Oceania Books

Conrad's account of his return to Tasmania is a delightful journey in time, place and language. Tasmania's special place in history and geography is depicted in the special style that can only be invoked by the self-exile. His prose is rich with metaphor in dealing with his own life, Tasmania's physical features and the society English society imposed on it. Raised in a suburb north of the State Capital, Hobart [the world's most southern such], Conrad's childhood environment was overshadowed by the looming, capriciously moody Mount Wellington. Everything else about Tasmania was "Behind the Mountain."

Conrad is expressive about what it was like to be raised in a place that even the rest of Australia seemed to have forgotten - it was left off school maps of the Last Continent. As the site of imprisonment for the most incorrigible of Britain's transported felons, its white inhabitants later tried to erase their own history. Isolated, then, in place both globally and socially, its people clung to the only culture they could derive - the "home" that was England. Even when the rest of Australia sought ties with the Americans, Tasmania remained locked into their version of the "old country."

Conrad breaks the mould of that image. He's frank about the white's treatment of Tasmania's Aborigine population and culture. He contrasts the outlook that named and respected every mountain, stream or other physical feature of the island. The Parlemar people were rounded up in a series of paramilitary exercises, the most notorious that of the Black Line. The surviving Aborigines [some suicided from seaside cliffs] were exiled to Flinders Island and other off-shore sites to rot and die. Even their corpses were desecrated by amateur "anthropologists" keen to depict them as sub-humans, well deserving extinction. The eradication was absolute - Tasmania remains the only Australian State with no surviving indigenous population.

Conrad journeys over the island by bus and aircraft [he is unable to drive]. The jaunts confront us with bizarre naming practices the island was subjected to by white settlers. No Aborigine names were applied until the State's Hydro Commission attempted some restitution while building dams in the mountains. The attempt is simply a final instance of the paucity of knowledge of Aborigine culture. His tours take us to Port Davey, a week's walk from the nearest road end, and the distant, disreputable Macquarie Harbour. His map shows the anomaly of this extensive estuary with its entrance but 60 metres wide. It was truly the end of the world for many convicts who laboured their lives away under assault by winds originating off the South African coast.

His candor in descriptions of his life and his family is refreshing. He aspired to the exile he entered with unwarranted enthusiasm. The book opens with the conflagration of his childhood artifacts. He is later as disturbed by this sacrifice as we are while reading it. His evocative metaphors evoke the remorse to follow him as he recovers or recreates those childhood losses. The memories he solicits show a level of confusion about his own identity - at one point unable to discern whether the image in a photograph is himself or his father. Life on the Apple Isle could lead to such vague self-persona given the paucity of information about his roots. An alcoholic grandfather had simply been made to disappear by the rest of his family.

It's trite to state that any examination of one's roots can lead to disillusionment. But Conrad's return to this remote land provided an improved sense of self-identity. He returned to learn more of his natal surroundings than would have been possible had he not left. He demonstrates that all he learned during his journeys didn't require a comparison to his adopted land to be valuable. Every place he visited or researched provided new elements of his self-awareness in their own right. The book is an object lesson for anyone who has left home for other venues. Read it to learn of this faraway land, the brilliance of its re-discoverer, and perhaps some insight into your own outlook about where you are. It's a rewarding journey.

Behind the Mountain is a unique creation, more than a close, personal look at a most unusual place, Tasmania, "an appendix, an after thought" to the mainland of Australia. It is also the memoir of a brilliant, scholarly self-exile's return after twenty years and his coming-to-terms with the people and places that made him who he is.

Conrad had "escaped" from Tasmania at age twenty to attend university at Oxford and to start a new life. He had burned in the back yard all his diaries, exercise books, and "anything that might incriminate [him] by attaching an identity to [him]." He had left his home and family behind, intending never to return, believing that "Home was where you started from, not where you stayed." Twenty years older when he writes of revisiting Tasmania, he has discovered that despite his attempt to escape, "Tasmania had set the terms of [his] life. The home you cannot return to you carry off with you: it lies down the at the bottom of the world, and of the sleeping, imagining mind."

This search for identity and roots informs his travels within Tasmania and gives the book an immediacy and liveliness lacking in so many other studies of place. Tasmania, he explains, is "an offshore island off the shore of an offshore continent," its residents therefore the "victims of a twofold alienation," with nothing between them and Anarctica, the end of the world. Conrad turns his eagle eye, his thoughtful sensibility, his absolutely limitless vocabulary, and his extraordinary skills at description to the recreation of Tasmania from the air, from the water, from the farm, from the mountain, and even under the ground, all in vivid word pictures. You will travel with him, and experience the great good fortune of seeing the island through the eyes of a gifted and introspective native whose twenty-year absence has given him a perspective on life in Tasmania that enable him to communicate it with "outsiders."

Best of all, Conrad permits the reader to share his discovery that he had "placed [his] trust, mistakenly, in the myth of self-invention. You created yourself, and did so out of nothing." Instead, he finds, "we are all still pioneers, required to colonise the piece of ground which chance assigns us, to make it our own by shaping it into a small, autonomous intelligible world....[Tasmania] was the landscape inside me: the space where I spent my dreaming time....Tasmania had set the terms of my life."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You don't know me or my tastes from Adam. Why bother listening; well because I don't have an axe to grind or dollar to make.

James K Baxter is a great poet. Being a parochial New Zealander helps, but the way JKBaxter moves me spells 'good' in 6ft letters above my head.

Start with something fun 'An Ode on Mixed flatting' 1967 and work you're way round this collection. There is something for any mood you're in.

dorje@greenkiwi.co.nz

JKB is THE MOST underrated underappreciated poet to come out of the antipodes. This is not light reading!. Don't pick it up as before sleep fodder It deserves at least an entire cold, drizzly day by the fire.

This book is a great read to help you plan ahead for your adventure. Most importantly, it is easy to understand and gives you everything you need to know. It is difficult not to be enthusiastic or motivated after reading it.

Sven Klinge is the author of the most comprehensive cycling guide books in Australia. By combining cycling with walking treks, he has explored over 300 of Australia's National Parks and State Forests. Born in Sydney and educated at the University of Sydney, Sven now divides his time between accountancy and other writing projects. CYCLING THE BUSH: MOUNTAIN BIKING IN AUSTRALIA is a comprehensive guide to mountain biking and cycle touring down under. The range of rides includes short one day trips around the states' capitals to extended overnight cycling/walking expeditions in remote and rugged wilderness areas. Almost all of Great Dividing Range's major national parks are covered. Other parts deal with the coast and beaches, pristine lakes and rivers, spectacular waterfalls and lookouts, as well as the great outback, and our world heritage rainforests. Each ride incorporates data on distances, height variation, transport, access, track and rides grades, facilities, map references, and special equipment needed. Extensive information is provided on geological, biological, and historical aspects of natural, Aboriginal, and colonial features along the rides. In COMPACT, LIGHTWEIGHT FORMAT, this guide should be POCKET EQUIPMENT for every cyclist and bushwalker wishing to discover this exciting way of venturing into Australia's great national parks system.

This book includes a great amount of detail for designers. Covers winding, materials, magnetics, thermal considerations, etc. Has plenty of equations that are required for design. Both authors are well known and fellows of the IEEE.

The book lacks details of motor construction, which I have not found anywhere yet. Also wish it came with a software tutorial or something. But the best book on motors I have found yet, and I've looked (and bought) a number of them.

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed this book. It helped us a lot in designing our smoovy micro motors. Technically first class and well written, recommended to anybody who needs a good understanding of motor design issues.

The Lonely Planet books on diving are always a good bet on defining a place to dive.

Great photos and explanations of all the dive sites. Also road maps and location details. Very informative book. Small enough to take with you on your trip.

My wife and I recently made a two week motor-home road-trip across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. I'd picked up a copy of "Driving Scenic New Zealand", second edition, quite by chance at a small book-store in Auckland just prior to beginning our road trip. I didn't fully appreciate it until we were on the road.

The book focuses on, in addition to popular destinations, road routes, and invaluable details such as rest stops, information centers, and other amenities along the way. The color maps and travel time estimates are extremely helpful. The author displays a good knowledge of some of the roads less traveled and a genuine love for the scenic beauty of New Zealand.

New Zealand is a country best traveled by road and this book is absolutely essential for anyone who plans to do so. I highly recommend it.

If you tour New Zealand, you will probably spend many hours in a car on rural 2-lane highways with lots of opportunities to stop and meander. Unlike most guidebooks, which focus on destinations, this book tells you what to look for while you're getting from one place to another. During a 4-week tour I found the author to be a consistently reliable guide and I saw and did a lot of great things that I would have missed otherwise. This book is also tastefully and intelligently designed and spiral bound for easy use. It was published in 2001, so I hope the publishers will eventually put out an updated version.

This survey of the El Nino phenomenon examines world systems of climate and change, bringing together the latest historical and scientific discoveries about El Nino and its effects on civilizations. Archaeological records and scientific surveys are used in the course of considering the past effects of El Nino and its possibilities for the future of Earth's climate.

The extreme weather condition known as El Nino is part of a much bigger world weather system linking the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Asian monsoon, and the Pacific El Nino. Several El Nino episodes took place during the Little Ice Age between 1200 and 1900, especially in the 1570-1740 time frame. Based upon archaeological findings as well as historical records, El Nino: History And Crisis is a superb history of the impact upon human civilizations of this phenomena down to the present day, and offers timely warnings of the likely effects of future weather-affecting climate changes on agriculture and public health. Highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the environment.