorite places revisited.

Overall, an excellent book to add to your library, whether travel, island, bird, or environmentally related.

A wonderful book to whet your appetite for exploration of The Barrier Reef. Television does a superb job with fleeting glimpses of moving images but this book allows you the opportunity to slowly absorb minute fractions of true beauty. Like a photo of a wave, you have the chance to stop time and look at nature as no human could do back through history before the invention of photography. As we explore space with the Hubble telescope we should remind ourselves of the beauty within our world before we step away like impatient teenagers to the next world.

This series of guides has a well-established format - so it is difficult to understand why they have made this particular guide so hard to follow.

The Great Barrier Reef is over 1,200 miles in length and, thankfully, the book does not claim to be a definitive guide. Refreshingly, therefore, it is exactly what is says it is - a "Guide to the Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef" and, generally speaking, it is a good one at that.

The book is divided into the accepted geographical sections of the Great Barrier Reef and commences each of these chapters with an informative introduction followed by brief details of a fair and representative selection of the best known dive sites.

So far so good, but then they go and "spoil the ship for a hapenth of tar." With very few exceptions, the photographs are generally very good and include some that are quite outstanding. They lose a "Star," however, for blatantly "touching" and "standing on" corals. No photograph showing such bad practises should have been included - and this book features more than one. Furthermore, diving inside the Yongala shipwreck contravenes the "Laws" of Queensland and I was saddened to find a photograph of a human skull is used to introduce Townsville on page 95.

In the English Language, we read from left to right whilst working our way from the top of the page to the bottom. It is, therefore, quite odd to find a book that sets out to do things in reverse order. This book commences in the south and works its way north. Altogether, over 150 dive sites are included - but each chapter commences with "Site No 1" whereas it would be far more useful had they been numbered consecutively from beginning to end. Most unusual of all, however, is the fact that every map shows these sites numbered from the bottom of the page up to the top. Eventually this really does become very awkward to follow. One might also be forgiven for thinking that it is all a very poor attempt to poke fun at Australia - you know, the country being upside down and all that... Maybe not, but another star lost.

In Summary; a rather good book, but in dire need of some serious rearranging. Nevertheless, all the information is there and, when compared to other books on the Great Barrier Reef, this is a good option.

NM

I thought this was a great book for a fresh diver to the reef. It has great pictures and covers a number of locations and dives sites. I found it useful to learn a few tidbits about the places I was seeing while on the boat between dives. Would recommend to anyone looking for a general book on the Great Barrier Reef.

This book does a nice job of detailing major dive sites throughout the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. Dive sites are rated for both scuba and snorkeling. The book also has information on resorts, dive operators and facilities servicing the various dive sites. Information on various types of underwater life is also sprinkled in throughout the book. If you plan to dive the Barrier Reef or the Coral Sea this is an excellent guide to lay out your diving plans.

VERY informative. Perhaps too much info. At times I felt I was overloading. Better to have too much though than not enough. This book eliminates the need for any other.

There are some guidebooks which make a local cringe in embarassment! Not this one. It covers pretty much everything that a visitor to this city would want to see and do, and even leads people a little (but not TOO far) off the beaten track. There are suggestions for walks along some of the coastal paths, for example, and it includes places farther afield like captain Cook's Landing Place.

Like all the books in this series, it is lavishly illustrated and the maps are good. I use it for inspiration for weekend activities. It is a good general guidebook, which could be supplemented by more specialised volumes if you want to concentrate on one aspect of Sydney - eg guides to walks around the harbour, or activities specially for children, guides to national parks etc. but this book seems to cover just about everything at least in an introductory sense.

I didn't find this guide as useful nor as interesting as others in the series but I suspect it's because Sydney doesn't lend itself to guidebooks in the same way London or Rome do. I left Eyewitness at home, carried Frommer's Sydney guide, and winged it the rest of the way. Eyewitness has the best maps by far, though.

This is absolutely the best guide to Sydney. You must choose this above all other books! Complete, detailed informaion complete with excellent, useful pictures and commentary. A must buy!

In reviewing "Inventing 'Easter Island'" I found myself caught on the horns of a dilemma because, on the one hand (horn?) this is an interesting, scholarly work of profound implications that should inspire much discussion about what Easter Island was once, what it has become, and what it may evolve into one day. But within the book's erudite language and well-intentioned message there is an undeniable bias that punctures the equilibrium of its objectivity. This is evident from the very beginning when Haun, in her preface, justly takes to task a Canadian photographer who not too long ago committed unpardonable sins on the island by re-arranging rocks and disturbing potentially archaeologically significant sites in order to create "landscape art". This abomination was compounded by the fact that the photographer smuggled film off the island and some of his images were published in a Canadian magazine whose editors obviously have no dignity nor shame in glorifying how the photographer sneered at the "primitive" nature of the Easter Islanders who rightly objected to this desecration. And it is here that we begin to apprehend Haun's equation of what this Canadian did with what she calls the "Euro-American culture" that has by her reckoning re-invented the Easter Island cultural milieu and not necessarily in a positive way.

But is it entirely fair to equate what this photographer did with what early European explorers did? Are these two types of parties equally liable? Despite Haun's "resistance to the historical accounts", I say no. If the histories tell us anything, if social and cultural evolution has any validity, it is that for the most part we HAVE learned from the past, we ARE different. Some of us are, anyway. James Cook comes to mind. And in one particular way what this photographer did was worse than what many of the European explorers did BECAUSE HE KNEW BETTER; he had the product of centuries of knowledge about this island at his disposal and yet he admitted to coldly, deliberately ignoring both sensitivities and the law. We may thus rightfully ask if the first Europeans knew better, a question we do not have to ask of this Canadian photographer. Nor can we ignore the possibility that what we know of the past is the result of records made not always by the responsible parties but by their underlings or from faulty memories recalled years after the events -- and that this may reflect, but may not establish with certainty, a consequential discrimination, intended or otherwise, that was part of the inspiration for global exploration (and, yes, conquest) that sanctioned reprehensible acts without impunity.

In keeping with this, Haun tells us that "All texts are unstable constructions. All 'information' about the island is a version filtered through the perceptions and evaluations of the writers". Yet if this is accepted, then we would seem to have no choice but to interpret all accounts -- including Haun's -- as potentially suspect and therefore those that describe peaceful cooperation and those that involve exploitation and abuse may be no different from each other. But surely this doesn't always have to be so, any more than it is true when Haun cites Jorges de Cuchilleros who says that "we're complicit" in the evil actions of others by virtue of our recognition of them, even if they are culturally sanctioned. Just as recognition is not the same as participation, we should be capable of differentiating between those accounts which seek to describe and those which seek to justify.

I do not mean to exculpate those who committed bestial atrocities against the islanders but I believe I have sufficient historical perspective to know that some people are stupid and malignant and others are intelligent and benevolent and that we must not forget the context in which events occur in our interpretation of them. This is one reason I take exception to Haun referring to the "violence of renaming" of the island, because it was neither violent nor is it necessarily an injustice that "Easter Island" as a name would be imposed as part of the "invention" of this tiny triangular world lost in the Pacific. Let us not forget, as Haun herself points out, that the islanders themselves may not even have HAD a name for their own island and that the name that is so often used proudly today ("Rapa Nui") wasn't adopted until possibly a millennium after the first settlers arrived -- and even this name wasn't a creation of the islanders but was given to them by Tahitian sailors.

At the same time, it's not that anyone is requiring Haun to be "fair" or "balanced" in expressing her opinions. She's entitled to them and there is no shortage of thought behind them. But her conclusions subsequently inspired MY reactive opinion that it is not the scientist's task to assign culpability or to exonerate when explaining behavior and its outcomes. Is it likely that the Easter Islanders contributed to their demise? Yes. This is what humans do. Is it likely that the Easter Islanders were SOLELY responsible? Hardly. There are a great many factors in a whole constellation of factors that may have contributed to the island's cultural and environmental collapse -- and so it is not always necessary to lay the blame entirely at anyone's feet or interpret anyone's actions in ethical terms at all. But it is undeniable that at least two camps have developed, one led largely by Jared Diamond (borrowing heavily but probably interpreting erroneously the intentions of Paul Bahn & John Flenley, and perhaps John Dransfield) and another led by a diverse group including Terry Hunt & Carl Lipo, Benny Peiser, and Paul Rainbird (to name a few) who seem desirous of not only disproving Diamond, Bahn & Flenley, and Dransfield but in "freeing" the Easter Islanders from the "guilt" of knowing they were chopping down the last tree but did it anyway. I do not believe that anyone of sensitivity or intelligence is suggesting the islanders were "stupid" in their actions but then, having said this, I am forced to ask if we modern humans should be seen as stupid for what we are doing to our planet and I am thus constrained to wonder why we are may be employing a double standard. Unless it functions in the same way where we must distinguish between what the Canadian photographer did and what the "Euro-Americans" did on the island we call Easter.

Into this roiling cauldron of ideas Haun has thrown herself with verve. Her prose is excellent, her research evidently thorough and directed. Thus I appreciate the sophistication with which Haun's book is written and I can't deny her passion even if it occasionally interferes with her objectivity. It seems strange, for example, that she criticizes Hodges's artistic interpretations of the island for "erasing the Rapanui from the scene of their own cultural production" (which is by Haun's own admission inaccurate since there ARE islanders present in the engravings and paintings) and further chastises him for taking liberties with the weather as it's depicted in one of his most famous paintings because it's not historically accurate "as reported in the journals" -- journals that she might have us question as to their veracity. I'd say it's dangerous enough to question the creative license an artist might employ even when you KNOW the artist's intentions -- but there is no shortage of irony in the fact that Haun uses this famous painting on the cover of her own book. Or maybe this is to make a point?

And if it is irony that one should observe in "Inventing 'Easter Island'", there is no better example than the title itself, for the phrase is particularly apt not just because of its implications within this book's message but because of the whole context of ideas it conjures, neatly in keeping with what Jacquetta Hawkes once said about another place where the stonework of an ancient culture has dazzled and perplexed us for centuries: "Every generation gets the Stonehenge it deserves". The same can, I think, be said about Easter Island. When the islanders weren't "thieves" or "savages" or possibly cannibals they were fodder for slavery or, sadly, unwilling vectors for disease. Today the Easter Islanders seem to be suffering from an identity crisis brought on by immigrants from Chile or ideas from Hollywood, and even they cannot agree on whether they should follow in the footsteps of Tikopia or Las Vegas. Haun cites the late Clemente Hereveri as having said science is in conflict with the ethnic world while at the same time he asked that the indigenous Rapanui be able to preserve their past by the transmission of knowledge -- and yet this is one of the things science does. Are these conflicts really the result of outside influence with ulterior motives or a misunderstanding of what science really represents -- an aspect of the Human Condition ever seeking to define itself out of increasing necessity or ravenous curiosity?

In point of fact, the "invention" that Haun would very nearly have us believe as a pejorative phenomenon is really a function of the wonderful resourcefulness of the Easter Islanders, for they have weathered (literally and figuratively) a storm of human and environmental disasters and have not only survived but repeatedly re-invented themselves in order to endure. "Invention" here is the glory of the Easter Islanders. If there is any "invention" it is not an imposition from without but a profound evolution from within.

In the end, beyond the factual information, the bias still cannot be ignored but this does not make the book flawed, nor do I discourage anyone from buying or reading it. But make no mistake: If you place yourself in the camp that bleeds for the Easter Islanders, ancient or modern, this book preaches to the choir. If you place yourself in the camp that wants to differentiate between the past and the present and believe that there is a difference in how these are not only interpreted but manifested even today (after all, the Rapanui, as Haun says, have a "right to define their past as well as their future on their own terms"), what you may get out of this book becomes a matter of being forced to question whether the same bias the author complains about is inherent because of the interpretation she brings to the discussion or because of objective effects in the real world potentially open to our inspection and thinking. Regardless of which camp the politics of this book inspires one to adhere to, it can justly be said that it continues to support an important dialogue that may eventually produce a better understanding (or perhaps a better "invention" of Easter Island.

* * *

[Note: The writer of this review is a member of the Board of Directors of the Easter Island Foundtaion and the author of the "Complete Guide to Easter Island".]

Accessible scholarship! This book explores the paradox of a small island that is well known to the world for not being well known. Haun illuminates the strange public awareness of Easter Island through a comfortably esoteric lens of postcolonial theory and cultural analysis. In particular she explores the texts and images of the first four European voyages to the island, all in the eighteenth century and conveniently representing four distinctly different perspectives, namely the Dutch, the Spanish, the British, and the French. It also has a strong educational component and cultural revelance. Haun places the entire Easter Island story within a framework that makes it a model for teaching and understanding the European Imperial project, from its origins to the present residual effects. This is a well-conceived and beautifully written work of intellectual inquiry for the specialist in a number of academic fields and for the informed general reader who might also be reading academic popularizers ranging from Jared Diamond to Thor Heyerdahl, about both of whom Haun offers intriguing critical commentary.

I really liked this book. It gave me insights into the way so much of
the way we have been taught to view the world has been shaped not by
what we see, but by what we have been taught to believe about what we
see. It is fascinating to read how European explorers saw the island
in the eighteenth century and how the islanders reacted to meeting
strangers. Even more thought provoking is the way contemporary writers
manipulate past information to build cases that will support whatever
agenda they are promoting today, like Jared Diamond. All in all this
book really got me thinking about how I view the world.

"Inventing Easter Island" is a work of extraordinary scholarship that explores, in depth, the consequences of the earliest European encounters with Easter Island and the ways in which reports of these and later encounters have played such an important role in "inventing Easter Island" as it exists in Western culture.

Anyone who seeks more than a superficial understanding of the history of Easter Island and of the ways in which Easter Island and its iconic statues have become part of popular culture should read this book.

Bringing together a wealth of historical information from widely scattered sources, in addition to contemporary depictions, Beverly Haun has produced a magisterial volume whose value to scholars will surely outlast that of the less meticulous and more sensationalist attempts to explain the history of Easter Island that have engaged the public's imagination in recent years.

[Note: The author of this review is a past member of the Board of the Easter Island Foundation. Her book, "Early Visitors to Easter Island 1864-1877" provides complete translations from the French of the reports of Eugene Eyraud, Hippolyte Roussel, Pierre Loti and Alphonse Pinart. Her translation of Chauvet's "Easter Island and Its Mysteries" is available, at no charge, on line [...] ]

Appears to be well written, easy to use.

Proof will be when I get to Australia next month.

I am planning on backpacking for an extended amount of time in Australia. This guide is invaluable in planning my trip. I love the series - it is perfect for a budget traveller like me. I don't know yet how accurate the info is, as I have yet to go, but the book itself is well written and organized.

i just recently took a 9 month trip to australia and this guide definately turned out to be my bible. i liked the layout of the book and would choose lets go over lonely planet in a heartbeat. i found lets go has more maps with better detail. in my opinion it fits the same amount of info in a lighter and more flexible binding book.

This was my 2nd time using Let's Go guides, my 1st being Let's Go Japan. I prefer them to the Lonely Planet guidebooks in general. They seem to have a less intoxicated following. As with my NZ review, I wish that the authors would've stressed the quarantine & customs issues regarding everything including food.