This book falls into a category somewhere between botany, climatology, and geography; it looks at several different types of "mediterranean climate" around the world, and describes the different vegetational types within each region, explaining (in a scholarly but accessible way) why these plant communities look the way they do.

It's beautifully produced, with both climate maps and full-color illustrations of plants and plant communities. I know of no other book that explains the relationship between geography and botanical ecology this elegantly; it's a lot of fun to browse, and I would recommend it *very* highly to armchair travellers with botanical inclinations.

Peter Dallman's Plant Life In The World's Mediterranean Climates covers plants of California, Australia, South Africa and the Mediterranean, and will prove more accessible to general audiences studying plants. Here are photos, charts, and a host of details on plant communities and plant life common to this climate, with chapters providing both individual regional details and links between plants of each area. This is a highly recommended pick not just for specialty libraries, but for general collections.

This was an interesting introduction to Australian prehistory. I'd not come across a similar general text on the subject before this one, although I've read some of the data as passing references in other books on prehistory. Some of the discussion on the flint technology was a little slow-going because the differences in technique, stone sources, and styles among the various periods and regions were less apparent and less engrossing to me than they obviously are to the authors. In other respects the book is an excellant starting point for anyone with an interest in Austrilia or in prehistoric culture in general.

This book is written by two scientists who have played important roles in the rapidly developing subject of Australian prehistory. It is not simply a revision of the 1971 book - the picture archaeologists have of the prehistory of Australia has transformed in the past 30 years, and this book captures that exciting transformation. The archaeology of aboriginal occupancy of Australia is also a politically charged subject and the authors manage the difficult task of presenting this story with sensitivity. I think that the book is a fine example of how to present a mass of scientific evidence by weaving it into an engaging and moving story. The authors presentation of human response to the shifting Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironment in Australia is excellent. The references are thorough and well organised and a useful glossary of archaeological, geological and biological terms is appended. The book concludes with three chapters on aboriginal rock art. Finally, the book is well formatted and easy on the eye. First rate - highly recommended to all literate Australians (given the wide ignorance of this important subject in our country) and to anyone with an interest in prehistory. I can't recommend it highly enough!

This book was worth buying for three reasons:

The photographs in the book are crisp and clean, displaying a wide variety of these Aussie pythons. Going through this book will make your jaw drop from the way these snakes are beautifully portrayed. And, you will probably never actually see these species (like me, I live in the US), and this is the closest you will come to seeing them. Did I say that the images were stuningly beautiful?

Secondly, this is one of VERY FEW books relating to pythons or boas that aren't just for beginner pet owners or scientists. But, for enthusiasts like me! :) Get yourself the softcover and save a coupla bucks.

This Book documents, describes and differentiates between the various species of python found on the continent of Australia. Anyone familiar with the work of David and Tracey Barker also knows that this book was inevitable for them to write. Very few other people have the knowledge and experience necessary to even attempt the task of dividing and classifying such a variable group of creatures. This daunting taxonomic task is accomplished with an approach of pure scientific sensibility. The book contains many beautiful photographs, some of which are of pythons rarely seen in the wild or in captivity.Each python is described in meticulous detail with notes on the captive care and breeding. The only possible improvement that could have been made would have been the inclusion of standard as well as metric measurements. This book easily stands out as one of the finest herpetelogical works ever written and is truly deserving of the 5 star rating. Oh, and by the way, spend the few extra bucks for the hardcover, you'll be glad you did!

Tonga is a unique place in being the only Polynesian kingdom to maintain its culture and government through the colonial period that brought down similar cultures in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific. Queen Salote adds to this uniqueness by being the ruling queen of Tonga in the first half of the Twentieth Century, an era dominated by male chauvenism. This story of her life and reign provides a wonderful view into the culture and history of this island kingdom. For papalangi (the Tongan word for people of Western society) this is not an easy book because there is a lot of Tongan names, geneology, and customs necessarily involved in the biography of their queen. Yet the very things that make it difficult also make it a rewarding book to read. What makes the book most enjoyable is the portrayal of this marvelous woman who ruled Tonga for almost 50 years. She ruled without use of force during a time of dissent from rival nobles and emerged one of the most revered leaders in Tongan history. She convinced her British advisors of her ability to rule and her island adversaries that their independence depended on her rule. I can recommend this book without reservation to anyone interested in women's studies, international biography, Polynesian history, or British colonial history.

I sincerely recommend this book for all Tongans out there as well as those who are interested in discovering one of the most beloved Monarchs of our time. Queen Salote was not only a charismatic leader but also a progressive woman who brought Tonga to the forefront of the modern era by re-establishing its past. She restored the cultural pride of her people at a time when native cultures were suffering the ill-effects of Westernization.

This book will be a sweet recollection for those who were fortunate to witness her reign, and it will be a source of inspiration for younger generations who are seeking to learn about their themselves.

Truly, a remarkable book for a most remarkable person!

Since the first edition of this work came out in 1975, this work has been a must-have for anyone, layman or professional, who is interested in Australia's unique and very speciose collection of reptiles and amphibians. Successive upgrades through the years have kept this book up to date (but at the same time considerably larger and more expensive than the original).

Quite simply, this book is a guide to ALL of Australia's (including it's island territories) frogs and reptiles. Each taxa has a full description of it's appearance, distribution (by way of both text and an accompanying shaded map), habits and, in the majority of species, a corresponding colour photograph of the living animal. The book has very thorough and simple to use dichotomous keys that should allow any specimen in hand to be quickly identified. A comprehensive list of scientific references is also given for those wishing to conduct more in-depth research. Also included are basic guides to the collection, preservation and captive care of specimens.

I have only one gripe with the current (Sixth - year 2000) edition. Since (I think) 1992 there has been no major rewrite of the main text - instead an increasingly large Appendix of has been slapped on the end. The current Appendix is now over 40 pages long with numerous subsequently described species and nomeclatural rearrangements. It can be very annoying having to flick from the main text to the Appendix in such a large volume to see what the current information is.

Still, this is a bearable hardship to pay for such a treasuretrove of information and illustrations.

Very good book, lots of pictures and maps.

Like an untrained person in the outback this book is easy to get lost in. It explains in detail how the people involved got into the situation they were in.
I used to enjoy westerns but now all I want is the outback.
The book concurs with other works of the time I have read. It is one of the few books I can say I found hard to put down.
If I forget what visiting the Jungle in FNQ (Far North Queensland) was like or some trails in NSW were like or the lands at Gosford Sydney I only have to see the book cover out fo the corner of my eye and it all comes rushing back. Forget about painting a thousand words with a picture somehow this evokes sentiments that I doubt canvas would be strong enough to capture. In my opinion it is as powerful as 'Born under paperbark tree' is and 'For the term of his natural life' also is.

Rolf Bolderwood gives a fantastic insight into the mindset of early Australia. Robbery under arms deals with the classic idea of an honest man driven to crime and the suffering it brings him. It is also full of the adventure and excitement that comes along with the criminal life. The book is deep, moody and allows you to be drawn into both the Australian bush and the character's thoughts.

This book details the history of Australian Mining, but don't be put off by the seemingly dry subject-it is anything but dry. Stories are told of the romantic gold rushes, the lucky, the unlucky, the schemes, plots, the deceptions, the clouded histories, the despair of the many, and the fortune of the few. For students of both human nature and history it has interesting insights, such as how plain luck plays a significant part in human events, and how apparently small innocuous irrelevancies can lead to profound outcomes.

An interesting example is that of the Mount Morgan Mine in Queensland. Black boulders, which cattle shied from, formed a low hill in the ranges. There was a gold rush a few miles away, but nobody thought to test the black hill, as the rocks were all wrong. Farmers sold the useless land the cattle didn't like. A lazy miner was sacked from his job, his wife pleaded for his re-employment, in return for the locale of a "silver mine" in the hills. A few savvy mine managers wandered into a black innocuous hill. They chipped away, took out leases over the whole hill (a wise move), kept it very quiet (another wise move). When samples were broken, there was more gold than black earth-it was assumed it wasn't gold but something else. They began to mine quietly away until a local newspaper noticed there was a phenomenal amount of gold leaving a nearby town. The word was out. Mount Morgan -the "freak lode" as described by geologists at the time-became one of the richest and mightiest gold mines on earth. It defied virtually everything known about gold mines at the time. Geologists were perplexed, but as long as shares repaid 413,000% of their value, the owners didn't care. The copper that got "in the way" of gold processing eventually amounted to about 250,000t of copper. It was mined for around 100 years, and money that came from the mine was used to find oil in the Middle East, which eventually formed the company BP. Mine owners declared in World War 1, that Mount Morgan money was used to fight the Germans. In the 1950s over half of Great Britain's revenue came from oil discoveries that were originally financed by one small black hill in the outback of Australia.

The world's largest resource of lead and zinc-the Broken Hill Lode-is another case in point. For some years in the 1800s a large, jagged hill of black boulders more than a mile long and 500 feet wide was ignored by local prospectors at the nearby silver rushes at Silverton. A surveyor's fence was put across it. A trig station crowned the summit. Samples were chipped which came back high in uninteresting lead, but little else. It wasn't near any main thoroughfares. The owner of the land wasn't interested in prospectors. It was too big to be a lode. A good lode was said to be five feet wide, Broken Hill was over 500 feet wide. The rocks were wrong. So numerous hopefuls mined the molehills, whilst the mountain was ignored.

When people finally got around to examining it, a few speculators bought and sold shares, making a few bucks, as the hill guarded its riches. Finally, when a shaft was sunk on the wrong rock type-white kaolin-bonanza silver assays came back and the hill was born. The first 48 tons produced about 36,000oz of silver, which in the 1880s, was a lot of dough. The ensuing stock market mania and mining development transformed Australian history. Over $AUS 70 billion has been taken from the hill to the 1990s.

There are many other similar tales, twists and turns- the vagaries and tides of history. Curiously and well written, it is recommended for those interested in history, particularly Australian, or those simply interested in curious human anecdotes of life.

This book details the history of Australian Mining, but don't be put off by the seemingly dry subject-it is anything but dry. Stories are told of the romantic gold rushes, the lucky, the unlucky, the schemes, plots, the deceptions, the clouded histories, the despair of the many, and the fortune of the few. For students of both human nature and history it has interesting insights, such as how plain luck plays a significant part in human events, and how apparently small innocuous irrelevancies can lead to profound outcomes.