Oceania Books

All you ever wanted to know about this fascinating place and a little bit more can be found in this book. Good reading, great pictures, and fun to share with friends. Makes a great gift for those who enjoy learning and sharing!

This book is a collection of letters written by Margaret Mead to friends and family while she was working in the field. The letters span her entire career, from 1925 until 1975, and are accompanied in every chapter by photos by and of Mead. I found the letters quite intriguing, both for what they said as well as for what they didn't say. Some of the letters provide travelogue-like details of what conditions were like at her research sites. Some tell us a little more of what she was really thinking about the people and cultures that she later wrote formal descriptions of. Some of the later letters are quite formal, more journal entries than personal letters.

I found some of the most interesting materials actually to be the short introductions that Mead wrote at the beginning of each chapter, where she glosses quickly over the enormous upheavals in her personal life. In chapter 1, she says goodbye to her "student husband, Luther Cressman." In the next chapter, she notes that she stopped in Auckland on her way to the Admiralty Islands to marry Reo Fortune before starting her 1928-29 research project in Manus. Then in chapter 5, she stops in Singapore to marry Gregory Bateson in preparation for their 1936-1939 project in Bali. Since I had only read Mead's professional writings before, the book's casual mentions of frequent successive marriages aroused some curiosity about her personal life. A quick Web search revealed quite a bit more, including a long-standing connection with Ruth Benedict (see for example "Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict: The Kinship of Women" by Hilary Lapsley). If you are interested in the life and work of Margaret Mead, this book will give you some insight into Mead's own opinions of what she was observing that go beyond the objective descriptions found in her formal works.

Comprehensive, Good-looking and Feeling so "cool" to carry restaurant guide for Sydney (heavy-pocket) goers. I found this book after I came back from Australia. So it was quite a good memory for me, coz there is one of the restaurants I went to which listed here, and what is said in the book is just what I thought of that restaurant really is. For me, I rated the credibility for 8 out of 10, Practical (how useful of the book) I give 5, coz there are only the expensive restaurants listed, and we all know that there are loads of good food and cheap restaurants out there...so I would say ok, if you wanna go out once a while to dine in a fine restaurants. Presentation (how the book looks) I give 9.5 for the presentation: with the pocket size that you can bring along, the PVC cover that will make the book tougher coz we all know that this kind of book need to open quite a lot and the inside is so cool with the photos (you can't tell what they were taken anyway) good paper and very nice 10 points cover. I would say that overall compare to the other restaurant guide I have read...("Sagat's survey"---Bad. Presentation (which always stays in my passenger side's compartment) but excellence and trustworthy data...The "Tatler's"--- all commercials but really nice with 4 colors photos of the restaurant and mouth watering dishes) So "Out to Eat" is in between---- if you are looking for the restaurants quide, I would recommend this one but do not expect to pay less than 30 Aus$ for a meal.

The first thing I want to point out is that this book has many more (and better) maps of Auckland than the full Lonely Planet New Zealand, so in that sense it's a great book for someone who will be spending a while in the city. However, I think the ideal person to buy this book would be someone who is traveling around the south pacific and due to time constraints will only be hitting Auckland and the surrounding area. I met a lot of vacationers in Auckland who were doing just that. If that's you, pick up this book! It's a lot less weighty than the full LPNZ, and it covers everything from the Bay of Islands to Rotorua (and places in between like Whangarei and Hamilton) -- not just Auckland city. The only downside is that the prices are slightly out of date since it's a couple of years old. However, all the info other than prices about places to stay, things to do, etc. is still valid (I just visited July-August 2001, so I know).

My wife and I used this handy guide on a recent trip to Honolulu. It was the only one we consulted and it seemed to be adequate. The map section was particularly useful in helping us to navigate around Honolulu and Waikiki. Since we returned home there have been some more instances when the guide was needed as a reference.

The authors give only a lukewarm recommendation for the Polynesian Cultural Center. We are much more enthusiastic about our memories of that experience.

Sometimes when you read a book like this your desire to go to a place lessens. But not with this one. I am definitely going to Samoa! Get the feeling it will help me there.

A typically good LP guide, but be aware that while earlier editions of the title included the whole South Pacific area, this edition does not include Micronesia. (And LP hasn't updated their micronesia guide since 2000.) So if you're planning to visit Kiribati, Palau, or other countries in Micronesia, this guide won't meet your needs.

The third edition of this guide to Australia's smallest mainland state shows a definite shift towards, if not the high-end traveller, at least the mid-end traveller with expanded listing of lodging and eating establishments to include more expensive options, especially in the section covering Melbourne. The coverage of the rest of the state is as exhaustive as in previous editions. While Lonely Planet refuses (or does not have the staff) to update the printed versions of their guides more than once every two or three years.

The only real criticism I have of this guide is that the author(s) clearly have animus against the current Victorian government. While everyone is entitled to political opinions, they are out of place in a guidebook, particularly in a series which includes guides to such places as Burma.

I had a chance to look through this book recently at a friends house, and I was pretty impressed. It contains a bunch of useful maps, which from my experience are more than adequate to help you get where your going, or find a place to go if you don't know where you want to be. It also has page upon page of great information on all things walking in Australia. Well worth the price.

As an expatriate Sandgroper, this narrative was quite entrancing. The authors have clearly spent much time traipsing through the vast areas of Western Australia. Arguably, they have seen more of it than many of its locals, who tend to be congegated in the Perth metropolitan area. Thus, somewhat ironically, a ready audience for this book might be people in Perth that wish to get out and see more of Australia's largest state.

Overseas visitors should be cautioned about the book. Even though it does give the size of WA, the sheer immensity and dearth of people may still be surprising. Twice the size of Alaska, and with scarcely 2 million people. Well over half of which are in Perth. The book strives to convey the feeling of desolation once you leave Perth, and you should do well to keep that in mind.