Oceania Books

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War. I was a kid when this war broke out. It seemingly came out of nowhere, even though there was a long history associated with it. I first read this book not long after the conclusion of the war. Reading it again 25 years later it still comes across as a nice, concise history of the conflict. To most Americans the Falklands seemed an absurd confrontation. This book provides a pretty good background for events leading up to and including the war. The determined Argentine position is contrasted by the almost absent-minded policy of the British Foreign Office. Included are the bumbling US efforts by Reagan and Haig to try and halt the war at the last minute. The US finally had to throw its lot in with the UK after several embarrassing episodes involving Jean Kirkpatrict at the UN.

The war itself was a throwback to another time. Similarities to Queens Victorias Little Wars of the 19th Century were certainly there, but that is where it ended. This would be a late 20th century conflict with all the modern military technology in play. Both sides would have pros and cons. The more professional and stronger British military was balanced somewhat by logistics, and by the advanatges Argentina had with closer land-based aircraft. Both sides would make the most of their positions, and each played a strong game. The Argentine Air Force, considered the weaker player within the military Juanta at the time, actually put in the best performance.

The vulnerability of the Royal Navy at San Carlos, aptly called Bomb Ally, could have lost the conflict for the British. British resources, while superior, were not abundant, and the Task Force sent under Sandy Woodward was only just adequate for the job. In the end it was the vastly superior quality of the British infantry, Royal Marines, Paras, Guards and Gurkhas that decisively tipped the balance on land, despite heavy odds. One is struck by the relatively light casualties in the conflict, especially on land. Argentine losses were higher for sure, but it seems both sides could have lost a lot more men considering the open nature of the fighting on land. The single greatest loss of life was the sinking of the aging Belgrano Cruiser, itself a very controversial act.
The war provided a fascinating study for NATO weapons systems, with both sides using them to advantage.

This book, put together by the British Times News experts on scene provides a very readable, and for the most part balanced account of the war. The tone may be slightly pro-British at times, but not excessively so. Most of the eye-whitness descriptions are British, and if the book suffers at all it is from a lack of Argentine perspective. Still, as an introductory book on the war I found that it holds up well after 25 years!
What the fate of the Falkland Islands will be in the future only time will tell. Could we see a second Falkland's War on the Horizon?

As with any war, the military aspect of it is only part of the story, and that is where the book fails. The war in the Malvinas was not between Britain and Argentina, it was between the Military Government in Argentina and the Argentinean people. Britain was a bystander that necessarily had to be involved. The country was falling apart, and, as is correctly highlighted, the governmment hoped to stir a wave of patriotism somehow. The Malvinas were as good an excuse as any. But there is no way a bunch of untrained, hungry kids (yes, kids), wearing cloth tennis shoes and thinking of nothing else but going home were going to win a war against Britain, regardless how many miles the English had to travel. The Argentineans were already distrustful of the military dictatorship (with good reason). If the military dictatorship in Argentina was at all concerned about winning, they would have made sure that the clothes and food donations being made throughout the country to support the troops would have actually gotten there (necessary morale boost). But nothing happened. The British were more efficient than they had hoped for and the rest is history. The Malvinas were an example of a government deliberately murdering its own people in a last gasp effort to survive. Britain is the smallest element of this story, and a book that doesn't address this fact is incomplete.

The Falkland Islands, (Islas Malvinas), are a windswept, rainy archipelago in the South Atlantic, peopled by persons of British descent who are largely engaged in sheep raising. Not a place to fight a bloody war over, you say? Wrong, and the Sunday Times Insight team does a most excellent job of explaining how and why the war came about, how it was fought, and how the British prevailed.

My fellow reviewer has excellently reported the problems faced by the United States in this war, and I can add nothing. Instead, I would like to address the Insight team's analysis of the problems faced by the Argentines and the British, commencing with the latter.

The lack of British anticipation of the Argentine invasion is detailed, as are the reasons for it. The Argentine plan was to present a fait accompli to the world, but the British were not prepared to abandon the islands so easily, even though they were 8,000 miles away. Instead, a makeshift armada was jury-rigged, and plans were made as the ships proceeded south. Distance continued to plague the British in terms of air battles, as heavy bombing was almost impossible. The Argentine planes had superior speed, but the British carrier-based Harriers were more manuverable and carried the day. Heavy weather equally bothered both sides.

The Argentine Navy was no match for the British and immediately retired to port after a single cruiser was torpedoed and sunk. The Argentine Air Force had no real bombers and used Skyhawks and Mystere fighter jets as bombers. The Argentine Exocet missile raised hob with British ships and the war may have gone differently had a few more been available.

The key difference was in the armies. The Argentines occupied the Falklands with a great many more troops than were available to the British, yet the British easily routed the Argentines. I agree with the Insight teams's conclusion that the reason lies in the fact that British soldiers are trained for warfare, which includes such things as washing clothes and dishes, digging latrines, making tents, and like menial tasks, as well as fighting battles. Argentine troops came from an army trained to break up riots, keep civil order, and the like, and the referenced menial tasks were deemed beneath their dignity. In a cold, windy, rainy place like the Falklands, under battlefield conditions, the Argentine Army broke down, and although many of their troops fought bravely, their units were simply "outtrained" and outmatched.

We now know that the Falklands, and their surrounding continental shelf, show extremely promising oil formations, and that Argentina's action may have been a prelude to further sub-Antarctic and Antarctic territorial claims. This the British could not endure, and so they fought.

This war had larger implications than first seen. Certainly, the course of Argentine history was greatly affected, as the country's military government fell after the defeat, and was replaced by a civilian-led democracy. Naval strategy, worldwide, changed after it was seen how a few well-aimed missiles could nearly destroy a fleet, and how aluminum-built vessels easily caught fire.. The area remains a potential tinderbox, but is heavily garrisoned by British troops, who actually outnumber the local inhabitants.

This book is well written, well-supplied with photographs and maps, and is the best book on the topic, I believe. Very highly recommended to war buffs and students of history.

The war in the south Atlantic over the Falkland Islands (Isles Malvinas) between Britain and Argentina in 1982 was one that seemed inevitable, and yet at the same time pointless. The historical record of ownership, well explained in the book, is a murky one, with neither nation having a paramount one. At that time, the military junta ruling Argentina was in a desperate state. The Argentine economy was in trouble again, and there was a growing undercurrent of popular discontent. Therefore, the leadership decided to launch a foreign war of expansion, based on two assumptions, only one of which was true.
They correctly believed that a successful invasion of the Falklands would unleash a wave of patriotism throughout Argentina that would submerge all the other problems in their society. However, they underestimated the resolve of Britain to maintain their control of the islands, and completely misread the position of most of the other nations in the world, especially the United States. It should have been obvious to the Argentines that the United States could not allow their NATO ally to be defeated, and therefore the Reagan administration ultimately would come down on the side of Britain.
The series of negotiations that led to war, described so well in the book, was a situation where both sides felt that they could not budge from their rigid positions. In many ways, there was a sense of inevitable tragedy about the positions taken by both the Argentines and the British. In this atmosphere, not even personal intervention by President Reagan could avoid the conflict. Of course, there was posturing between the major figures handling foreign policy for the Reagan administration. Specifically, Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick had opposing views that were played out in the press and served to complicate the issue.
Two major points in the book made a significant impression on me. The first was how outnumbered the British really were. Some of their victories were successful assaults against an entrenched enemy where they were outnumbered three and four to one. This is not to say that the Argentine forces simply gave up. They fought very well, in many cases the fighting was vicious hand-to-hand that was to the death. It truly was a war that was won by the bravery and tenacity of the British troops, and not really due to the technical prowess of the weapons. The second was the fact that a few more Exocet missiles could have led to an Argentine victory. The ones they had were able to inflict great damage to the British ships, and had the Argentines been able to hit the British aircraft carriers, it is most unlikely that the British could have won. To sum it all up, the clear conclusion is that while the British victory was total, it could have easily gone the other way.
While it will go down in history as a minor war over a very minor set of islands, the Falklands war ushered in a new era in warfare, in that ships were now more vulnerable than ever to weapons launched from great distances. It also led to a dramatic change in the Argentine political climate, leading to an end to the military rule that had carried out an extensive and one-sided civil war. This book will place you in the center of the action, military, diplomatic and political, and explains a great deal about how it all came about.

The nat'l geo series is a fantastic trip preparation guide. The photos, stories, insights into culture - this helped us choose which regions of OZ that we wanted to visit. For this I give 4 out of 5. The last star I reserve because some of the smaller places are not listed that are real gems! It is understandable though that no guide will have every dot on the map, this is why you travel and explore!! Note: for this sort of preparation and planning activity we have found no better guidebook series!

However, what we've found is that these guides are not good for hotels, restaurants, etc - there are a few (expensive!!) listed. Nor are they good for navigating/driving (we drove Melbourne to Cairns). I recommend using this guide to prepare and a Lonely Planet to find places to stay/for for more budget conscious traveler needs. Get a good road map.

I have always been a big fan of the Eye Witness travel guides because of the abundance of pictures and the wealth of information they contain. After purchasing Australia: National Geographic Traveler, I may have found another favorite.

Not only does this travel guide contain beautiful, brilliantly colored photos of Australia's countryside, people and attractions on nearly every page, it is also filled with page after page of interesting and helpful information about each of the country's regions, and provides regional maps for each of the areas it describes, as well as walking and driving tour maps. Along with historical information, the book is brimming with practical advice for travelers; from such obvious warnings as wearing a high SPF sunblock due to the country's strong sunlight, to less obvious tidbits; for instance, that the monitor-type lizards that inhabit the area, when startled, will climb the tallest object around, which may happens to be you, so stay alert!

This guide offers insightful comments about, and a glimpse of, all the popular attractions, and includes contact information, etc., and the various means of transportation to get to those destinations. It also provides suggestions and information about interesting sights not on the beaten track. The only shortcoming of this guide is that it contains a limited listing of hotels and restaurants, and that list is located at the very back of the book. But because this is a travel guide for the entire country of Australia, I can forgive this shortcoming. However, it would be more convenient to place the hotel and restaurant information for specific cities in the section of the book that talks about the region to which that city belongs. I found this book entertaining, fun to look at, and easy to read (although the print is rather small). Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a complete guide to Australia.

The nat'l geo series is a fantastic trip preparation guide. The photos, stories, insights into culture - this helped us choose which regions of OZ that we wanted to visit. For this I give 4 out of 5. The last star I reserve because some of the smaller places are not listed that are real gems! It is understandable though that no guide will have every dot on the map, this is why you travel and explore!! Note: for this sort of preparation and planning activity we have found no better guidebook series!

However, what we've found is that these guides are not good for hotels, restaurants, etc - there are a few (expensive!!) listed. Nor are the driving (we drove Melbourne to Cairns) listed. I recommend using this guide to prepare and a Lonely Planet to find places to stay/for for more budget conscious traveler needs. Get a good road map.

I really loved this book because it prepared me for everything. The only thing that would have made it 5 stars is if it was a longer book. It hits every topic I could think of.

this book is maybe more indepth than most travelers will need for a brief stay like mine will be - 2 weeks- but for someone looking to stay longer or to move there this is a terrific resource. I'm hoping to get off of the beaten path in my time there so I am paying close attention to this book. Right now I can't wait to get there. I hope I can remember my manners!

We run an international recruitment company assisting migrants from the UK to settle in New Zealand and have been looking for suitable book(s) to give them as preparation for what to expect on arrival. We ourselves have lived in several different countries and my husband is a migrant to NZ so we knew what we were looking for in this regard. I was really disappointed to find that many books which were last 'updated' or 'revised' in 2003 or 2004 have actually only had minimal revisions and are quite out of date on most aspects including referring to legislation or government departments that changed in 2000-2001. Not so with this one - all information is up to date as at 2004, and I only noticed 3 minor factual errors or omissions in the whole book.

Peter has written a good general introduction to life in NZ and shares from his own experiences as a migrant. The book highlights aspects of NZ lifestyle that immigrants from a variety of backgrounds could find new or unusual and he provides a fairly good list of information websites at the back of the book for people who are willing to do their own legwork to find out more. I was pleased to find that Culture Shock has added a New Zealand title to their list as I have found their books useful for other countries, and as a New Zealander I would have to agree with the information that Peter is presenting. It will be interesting to see how our new migrants find it! The only wish I would have is that it could cover even more ground, but of course authors have to set limits somewhere, and there is that handy list of websites to refer to...

The book was a gift. The recipient was very happy with it. Well written book. Just enough information for the age of the person wanting it.

Easter Island is one of the most interesting places in the world, but you would never know it from this text that is so much like geography textbooks of old that you don't want to even turn the page. What does keep you turning the pages are the pictures which are quite beautiful and, in themselves, illuminating... A worthy effort, with solid information...

An excellent informational book about Easter Island and its mysterious past. Schort chapters break the book into easily managable sections. The vocabulary is appropriate for the intended age group. Factual information is clearly separated from theories. When applicable, multiple theories are presented. Crisp, clear photographs throughout the book serve to clarify the narration. A glossary, complete with pronounciation guide, is included along with an index.

There was a brief history of the French Polynesian Islands with slightly more detailed information on the individual islands. The best thing was the wonderful underwater dive site maps. I love it!

This book was useful when we visited the South Seas as to what was "under" the water. It is very well presented with drawings of fish in the area as well as routes to take when scuba diving. It is limited as to the islands it covers so one should check to see if the book covers where you will be.

It was an okay guide. I was looking more for fish species and other dive information.

Purchased this to replace the one we lost from the public library. Kids liked it and it helped them learn the reef life. Mom went a little crazy with all the repetition.

Not only does my niece love this book, I'm quite fond of the series, too! The illustrations are detailed and painstakingly accurate, but the real treasure is Dunphy's language. The motif may seem simple, but it actively tunes in a child's curiosity, making her or him eager to turn the page and see what's next.

I really enjoy Madeleine Dunphy's "Here is the Coral Reef," as I do all of her other "Here is..." books (rainforest, arctic winter, southwestern desert, and wetlands). "Here is the Coral Reef" provides parents a fun, colorful medium for teaching children about the coral reef ecosystem. The cumulative verse format is an elegant way to teach about the interconnections between all life. The illustrations are gloriously bright, with just enough action to keep the kids going, but nothing gory. The story grows incrementally with each page, tracing the unseen threads of biological systems, and culminating in a montage of its reef-dwelling characters. Kids seem to like the repetition...but any parent knows how much children enjoy repeating their favorite stories, songs or videos over and over and over! I would highly recommend this subtle yet effective book for parents and educators (*****).

Commins has taken on the heroic task of writing a one-man reference work, and it's proven a bit much for him. Many entries merely scratch the surface, retelling well-known information without providing insight or new information. Others are severely out of date. The bibliography cites no travel book after 1980, thereby missing, among others, the estimable Syria by Coleman South in the Cultural Shock! series (London: Kuperard, 1995). The story of Mustafa Tlas, Syria's current defense minister, ends with his taking this position in 1972. The biography of Ma`ruf ad-Dawalibi closes in 1962, ignoring his many active years since. The entry on `Alawis fizzles out in 1960, just on the eve of their taking control of Syria and, for the first time ever, their becoming power brokers. Information on the Greater Syria ideology ends in the 1950s, missing entirely the successes of Hafiz al-Asad in this domain. Likewise, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party also terminates in the 1950s. The history of Alexandretta ends way back in 1939, just as Syrian irredentism began.

Another problem concerns Commins' tendency to shade information to fit his views and biases. In some cases, this means presenting supposition as fact, for example, asserting that in October 1990, "In a gesture of gratitude, the United States gave Syria the green light" to bring its Lebanese opponents to heel. In others, this means questioning well-established facts, such as his dismissal of Syrian support for the PKK organization as "allegations."

Middle East Quarterly, December 1996

You will not find a better cure for insomnia anywhere else in the Middle East History section if you're not a scholar. If you are a scholar, then this book will make you an insomniac! An extraordinary piece of literature, the best Historical Dictionary in the series. The depth of research and coverage of the many facets of the Syrian identity in terms of geography, culture, and politics are adeptly covered in this gorgeous book. Brilliant authorship.

Don't be fooled by the title -- this book was a real page-turner. A more complete, concise history of Syria has yet to be written. And when it is, I'm sure it will be Commins' own revised edition. It's a hard subject deftly handled with precision. Should be required reading in all history courses.

After securing Guadalcanal in February of 1943, the Joint Chiefs began to decide where to stike at the Japanese next. It was decided that a thrust into the Central Pacific island groups of the Marshalls and Gilberts would be the objective, with the island of Tarawa in the Gilberts to be taken first. What happened on that tiny island in the Central Pacific can only be described as some of the bloodiest fighting of the war and a near disaster for the Americans.

Tarawa is surrounded by a coral reef which reaches as much as a half mile out into the ocean. Preliminary reports stated that the tide should have been high enough for the invasion fleet to successfully navigate over the reef, but the reports proved to be wrong. Much of the reef was exposed, so men were forced to wade in chest-deep water up to a half mile to the beach while facing murderous Japanese fire.

The pre-invasion bombardment of the island destroyed much of the above-ground buildings and outposts, but the Japanese had spend considerable time and labor constructing bunkers and pillboxes made from coral, logs, and concrete so strong that only a direct hit from a heavy bomb or shell could successuflly knock them out. These positions proved to be deadly for the Americans, as many were constructed to provide covering fire for other positions.

Once ashore, the Americans faced a fanatical enemy who refused to surrender. Many Japanese were literally burned alive by flamethrowers or blown to bits by grenades.

The losses of the battle were horrific for both sides. The Japanese lost virtually every man, while the casualties the Americans suffered were unlike any ever seen, and only matched by Iwo Jima and Okinawa. A battle that was supposed to last but a few hours turned into a week-long struggle for survival.

I felt this book did a good job of describing the decision to attack the Gilberts and Marshalls, and the description of the battle for both sides was well done. The quotes from veterans were essential to understanding the true essence of the battle, and the author supplies many quotes throughout the book. I recommend this book. It gives a good basic description of one of the bloodiest battles the Americans fought against the Japanese and the lessons learned from it.

After seeing "Saving Private Ryan," the most moving and authentic WWII movie thus far, I was moved to better understand the war my father fought in. He has never shared his experiences and now I know why. He was 2nd Marines 3rd wave at Tarawa. What a battle. I always knew that my dad and those Marines were heroes and now this book has helped me to understand why. I hope that a "realistic" movie is made about Tarawa because that battle must stand as one of the quintessential Marine Corps battles of all times. This book is a good read.

Author isn't a gripping storyteller. He pails in comparison to Alistair Horne (VERDUN), Max Hastings (THE KOREAN WAR) or Cornelius Ryan (THE LONGEST DAY). He slips in uninformative quotes like a college History major with a desk full of notes he refuses to pare down (ie. Nimitz to Spruance:"Spru, you are lucky.") for a term paper. Uses too much military jargon and too many abreviations for your non-expert. Details the landing quite well; the reader gets a good feel of the terror and carnage. In comparison, the marines drive inland from the beaches should have been told in greater detail. Author paints a good picture of several of the marines, especially the legendary William "Hawk" Hawkins who died in the fighting. Mr. Graham does a decent job with his material; the heroes of Tarawa deserve a greater writer to tell their courageous story.

Being the only guidebook to West Papua/Irian Jaya alone is a major merit of it. It also has well-researched background information and decent practical details on the major tourist attractions of this area.
However, ONLY the major tourist attractions (Jayapura/Baliem/Biak/Manokwari/Asmat) are covered in any detail, and even many of those descriptions are simply accounts of the author's own travels there, which seem to have taken place many, many years ago.
There is no description of plenty of other, relatively accessible and increasingly popular parts of Papua, some of which are actually covered in the Rough Guide to Indonesia.
But with coverage of this region in general guidebooks to Indonesia invariably limited in length, this book is certainly still worth buying by anyone who wants to spend more than just a week there.

I found the book helpful, informative and the pictures to be breathtaking. It is a great combination of practical and aesthetic.

This book has all the practical and background information -- and more -- that any backpacker or ecotourist would need to visit this mindblowing destination, truly one of the wildest, most exciting, and most remote places left on the planet (recently renamed Papua or West Papua). This place has it all -- some of the most pristine and richest rainforests anywhere, amazing and vibrant tribal cultures (some, like the Asmat and Dani are retain many of their traditional customs), loads of interesting, colorful, and strange critters (ex. Birds of Paradise), and some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. (Irian/Papua has the tallest mountains between the Himalayas and the Andes). Muller gives ample and well researched descriptions of the natural history, political background, and cultural context of Irian/Papua, as well as what any traveller will naturally want: practical tips on where to stay, what to do and see and how specifically to do it. There is also other essential stuff on recommended travel items, medical info, and other key stuff you'll want to have handy. There simply is no other book that gives so much background material as this one. For that matter, Muller's other guidebooks on Indonesia are similarly excellent. The Lonely Planet and Moon guidebooks to Indonesia are OK for other parts of the country, but very inadequate when it comes to Irian, so if you're headed there or thinking of going, this book is definitely the one you want. The pictures are also great, and will get you rearin' to go. I would have given it 5 stars, except for the fact that it doesn't have much info on several interesting parts of Irian -- but that's not Muller's fault, there are just some places that are just about impossible to get to. That said, there is more than enough data here on the obvious places (Baliem Valley, Jayapura, Biak, Asmat, Birds Head) that a first, second, or third time traveller to Irian/Papua will want or need.

This map will only be useful to you if you don't have any other basic resources, like a general world atlas or travel guides, at home.
The main map itself shows the entire South Pacific region, with country boundaries clearly marked, but individual islands reduced to the size of dots.
Major islands are shown on inset maps, however even these are still tiny - you will find bigger, more detailed, and more accurate maps of the same islands (and many more) in travel guidebooks to this region by Lonely Planet or Moon.
In short, unless you just want a general map to hang on your wall, don't waste your money on this one!

This map covers an area of the world that is not well represented in most world atlases. Excellent index. Fifty-one detailed inset maps.

I've been looking for a map for a long time of Oceania because after college I'm settling on an island by myself in search for waves. I could'nt believe all the islands I've never known about. If I was to purchase one map in conjunction with nautical charts, it would be this one.