Oceania Books

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.

In the scope of the great cities worldwide, Melbourne is a baby. Slightly larger than Vatican City, it's easy to write the city off in contrast to the big five; New York, Paris, Rome, London and Tokyo. However, I always felt with utmost conviction that Melbourne can hold a torch to those great landscapes because of the sheer number of cultures, religions, ideas, viewpoints and backgrounds that have been integrated to give this city its unique character unlike anything else in Australia; Melbourne truly falls under the banner of melting-pot. This encyclopaedia chronicles all the suburbs, municipalities, nationalities, landmarks and institutions that have given the city its rich, albeit short, history from the indigenous era to the gold rush to the booming years of development during the last few decades. The Encyclopedia of Melbourne deserves a place on the bookshelf of any Australian who feels a strong sense of loyalty to Marvellous Melbourne.

Melbourne is easily the best city in Australia. It has the best geography, architecture, restaurants, coffee shops, public transport (we have a fantastic tram network), libraries, galleries and gardens. On top of all that, its inhabitants are remarkably relaxed and friendly. The new 'Encyclopedia of Melbourne' is like the city, expansive and generous, and great for dipping & skipping through over a few weeks. It has hundreds of contributors and a number of personal essays by notable Melbournians (and it weighs a ton). It has a huge range of subjects, including a small section about 'nature strips' and a couple of pages about smells. One of the most poetic entries is about Victoria's seasons and their taxonomy, which were reclassified according to observations of plant and animal life (and removed autumn).

Anyone familiar with Melbourne will find one or two problems: I noticed the section about the National Gallery of Victoria neglected to mention the architect, Roy Grounds. Some readers might also find the general style of the prose too academic or humourless.

Canberra is tranquil but entirely suburban and Perth, Hobart and Brisbane are perhaps too small (but I haven't lived in those three) and Sydney - urgh - is an ugly, car-crushed wasteland that only ignorant tourists could love (yes, I lived there for six years and it's a hole). Melbourne seems to have all the best features of a great city without the usual attendant problems. Was this from luck or the talents of its citizens?

Bookbag...
A writer and photographer who splits his life between his native California and his adopted homeland of French Polynesia, Winston Conrad has put together a sampler of Pacific paradises. The title - Fabled Isles of the South Seas (dist. by ACCESS Publishers, $49.95) - says it all, or nearly, and Conrad's selection is hard to quarrel with, including as it does Tahiti and its Society Island neighbors, Pitcairn, the Cooks, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas, and Easter Island. Conrad clearly knows the territory, and each of his essays conveys a personal take amplified by extended quotes from eminent literary visitors (Jack London to James Michener). The illustrations include both Conrad's own color photographs and a nice melange of drawings, historical charts, and old prints. It's the grand Pacific tour with an informed guide.

This handsome coffee-table book, which covers roughly the sweep from Tahiti to Easter Island, is the work of the photographer son of the writer/painter Barnaby Conrad. The brief text skillfully introduces the islands, incorporating quotations from famous earlier visitors such as Melville, Gauguin, and Robert Louis Stevenson. The photographs are well chosen and provocatively juxtaposed with historical images, including old postcards, portions of maps, and even postage stamps. Unlike many books of this genre, there is an emphasis on portraying the local people in their everyday activities, as well as views of stunning sunsets. Primarily a gift book for those planning a tour and a souvenir to remember it by, this book may be priced beyond the budgets of many libraries.- Harold M. Otness

I love this book! The pictures are wonderful. The authors have taken a very complex ecosystem and presented it in such a way that anyone with an interest in ecology will enjoy this book and find it easy to understand.
I like the way the book is broken down in to large categories. For example, there is a chapter on the sponges common to the fiords, the brachiopods, the echinoderms, the fishes, the mammals and so on. I found the glossary to be helpful when my memory needed a bit of refreshing, and the index is nice because they have listed common and scientific names.
The photographs are amazing. Very high quality and professional. The captions that accompany the pictures are also very well written and informative. As good as they are, however, they almost don't do the beauty of New Zealand justice. The scenery is breath taking and the fiords are a must see should you happen to have the opprotunity to visit New Zealand.

This is a fabulous book to buy if you are interested in learning about the unique ecosystems of the fiords. The pictures are beautiful and the information explaining how this unique enviornemnt exists is easy to read and understand. If you have visited New Zealand and want a book that shows the beauty under the sea, this is a winner.