Oceania Books

This is a well-conceived and interesting book that provides the research to support Snouck Hurgronje's assertion (in "Mekka") that the Jawah -- pilgrims from the Malay world -- *were* forming a new archipelagic identity in the Middle East. Laffan counters Benedict Anderson's claim in "Imagined Communities" that the pre-national religious pilgrimages didn't set folks on new journeys but merely returned them to their old lives with elevated status. He charts the creation of a new identity that was politicized but not nationalist in the conventional sense.

Now if only I could afford to own the thing...

As a "kamaaina"(person born and raised in Hawaii), I have read most of the literature about the State. Author Tom Coffman, has written several books about Hawaii, including his first, "Catch A Wave", which was about the 1970 gubernatorial campaign. He has written what I believe, is the best political history of the State in this current book. The previous "best" was one written in the late 1950's, entitled "Hawaii Pono" by Lawrence Fuchs. Coffman's book, in a highly readable and well-researched, up-dates that history and adds other facts. Coffman seems to have researched oral history accounts and other sources and adds much to knowledge about a state that is like no other...at the island edge of America.

I have always been a Jack London fan. However, every one of his stories has long since been read and reread by me and millions of others out there. Now, we have something new to hold onto, even if it is for just a short time. Thank you Gary and Tom for giving me Jack London once again. Perhaps one of you could sign the book for me sometime. What a pleasure. Thank you for intriguing mind-blowing stories. Jack grabs you once again and throws you, (not takes you,) into the very heart of the story.

This book contains excellent background information on Java and descriptions of both its major highlights and obscure attractions - particularly archeological remains and national parks - written by a team of expert authors along with photos of stunnning quality.
Practical information is found separately in the back of the book, and is somewhat dated but still adequate.
Highly recommended, even as a 2nd guidebook if you already have a general Indonesia guide stronger on practical details like Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.

Bruce Murray, former director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, provides in this book an excellent discussion of the planetary science program of the United States from the dawn of the space age in the 1950s to the end of the cold war. It is an entertaining and interesting analysis of the cause of planetary space exploration written by a brilliant iconoclast in the space science community. Murray's ideas are always fascinating to consider, and his running critique on the role of humans versus robots in space exploration is certainly worth considering. This book is divided into five parts starting with the search for life on Mars, and continuing through "Probing Warmer Worlds," Voyager and the Grandest Tour Ever," "Lost in Space," "Comet Tales," and a reprise on returning to Mars. In each section Murray brings his hard-edged perspective and sometimes biting wit to trace the evolution of planetary exploration between the 1950s and 1980s. I will comment on two very interesting aspects of this book.

The first is the section that Murray writes at the beginning of the book on the longstanding human fascination of the possibility of life on Mars that Percival Lowell ignited and that culminated in the Viking landers on Mars in 1976. After years of belief that Mars might harbor life, the Viking landings demonstrated that the prospects for discovering extraterrestrial life had been oversold. Murray explains here that the Viking landers had been ballyhooed as a definite means of ascertaining whether or not life existed on Mars. The public expected to find it, and probably so did many of the scientists, and what would happen when hopes were dashed? Murray argued that "the extraordinarily hostile environment revealed by the Mariner flybys made life there so unlikely that public expectations should not be raised." Carl Sagan, who fully expected to find something there, accused Murray of pessimism. Murray asserted that Sagan was far too optimistic. And the two publicly jousted over how to treat the Viking mission. Murray, as well as other politically savvy scientists and public intellectuals, argued that the legacy of failure to detect life, despite billions spent on research since the beginning of the space age and over-optimistic statements that a breakthrough was just around the corner, would spark public disappointment and perhaps an outrage manifested in reduced public funding for the effort (pp. 61, 68-69, 74, 77). Murray seems to have been right, for after the Viking missions the U.S. did not send another probe to Mars until the 1990s.

Second, Murray is at his best in charting the bobs and weaves, ebbs and flows of space science politics in relation to the human spaceflight agenda of NASA. Without question, NASA's emphasis has been on human spaceflight--it consumes approximately half of the NASA budget every year--and the planetary exploration agenda must always be cognizant of this overarching priority. As the Space Shuttle came on line in the early 1980s, the planetary exploration program constantly fell sway to the shuttle's priorities. The NASA budget reflected the importance of the shuttle program, and the need to launch everything on the shuttle prompted the reconfiguration of planetary probes for that requirement. Murray makes numerous comments on this subject. He wrote that his planetary missions were constantly challenged by the shuttle, as NASA's dollars were poured into a development program which lagged behind schedule and over budget. He refers to the shuttle as NASA's "sacred cow" which always has to be fed despite any other worthwhile projects that went begging. This was especially true during the early 1980s when the shuttle was first starting to fly and the Reagan administration was intent on cutting government expenditures. In essence, Murray concludes, the shuttle priority ensured that the United States would have no mission to Halley's Comet when it reached Earth in 1986. Moreover, while it proved and enormously significant mission, what became the Galileo probe to Jupiter was constantly reconfigured for shuttle launch, each time increasing costs and compromising the quality of the science.

Murray ends his book with a reconsideration of Mars exploration, but this time with other nations. Writing in 1989, just as the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse, he foresaw some of the cooperative efforts that became the norm for spaceflight in the 1990s and later.

This is an important book, and one that is very useful for any who wishing to understand the nature of planetary exploration since the dawn of the space age. Too bad that it is out of print. Fortunately, there are several second hand copies available at reasonable prices. Buy them and read Murray's analysis. It is well worth the time and energy.

Just Left of the Setting Sun is a collection of non-fiction essays by a young Chamoru scholar-activist from the island of Guam. These essays reflect the present-day reality of the indigenous people of the island of Guam.

This book is framed in the context of an island that exists amidst the many conflicts and contradictions of being "freed from colonialism" by another colonial power in 1898 and "liberated from wartime aggression" by a country that put in under a Naval Administration until the 1960s and who worked to eliminate the culture of the local people through forced assimilation and nominal citizenship. It is written to articulate the reality of the Chamoru people of Guam as an indigenous Pacific Island culture, an American minority group, and an island people threatened by the encroachment of globalization into their lives. These essays will cause the reader to think critically on the subjects of globalization, sustainable development, sustainable governance, cultural reclamation, and self-determination on Guam, amongst the indigenous and colonized peoples in the world, question the value of democracy if it is involuntarily imposed on a people. This book is especially relevant for the present state of the world.

Just Left is included in an academic series that blue ocean press publishes - `The 1898 Consciousness Studies Series'. This series is a varied collection of essays on consciousness today in areas affected by the Spanish-American War and consequent possession by the U.S. These include The Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

While her husband Derek is in America for a year, Sandra Mahoney struggles with helping her eight years old son Peter cope with reading while returning to the workforce after several years as a stay at home mom. She gets a civil servant job with the Australian Labor Relations Service Department Industries Branch whose unpopular director Rae Evans was a friend of her deceased mother.

However, her peers except for the zany Ivan Semyonov make it evident they do not want her here; each fears for their job with the government changing parties as this branch is probably going out of existence. Canberra Times reporter Gail Tremboth calls Sandra as they were college cronies to ask about Rae. An email the paper received insists that Rae embezzled $900K by adding a zero to a grant check and has committed computer fraud. Sandra, remembering her mother's motto of loyalty to friends, believes her boss is innocent and tries to prove she is right with only Ivan helping her as everyone else in the office wants Sandra to take the fall even if she proves to be innocent.

THE TROJAN DOG is a terrific Australian amateur sleuth starring a delightful protagonist, a fabulous support cast who makes the office seem real, and a fantastic look at Canberra. Though Sandra feels the world caving in on her with her spouse overseas, her son struggling with school, and her new job probably ending when the government switches leadership, she believes strongly in doing what she perceives is the right thing by not just standing loyally with Rae, but actively proving she did not commit the crimes. Dorothy Johnston provides a super investigative tale that readers will value.

Harriet Klausner

This book adds significantly to the understanding of Katherine Mansfield and her New Zealand stories. I enjoyed it very much.

If you're new to Katherine Mansfield, this is a good book to start with. Smith opens some doors for the novice or scholar. You might want to buy Vincent O'Sullivan's recent anthology published by Norton to use as your reading copy of KM's works. It's easy to find Antony Alper's excellent full length biography. It's essential reading too. If you are serious about your reading, Alpers also edited her works (Oxford U Press), and it's worth tracking down a copy -- not just for the logical arrangement of the text, but for his excellent notes.

The author obviously did his homework in compiling this book. If you really want to know the history of Kauai, you cannot go wrong with this book. It covers the origins from the first settlers to the landing of Captain Cook and ends with the annexation of the islands by the United States.

My only ping is it tends to jump dates and times about subjects while on the same page and you lose track of where you are. I can understand why the author did this, but it breaks the flow when you are trying to process Hawaiian names and places at the same time.

But don't let that stop you from purchasing this book if you want a real history and education on Kauai. If you can retain 10% of what this book offers, you will be an expert on the island.

If you go or have gone to Kauai, the places you visit will have much more meaning than just going to a snorkeling location or paddling the Wailua river. You learn about how sacred these places were to the ancient Hawaiians and also how the island both prospered and faultered throughout its inhabitance.

The Na Pali coast is devoid of any people or communities today, but in ancient times, many people lived in those valleys. Families trekked across treacherous terrains just to visit each other. It is amazing to think about when you stand at the top of the Kalalau lookout.

When you pull off the side of the rode to look at the Hanapepe valley, you are looking at the location where many people were killed as "payback" for Kauai's resistance to unification of the islands from years past.

These stories and more are vividly explained. It's not a tale of fiction or an easy read like Harry Potter. What it is though is a thoughtful, historic and educational story of the island and the people who lived there.