Oceania Books

After noticing numerous similarities between aspects of Polynesian culture and Inca culture, Thor Heyerdahl postulates an ancient connection between the two peoples: he argues that Inca traveled to the South Pacific islands and at least partially colonized them. His theory is immediately dismissed by anthropologists for many reasons. Foremost is the argument that the Inca did not have boats capable of crossing the Pacific. All they had were balsa wood rafts, which the experts argue would never survive the trip. Heyerdahl is so sure he is right, he sets out to prove that it is possible to cross the Pacific in a balsa wood raft by making the voyage himself!

He recruits five Scandinavian shipmates and heads down to South America to build a balsa wood raft. After wading through much red tape, his crew finally builds a replica raft and sets sail. Everyone thinks they will likely die on the trip, but they are determined to prove them wrong. And they do. On the way, they have fantastic adventures with sharks, unexplained huge creatures far below the raft, fish jumping on board for breakfast, men overboard, and a final exciting crash landing on a South Pacific island.

I can't say enough about how enjoyable this book was, but I also can't help but be sad that in the days of satellite mapping, GPS, and red tape, such adventures now seem out of reach. This book has a bit of everything: science, history, engineering, philosophy, and of course loads of maritime adventure from an era when the world's geography was a little more mysterious.

How did the Incan people make it to the Galapagos islands and the islands of Indonesia from the mainland of South America. Rumor has it that the Incan people used balsa wood to make a raft and drift all the way across the Pacific Ocean. Heyerdahl and a team of people are about to find out if this method really would work. What are they going to eat and drink on the way over? What sea creatures and new species of fish will they find along the way? Will they make it alive? Read this book to experience one of the greatest sea adventures ever written.

We recently had the pleasure of visiting Oslo, Norway and went to the Kon-Tiki Museum while there. They were sold out of the English language version of this book. I had read it in the mid-fifties and had lost the book sometime over the years. This purchase was to "re-stock" my library with what I have always considered to be a wonderful adventure story. I can recommend this book to anyone in the GPS generation who cannot imagine making passage across the Pacific as did Thor Heyerdahl. It's a wonderful story.

This book was in great physical condition...it just looks way older than I expected...you know how old paperbacks get...kind of yellowish and pages don't totally lay flat...It won't stop me from reading it, and it was a bargain for the price, but I am not sure it was LIKE NEW.

A very wow story.

When the author was told that a particular people's migration was impossible, given the ocean going technology and distance involved, he set out to prove it wasn't.

Crazy, brave, or whatever, but a pretty impressive real-life adventure tale, along with a spot of first-hand scientific historical research.

This is a terrific book about a unrecognized voyage in the 19th century, as America was still a young nation and finding its place in the world.

The Voyage of Discovery probably merits much the same attention as the Lewis and Clark expedition, but never received it, in large part because of the excesses of the commanding officer. Although if this is a period of history that interests you, pre-Civil War America, you might want to read this in combination with Undaunted Courage : Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Philbrick has a real talent for maritime history as evidenced by this, as well as In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and to a lesser extent, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War where much of the book is on land.

This book is fascinating from beginning to end. If you're one of those readers that are hesitant to read "historical" non fiction because you think such stories are slow and pedantic, then give this book a chance. You will be pleasantly suprised.
This a true life adventure story that stands up to any fiction adventure tale. The story, about the U.S. exploring expedition of 1838 and the hardships of their journey, is an incredible story full of action, drama, suspense, political intrigue and tragedy. The fruits of this incredible journey across the globe would eventually give birth to the Smithsonion Institute.
About a time when the country was trying to make its mark on the world as explorers and scientists, the story will lift your spirits and just might make you feel a sense of nationalism.

I don't care for ships, water, ice bergs or warring natives. The manner inwhich our government operates, how it allocates monies, its lack of loyalty and support to those that dare or might cause criticism, not to mention exploring continents maybe never seen before or enduring ship wrecks on the west coast of the United States where only native Americans and seals have trodded; if all the above does not interest you, then you probably won't enjoy this book. But if you like adventure, maritime history, the clash of the titans (Spain, France, England and the upstart United States, and all of the above I described at the beginning of this review, then you will thoroughly enjoy this book. And if you like the manner inwhich Philbrick writes and documents and spins a fast moving yarn, you won't put this book down until you have finished it the first time and started to read it again. If you enjoyed his Mayflower Adventure and all that followed in that book, then you will thoroughly love this book and then look for everything that Philbrick has written. You might start next with In The Heart Of The Sea. So cut loose, give yourself some slack, and enjoy a book for the sheer pleasure of reading about history you have never heard of and the spinning of a tale by a master story teller. Be good to yourself and read Sea Of Glory. You can thank me later.

Far beyond a mere historical naval documentary in book form.
This book shows how we discovered so much about so many places.
An easy read by one of the best authors of our time.
See also Philbrick's excellent "Mayflower".

A little crankish determination, a little sordid bickering, a heroic cruise on a sailing ship to the ends of the Earth, betrayal and exoneration - all elements of a great adventure book, written with verve and yet with careful scholarship. I'm amazed that so many other reviewers have given this eminently readable book only four stars. The publisher's marketing director made some terrible mistakes.

The saga of Captain Wilkes - his triumphs, his shortcomings, his political court-martial - form the narrative backbone of this book, but there's more to it. There's a lot of fascinating history of the paradigmatic changes in science and technology that occurred during the first half of the 19th Century, the era that Paul Johnson describes as The Birth of the Modern. There's also an insightful depiction of American politics in that period, focusing for a change not on the issues that led to the Civil War but on the still-urgent question of the role of the federal government in funding infrastructure and development, in this case of scientific knowledge.

The US Exploring Expedition was the federal government's largest investment of public money in scientific research before the space program, in adjusted dollars more expensive than the geological surveys after the Civil War - those of Clarence King and John Wesley Powell, which committed those fellows in Washington to subsidizing the "opening of the West" - and it was, though plagued with problems and disappointing to some of its advocates, a monumental success, an enormous contribution to the world's knowledge of itself. Without federal funding, it would never have occurred. That's the subtext to all the glory of exploration, isn't it? Without Isabela, no Columbus! The closest comparison to the US Exploring Expedition is the US Space Program, so fearfully politicized and handicapped by Republican administrations and congresses. Foresightful and generous support of the sciences is one of the justifying functions of government - democratic, oligarchic, monarchical - and since science, even as early as 1838, has become big and expensive, government can be of greatest value to humanity on a proportionate scale. The difficulty that its promoters had in getting the EE funded tells much about the inadequacy of capitalism, also; the "business" interests who insisted on immediate profitable returns from the scientific expedition came close to destroying the whole project.

This was a very well researched story about history's bloodiest mutiny. I found the most interesting parts of the book were the details of life on board a Dutch spice trading ship in the early 1600's. The story of the shipwreck & the life of terror that followed for the survivors was also well written. If you are interested in historical non-fiction adventure books this one should be on your list to read. I would say "Skeletons on the Zahara" is slightly better & if you haven't read it already Nathaniel Philbrick's "In the heart of the sea" is one of the best in the non-fiction adventure realm.

I had a couple of minor criticisms that kept me from rating this a 5 star book. First of all sometimes it was hard to figure out what character the author was talking about. For example one of the main characters in the story was Jeronimus Cornelisz. Sometimes the author would use his first time , then he may use his last name, then both or he may just switch to calling him by his trade (apohecary)...then maybe call him by his position of a member of the crew or maybe just a random word to describe him. Add to this the fact that several people in this book have the same or almost the same first / last names it can get a little confusing. I flipped back to the index many times to make sure I knew who the author was talking about.

Another minor point was that the story really takes up about 200 pages of text. 130 more pages are detailed info about characters before & after events in this story took place. Another 150+ pages beyond this are notes & Index. In total the book is almost 500 pages but like I said the meat of the story is less than half of this.

These are minor points which don't take away from the fact that this is a great but gruesome adventure story.

This is a first rate historical book. Mike Dash has done a wonderful job of writing about a dreadful into the evil of man, in such a way that makes it readable. It is straightforward and unapologetic. "Batavia's Graveyard" accounts the action taken by the people who were shipped wrecked in truly desperate conditions, and explains how certain flaws in personalities can feed off each other. This is not a book for the faint of heart, because it is a story about mass killing, committed in most violent means contrived.

This was in my view an edge of the seat thriller of the world greatest mutiny. The author placed the historical narrative in perspective by outlining in sufficient detail, the individuals involved, the prevailing political and religious climate and the Dutch East India company mentality and methodology, placing all in their historical context. The scheming, planning, execution and finally the retribution of the mutiny are all stripped bare to provide a brutal insight into the the human psyche of paranoia and survival nearly 400 years ago. The development of and the understanding of the lead protaganist Jeronimus Cornelius was excellent.The narrative is fast moving from begining to end but interspaced with periods where the reader can really reflect and understand what it mght have been like to be trapped on a flat barren island off the West Coast of Austalia with your family, friends and some callous schemers and murderers for company. The coincidental appearance of the rescue ship on the day the mutineers attacked the remaining survivors and the subsequent race between survivors and mutineers to reach the vessel was thrilling. The final summarization was also very helpful and re-assuring that the punishment actually did fit the crime in those far off days. An excellent read.

I came across the bloody story of the shipwrecked Batavia as a footnote somewhere and decided then and there that I needed to learn more about it. I was not disappointed. In fact, I was wowed by the almost unbelievable story of mutiny and murder in the seventeenth century.

The nonfiction book "Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny" by Mike Dash is a detailed, readable, and exciting portrait of Jeronimous Cornelisz, a Dutch apothecary (and heretic) who lost his child and abandoned his wife to escape dept and scandal by going to sea. He ended up on the Batavia, the flagship of the Dutch East India Company, which was making its maiden voyage to Java. While on board, Cornelisz helped incite a near mutiny, and then survived a horrible shipwreck on a desolate chain of islands near Australia. Only after the Batavia's commander and his officers sail away on a gunboat to find rescue does Cornelisz make a true power play, taking over an island with his cronies and engaging in deliberately vicious acts of violence meant to terrorize and subordinate those survivors allowed to live.

The detail in this book is amazing. If you want to know what life in seventeenth century Netherlands was like, look no further. If you want to know what life was like at sea in the seventeenth century, this book is for you. If you are at all curious about the Dutch East India Company, this book will give you a great introduction to one of the most powerful companies in the world ever. And, if you want to read about a real horror story and real-life adventure, well, "Batavia's Graveyard" has it all.

Do note that this story has moments of extraordinary violence, including rape and the cruelest of murders. The rapes are not provided in detail, thankfully, but the murders are. The fitting executions of the killers are also described in astounding detail. All in all, it is not a book for those with weak stomachs.

It says a lot for a story when it begins with a shipwreck and builds in intensity from there.

Batavia's Graveyard, painstakingly researched and written by Mike Dash, starts shortly before the proud, richly laden Dutch merchantman Batavia, on her maiden voyage for the Dutch East India Co. in 1629, shattered its hull on a coral reef near Australia and some 1,500 miles shy of its destination in Java. It could have been a simple story of survival if not for the presence of Jeronimus Cornelisz aboard the doomed vessel. At first glance a simple, mid-ranking official for the company, Cornelisz harbored heretical ideas and an overblown sense of his own importance in the scheme of things -- and he had the intelligence and charisma to bend others to his will. Long before the shipwreck occurred, Cornelisz had plotted mutiny and piracy on the Batavia. But once he found himself stranded with more than 250 survivors and limited resources to keep them alive, the Dutchman decided to take matters into his own hands and decide who should live and die.

It might be somewhat hard to believe if this were fiction, but Dash has drawn his story from the logs, court records and testimonials of the day. As history, Batavia's Graveyard is a gripping, deeply disturbing tale. Dash should be commended for his ability to present the story with such perfect balance between sensational drama and stark historical facts. There are enough notes and references to sate even the most passionate researcher, and the narrative never falters in its flow.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

heart wrenching, couldn't put it down. gives you an inside look at the concentration camps in North Korea which not alot of ppl know about. I recommend you read this book and pass it along!!!

Not since Night (Oprah's Book Club) by Elie Wiesel have I read such a grippng story of a child's survival in the face of unspeakable cruelty & human suffering. Kang Chol-Hwan spent ten years in North Korea's infamous Yodok prison camp. After an alledged infidelity to communist party ideals by his grandfather, Chol-Hwan and his family were sent to the camp in the late 1970s when the boy was only nine years old. There he witnessed torture, suffering & death on a daily basis; seeing neighbors starve to death was a commonplace occurence. The courage & will to survive displayed by Kang Chol-Hwan in the face of such unimaginable horror is remarkable, although the experience did leave lasting emotional scars:

"I think the camp also changed me psychologically. As a child, I was outgoing and restless. When people meet me today, they find me reserved & somewhat distant. Growing up in the camp made me shut myself off from the world. I learned about suffering and hunger, violence and murder. For a long time I was angry at my grandfather. Only around 1983 did I begin to realize that not he but rather Kim Il-Sung and his regime were the real causes of my suffering. They were the ones responsible for the camp and for filling it with innocent people. All during my childhood, Kim Il-Sung had been like a god to me. A few years in the camp cured me of my faith. My fellow prisoners and I were the wayward sheep of the revolution, and the Party's way of bringing us back into the fold was to exploit us unto death. The propoganda, which exalted North Korea as the people's corner of paradise, now struck me as revolting."

This book should be read by everyone who needs to be reminded how fragile human rights & personal freedom can be in the face unchecked evil. "The Aquariums of Pyongyang" is destined to become a classic story of the struggle for justice and human dignity. This is a very touching book that cannot possibly leave a reader unmoved. The images created by this book will remain with me for a very long time.

This book is a "must read" for anyone conerned about personal freedoms and human rights. What the author has endured is unspeakable in any kind of civilized society. The detailed description of the concentration camp and it's workings will mesmerize the reader and then numb the senses. Why do the the Korean people tolerate this treatment of their citizens? Truly, Stalinism is alive and well in north Korea.

This and Google Earth are pretty much your only looks into North Korea. A country we should all know more about with its nuclear weapons, and with the hard-to-understand reactor construction in Syria. Connections to Pakistan's nuclear program? There's a lot that would be good to understand. This book might help us a bit.

"You people don't deserve to live, but the Party and our Great Leader have given you a chance to redeem yourselves. Don't squander it and disappoint him." So says a guard in Yodok, the place which is featured in this book. It was identified as "Border Patrol of the Korean People, unit 2915," however, as the North Korean regime sought to disguise it's real purpose. Kang Chol-Hwan arrived at its gate at age nine, along with his sister, father, and grandmother. As the author states herein, "We weren't sent to the camp as criminals but as relatives of a criminal." That so-called"criminal" was his grandfather and the charge leveled against his grandfather was "a crime of high treason." The real reason that Kang Chol-Hwan's grandfather was arrested, however, was that the North Korean police state, having duped his grandfather into returning to Korea with the fortune he accumulated in Japan, no longer had any need of him once they had got their hands on his wealth. This book is replete with examples of many other well-off Koreans, also inspired by revolutionary propaganda, who likewise left comfortable lives in Japan hoping to contribute to building communism in Kim Il-sung's Korea, but who, instead, were fleeced of their assets and wound up spending time in places like Yodok, one of the "Aquariums of Pyongyang."

The author, though, tells us almost nothing about any concentration/work camp/slave labor camp other than Yodok, the place where he was imprisoned for ten years. So the book is really about one "Aquarium" (and he utilizes the term because he actually brought his fish bowl with him to this prison, as well as attempting to coin a Korean phrase reminiscent of the Gulag Archipelago).

The first 148 pages of this rather brief book concerns the author's first 8 years at Yodok. He discusses how he was forced to trap rats for food, how his fellow political prisoners were kept in rags, denied adequate food; how they were worked to exhaustion. He also describes the execution of some prisoners: "The Party was willing to forgive this criminal. It gave him the chance here at Yodak to right himself. He chose to betray the Party's trust, and for that he merits execution." The man supposedly betrayed the state by trying to escape from his slave-labor camp. Moments later the commanding officer directed his guards thusly: "Aim at the traitor of the Fatherland...Fire!" So much for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

After telling us about his first 8 years in the camp, the author admits this: "As the years passed, another feeling began to disturb my daily existence: the feeling of injustice, which grew sharper when I considered the discrepancy between everything I had been taught and all that I was living." The writing herein, unfortunately, is a lot like this; not particularly personal and bereft of much emotion. (Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the author told his story to a French journalist---whose name appears on the cover of this book---and the book was originally published in French, perhaps having lost something through two translations.)

The final two years the author spent in Yodok's labor prison are glossed over in 6 pages, then his escape to South Korea, via China, is addressed in the final 40 or so pages. In total the book only numbers 238 (rather large print) pages and there's no index. I wish there was a lot more to this book; more about how many places such as Yodok exist in North Korea, how many people might be incarcerated in them and the like, and more of the minute detail of goings-on in such places (as opposed to the broader brush strokes offered by our author herein) so as to be better able to "feel" what it must have been like for the author to survive 10 years in such a ghastly place. (07Dec) Cheers

I have read a lot of history regarding World War Two and Fire In The Sky is one of the better efforts. Its a good overview of the relatively
unexplored South Pacific campaign. Its not a detailed history of single
squadrons or units, but it contains a wealth of information not normally
contemplated from both the Allied and Japanese perspectives. So, why
is all this relevant? Its relevant because if a society doesn't know
where its been, how can it know where its going?

If WWII interests you, Eric Bergerud shines a light into the dark corners of of the Pacific theater and illuminates actions and activities forgotten and neglected for years.

Ever wonder why vain, proud Douglas MacArthur was left in a position commanding a major front and leading the defense of Australia in the Pacific war? Can't figure out why he lead the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on the deck of the USS Missouri, and not Nimitz or King?

Wonder how Japanese air power was destroyed after Midway? If you read Shattered Sword you understand despite the propaganda provided by both Japanese and US sources, Japanese Naval air power wasn't all sunk at Midway - that was a couple of hundred planes at most. And what about the Japanese Army's Air force? How did they disappear? How did Japanese Air Power get from Midway in 1942 - capable of sinking the US fleet - to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot in 1944 - utterly prostrate and immediately afterward turning to Kamikaze attacks - hopeless of striking US forces and surviving.

Eric Bergerud explains all this and much more.

The author writes a mult-dimension book about an unusual war where an entire theater of operations was depend on capturing, and defending an airfield and then the next military objective was another airfield. I agreed that author failed to talk about the K-84 Hayate (Frank), but he forgot that the Japanese also produce the Shiden N1K2 (George) Navy fighter plane. The author also seems to forget that American pilots had to fly for 8 to 14 hours from England and Italy to escort the bombers and then fight the Luftwaffe pilots just like the Japanese pilots had to do from Rabual. The only differences was that we had more fighter planes and pilots than the Japanese, and our planes could absorb much damage from enemy fire and bring our pilots back home.

The author seems to forget that much of the American population was also unskilled labor when it came to maintaining planes that were designed by Americans who were college graduates. We had no nationwide apprenticeship program system like they have in Europe when it comes to producing a skill technical labor force. Nowadays, we have been getting rid of such a technical skilled labor force for the last 27 years. The Japanese at least gave their enlisted soldiers and sailors a chance to become pilots since 1928 and continue it until the end of World War II. On the other hand, the US Navy, Marines and Army did not try to expand their enlisted pilots during the war.

I did not realizes how easy it was to be hit by the variety of diseases and illness in the tropics. Amazing how the tropics can be so beautiful in the photographs of the tourist industries' bochures and at the same time be so deadly. Of course, those people who fought in Burma from 1941-1945 could emphasize those who were expose to the diseases in the South Pacific and dealing with the jungle.

The way they said that it rain so much in the South Pacific, you wonder how both the Allies and the Japanses ever manage to fight such a war in a place like that. If it rain so much, there would have been no war at all because all sea and air operations could not operate in an environment at all.

The author should also have talk to members of the U. S. Navy Fighter Squadron 5 and 17 since they fought in that area. Furthermore, he should also have talk to members of the U. S. Army fighter groups that operate from Guadalcanel.

I hope the author writes two books about the air war over the Philippines in 1944. The first book would be from October 1944 to December 1944 with regards to Leyte Island. The second book should be about air war over the Philippines from January 1945 to the end of Japanese air resistance.

Overall, an excellent book given the complexity blending in so many subject matters and how each one play a part in the overall campaign.

The strengths of the book have been mentioned in other reviews, so I will focus on certain weaknesses not emphasized by others.

The first main weakness is luck of technical understanding of several terms by the author. He seems to confuse the terms, power loading, and wing loading. He failed to recognize that the Japanese fighters' lower wing loading was actually a more significant benefit in terms of maneuverability at higher altitudes where the air density is lower (he supports the opposite, which is not technically reasonable). He also makes the statement many times that the maneuverability advantage of the Japanese fighters at the expense of heavy armor proved not to be the winning advantage. The statement needs to be corrected however, in my opinion. When a very skilful pilot is manning the more maneuverable fighter, the compromise for maneuverability can actually pay off. Early in the war, the Japanese had probably the best pilots in the world, which justifies their choice in the maneuverability/speed/armor compromise. This is well illustrated when Japanese ace pilots, even late in the war, often engaged large numbers of allied fighters sinle-handed, and not only usually survived by using the maneuverability of their "obsolete" fighters, but also gained victories over their multiple opponents. However, as the author properly states, late in the war, the lack of speed and armor was indeed a serious drawback when the majority of the Japanese pilots could not be properly trained, due to the lack of aviation fuel.

The second main weakness is that the book is heavily biased to the American side. It fails to emphasize the important role of serendipity that allowed the Americans to gain significant advantages (i.e., the victory in the Midway battle which was very much determined by luck, or the early discovery of a flyable A6M2 by the allies which allowed the early development of the proper tactics to deal with the Zero). Another example of bias is as follows: In the section where a P-40 pilot (justifiably biased) declared that his side had the speed advantage and therefore could dictate when and where to fight, the author (who should intervene in a more unbiased position) failed to mention that the Zero had almost twice the rate of climb of the P-40, and therefore a far stronger advantage to dictate the terms of the air battle. Finally, and possibly the most significant example of bias is the Author's failure to even mention the Japanese Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate (Frank) in the Japanese warplane section. The Hayate had completely outclassed the US fighters in almost every respect, and its impact in the air war was reduced only by the relatively small numbers and the lack of experienced pilots and mechanics. However, an experienced pilot in a Hayate was a very serious threat to any allied fighter, even if outnumbered.

Finally, the superior fighting spirit of the Japanese was only barely touched by this book. Even though it is not fair to compare aircrew individually due to the different cultures, the Japanese had a considerable advantage in this respect. At the end, quantity overwhelmed quality, as far as the fighting spirit was concerned. In my opinion, this is a serious deficiency of a historical book, that by definition should at least try to be unbiased. A more in depth understanding of the unusual Japanese culture would have helped the author develop a better picture of the cultural disconnect, and how the allied leadership took advantage of the cultural difference to motivate the aircrews, and minimize potential ethical doubts when the latter were employed in the extermination of tens of thousands of Japanese troops (and later hundreds of thousands of civilians). The author states that racism had little part in the war ethics, but that is a serious historical error. In my opinion, we have to say history as it was, in order to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

This'll keep you off amazon for a week or so if you're a slow reader [like me] i often mark up a book for errors or questionable statements, this one has only a few exclamation marks. combining personal accounts of US Army and Marine/Navy to Aussie and Japanese make for a better view than i've seen before. He certainly brings out how hard it is to understand what was actually going on, certainly no one participating could have known. My only suggestion for another edition would be better/more maps and pictures but that's only a quibble. damn fine book

This book and his companion "Fire In the Sky" are the best military history books I've ever read. Most history books concentrate on just recounting what happened where with whom but these books concentrate on the how and why. His analysis is great and goes far beyond a simple recounting of the history. I wish he would deal with all of the major campaigns of WW2 and Korea in this manner. I'd be first in line to buy those books if he did.

The contributions of the Australians and New Zealanders in the Pacific War are often understated. This book does much to mitigate that deficit.

I bought this book, and the companion book, Fire in the Sky by the same author. I bought them becasue my father spent from May 1942 until near the end of the war in the South Pacific. These books are NOT cronological history books, but rather an IN DEPTH discussion of why the US won and why the Japanese lost. Most of the book is taken up with quotes from the veterans who fought the war. Fire in the Sky had a few pages of quote from one of my Dad's friends from the 17th Weather Squadron.

If it were not for the one flaw mentioned in the title (and about which more below)this book would have received five stars.

Campaign histories are often impersonal narratives that fail to capture either the strategic importance of events or the personal experiences of the combatants. Those books which do capture the experiences of the combatants are often naive when it comes to strategy. Touched with Fire describes the war in the South Pacific on all levels, personal, tactical, logistic and strategic. It is well written, insightful and easy to read.

Bergerud makes the point that before the campaign in the South Pacific the Japanese were still on the offensive, even despite Midway. By the end of the campaign there was no doubt in any sane military man's mind that Japan would lose the war. Bergerud clearly explains why the Japanese decision to continue the war after their losses in the South Pacific was militarily insane, but also examines why unconditional victory over Japan was desirable and maybe even necessary (and how the same attitudes that made this so contributed to Japan's initial success and eventual failure).

For an American author Bergerud treats the combatants very open handedly, praising the Japanese and Australians for their strengths and not shying away from problems with the US military.

The fact that the author is an American leads me to the flaw in the book, something which might seem minor, but which was a constant source of irritation and grated so badly that it cost Bergerud two stars. The book is about events which happened entirely in the southern hemisphere. Therefore when I encountered references to events happening in summer of 1942 I asked myself, summer 1941/42 or summer 42/43? Luckily I knew enough about the dates involved to realise that it was neither. To my surprise and horror I realised that the author was referring to the northern hemisphere seasons when discussing events that happened in the southern hemisphere! The battles for Guadalcanal and the initial battles for New Guinea did not take place in summer, they were in winter (although traditional European seasons have little meaning in the tropics). I assume that the author knows that the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere. Therefore I can only conclude that he made a conscious decision to ignore this fact and to deliberately introduce errors into his work in order to make it more palateable to Americans. This betrays both a contempt for the intellect of his American readers and a contempt for his audience outside America. Neither is acceptable.

It is a shame that such a good book is flawed in this way. This may seem a minor point, but anything which betrays such monumental contempt for the reader has a major negative effect on the enjoyment of a book. It would not take much to correct the references to the seasons or simply replace them with dates if it's perceived that the concept of a round earth is too complex for the target audience (yes I'm being facetious). It would be good if this could be done in any future editions of this otherwise excellent book.

I purchased this book whilst living in the SE Asian tropics and it certainly provided a stark insight into the land battles of New Guinea and the Solomon Islands from mid-1942 until early 1944. Horrific. Australians interested in WW2 in this theatre should certainly pick up this book.

Anyone interested in the historical aspects of these WW2 battles will find the descriptions and weighing up of the armies, the weapons they employed and the horrors of the battlefield they suffered & fought in, to be utterly fascinating.

More so the interviews with surviving combatants are highly entertaining and this book serves as a worthy monument to their exploits in this green hell.

In particular this provides for an insight the brutality of the campaigns covered. The conditions endured by citizen and professional soldiers, and the combat most foul, they engaged in is graphically described. Yet all this takes place in a naturally beautiful environment....
The descriptions by veterans of hand-to-hand combat and degradation provides a stark view of some of the motivations and endurance of individuals under some of the most extreme combat conditions in WW2.

Thoroughly worth reading.

Let me just say that I admire this woman. What she accomplished was incredible - trekking mostly alone across the Australian desert with her 3 camels. And she had to go out and get the training she needed without much help, and a lot of prejudice against women.
However, I found it hard to relate to her. I was rooting for her, but I kept thinking that I would NEVER have put myself in those situations to start with. I love to travel, but I'm not that adventurous.

This book was so inspiring, I had to order it twice. I had lent my original copy which was given to me as a gift, and the person lost it. I ordered a second copy because this book was a keeper, and foolishly I lent it out again, and lost it again. I now have a brand new copy again, which just arrived, and I will not be lending it. This is a book I will keep forever as a reference, or to read ove and over at times in my life when I need to be motivated, or need to find the strength to endure.

Well I could begin and go on for pages but let me keep this short.

A young woman heads to the edge of civilization as most people know it.
She learns about how people really are by her interaction with others who are barely making it.

Heads into the wilds of Australia where she learns quite a bit more about herself and 'the raw undercurrent of what she thought was civilization' (you like that bit there?) Interspersed with some shots of the outback. This is the story behind the great coffee table book which is filled with some great photos.

Also part of the beginning of the age of interactive CDROMS (unfortunately the CDROM will NOT play correctly on anything newer that about 1990, win95 mac os9)

Highly recommended

This story is 254 pages long and the first 100 pages are nothing but the battles Robyn fought with the townfolk and their feelings about Aborigines, her landlord, finding suitable camels and then training them.

When she finally starts her journey from Alice Springs two years after her arrival there, one is relieved to finally read about the torturous journey she undertook, both with the locals, those annoying tourists along the way, and her intermittent relationship with photographer/sex partner Richard from National Geographic. Somewhere in the middle of the book the journey lost its meaning for me, although I finished the book. It was obvious by then that Robyn made this trek to wrestle with the demons within her, to battle something she had been battling all her life.

A travelogue is always a journey of one's own soul and Robyn's soul was troubled from the start, both from loneliness and what appears to be either drug or alcohol addiction (she mentioned several times how she'd drink her whiskey hard after trouble with the camels.)

I have to admire her for finishing her journey, but she doesn't give her partner enough credit for pulling her through this. She loves her camels and her dog and yet sometimes she treats them as less than that, and like some readers have already mentioned, she paid dearly for that in the end. Some of the honesty angered me and I wanted to yell out "Woman, why would you do something like that!"

This is not an adventure I'm willing to emulate. Although Australia and its people and terrain fascinate me, I'd be much happier along the eastern shore.

The integrity of this writing, this soul-baring, reminded me of Doug Peacock's Grizzly Years: a flight from the insanities of civilization into the healing refuge of nature's raw dangers. Tracks was written by a rare bird; this is writing from the guts. For a first book, exploding out of nowhere, chronicling a soul in search of what is ultimately significant, Robyn Davidson has got the write stuff. Intrepid is the word.

The crystalline expressions of her soul match the purity and desolation of the Outback landscapes. Even a guy like Edward Abbey was swept up in admiration for the courage of this person to embark on her 9 month odyssey. Truly a remarkable book - 5 plus stars.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

I went to the island of Tavenui (third largest) and the book had no info about that island.

Moon Handbooks Fiji is the ultimate overview for traveling on any of the 322-islands of Fiji. This book contains 357 pages of travel information but is still small enough to tuck in a daypack for easy reference. Furthermore, this book has plenty of fairly detailed maps, complete with accurate distance scales, for easy travel planning or reference while you travel.

There are fourteen chapters in Moon Handbooks Fiji: Introduction; Exploring the Islands; Nada and the Mamanucas; Southern Vita Levu; Suva and Vincinity; Northern Vita Levu; Lautoka and Vicinity; The Yasawa Islands; Kadava; The Lomaivita Group; Vannua Levu; Taveuni; The Lau Group; and Resources. The introduction chapter contains an overview on Fiji group. This detailed information includes geology, climate, flora, fauna, history, economy, and the government of these islands. The next chapter, Exploring the Islands, contains general information on sports and recreation; entertainment; public holidays and festivals; arts and crafts; shopping; and accommodations; food; money; communications; media as well as contacts for tourist information; visas; health and safety; getting there; getting around; and airports while in Fiji. This chapter also includes a what to take section. The Resources chapter contains further information on suggested readings and internet resources.

The rest of the chapters in Moon Handbooks Fiji focus on particular geographical regions, islands, or groups of islands with the Fiji group. The first paragraph or page of each regional section describes a little about the region. After this overview, individual sights, recreation areas, special events, accommodations, food services, information services, and transportation services are depicted in detail. Depending on the size and general amount of facilities in a given region, there may be only one or two entries per category or over a dozen. Each entry contains the location, contacts, costs, and a short paragraph description of the facility or event featured. Several black and white maps and photographs accompany each section, clearly marked with the various facilities described in that particular section.

Moon Handbooks Fiji is a helpful guide for anyone planning on traveling to any of the islands of the Fiji group. Very complete key information is provided for easy reference while planning or while travel. However, this book may also be just as interesting for the armchair traveler as this book contains ample information about the natural environment, history, and culture on these beautiful islands.

Excellent guide to Fiji.

Hope to go there and check it out.

Although I agree that the sections on the history and culture of Fiji are excellent, this by itself does not make for a good guide book. This book first appeared in the 1980's and it seems as if all subsequent updates were soleley made by contributing readers and businesses. I used the book recently for travel in Fiji and could not shake the impression that the author has not been to Fiji in a long time. While he lists all of the main attractions, many details are sketchy at best. To give an example, he mentions the Sikatoga sand dunes as one of the main attractions on Fiji but then uses a single paragraph(!) to describe them. No detailed description of any interesting features that could be used as a guide for a visit. Similarly when describing the Yasawa islands he is busy listing all the resorts but does not seem to care too much about what actually can be done on these islands. Bottom line: The book is an excellent reference on history and culture of Fiji (something one could write after some diligent research) but lacks useful details for actual travelers.

We used this guide on our trip last summer. We had an excellent time off the beaten track, and this book got us where we wanted to go, with the relavant phone numbers and lots of tips. The 100 or so pages on Fiji's history and culture were also of great interest while we rode on boats to where we were going.

I was very happy with this book. The author takes you along on her adventure so you can feel like you, too, took the trip. Honest, entertaining, interesting. Enjoy!

Not only a great travel book, but a book that i cant buy enough copies of for my friends!!

I was given this book and it travelled with me for a few months until I finally got around to picking it up, and after doing so I couldn't put it down. She was really able to put into words many things that I have felt on the road.
Laurie Gough is able to really express emotions and experiences of the senses that one has whilst travelling. She brings to life many places from a remote island in Fiji to Germany to Canada. It's more then just a travelouge, it paints a picture of people and places.
Gough also brought to life the immense stretch of characters that one meets while travelling, and how these people , no matter how eccentric or normal they are, shape your travels and shape who you are long after you've met them.
This book is a must read for and one who is currently traveling , has traveled or wants to travel. It will remind you of why you travel and also inspire you to stop waiting for the right time and go now to find your own adventures and stories.

This is the most beautiful and entrancing book that I have ever read. Gough's words are full of amazing unique imagery that takes you to another time and place where paradise exists and you can be a part of it. She offers life lessons and inspiration in the most endearing way that I have ever read. Even if you are not typically a fan of travel writing, you need to read this book. It flows like the most eloquent fiction but the truth of her stories will blow you away and make you see the world in a new way.

I found the book fascinating because it actually painted a picture of the things Laurie saw and her feelings about them. I've read many travel books that sound just like the journals I keep on my trips - first we went here, then we went there.... No passion or true flavor of the place. This one was different. I felt like I was living the trip vicariously and savored every page of the book.

The author was very gutsy to travel the way she did to such exotic places and I was delighted to be able to travel along with her.

The Curse of Lono really held my attention, and the illustrations by Steadman are very cool. I didn't realize this was such a large book, but it makes a great addition to my coffee table. Similar to The Rum Diary and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Curse of Lono was a very fun read.

This particular piece by Hunter S. Thompson is less appreciated or even overlooked in favor of his more popular works, particularly his adventure in Las Vegas. Lono is the perfect follow-up to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as it reflects the recipe which catapulted Thompson's method of gonzo: travel to some exotic locale, cover some seemingly trivial yet ultimately bizarre sporting event, overstay your time exploring the local culture which will ultimately prove equally or even more entertaining than said sporting event, and finally hide in retreat after the blur of intoxication and savage alienation have been extolled upon friends, family, and locals. Not a bad formula, and not a bad writer.

I doubt that the similarity was deliberate to Fear and Loathing, but who really knows? Where Lono is unique is through the division of labor. Thompson's presence is requested in Hawai'i to cover both the brutal exertion and mindset associated with the Honolulu Marathon; he covers it well, but predictably, the real action begins afterward. Unpredictably, accompanying Thompson during his exploits is the illustrator Ralph Steadman, along with each of their families. Without going into too much detail, his companions slowly dwindle due to the harsh conditions on the Kona coast in winter as well as the mental fatigue precipitating it, thereby leaving Thompson to associate with the more seedy element of Hawai'i (within which he fits nicely). Needless to say, chaos ensues, and the reader is exposed to a Hawai'i not normally described in tourist books. Marathons, deathly pounding surf, flooded cottages, elusive marlin hunting, Samoan war axes, dreaded red fleas, and mass quantities of alcohol make for a paradise reconsidered.

Intertwining parts of pure gonzo narrative, the lush, colorful drawings of Ralph Steadman, Thompson's own correspondence, and excerpts of Hawaiian history and lore, The Curse of Lono is nearly as exhilarating as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; it's an evident example of Hunter S. Thompson, in the twilight of his writing, creating yet another brilliant exposition that's humorous, informative and entertainingly bizarre. Weird. Terrifying. Fascinating. Pass the grapefruit.

The last great Thompson work that I have read which I hadn't bought because it's a bit expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

Fear and Loathing, the Rum Diaries and Curse of lono... no more good Thompson to read.

excellent book. i was completely new to his writing beefore reading this gem. crazy bleep* guy! his work seems to be more of a writers' journaling than serious novel-stuff. a travel-blog; if you will.. i haven't gotten into many of his other works yet plan to, eventually. even a holy-roller could come out freshpresssed and standing tall after one of his tales. good stuff, though. very good stuff. if you were one of those, 'say no to drugs' individuals then a lot of this might come off as tumultuous and confusing and weird and odd and, basically, not ur cup of tea.. take care and rest that crazy mans' soul. cheers.

WHile I was aware that this book was illustrated, I was not aware of the fact that it is huge! I thought it would be an illustrated, regular novel-size book. Instead it's about A3 size, and very heavy.. The pictures are great and all but if I had been aware of the size of this book I probably wouldn't have purchased it.