In "Bliss" we get a character study of a man named Harry Joy, who we join mid-cardiac arrest. He subsequently recovers, but thinks he has died and gone to hell. It's a great premise, and the book's opening is brilliantly entertaining. Unfortunately, for me at least, the balance of the book never quite lives up to the promise glimpsed in the opening pages. Harry is an occasionally adulterous ad man married to an occasionally unfaithful wife who herself yearns to be in advertising, and who utlimately contrives to join him in the business. By the time she does she is ensconced in a relationship with Harry's other business partner, Joel, who lives with her (and Harry, and their kids) in the Joy household, while Harry himself has fallen in love with a drug-running bush woman named Honey Barbara, who also moves into the household. While the book's focus is predominantly on Harry, it concerns itself with the conflicting relationships of these four people, with some secondary story lines revolving around the Joy children. Midway through the book I thought the story line became almost oppressingly obtuse, and hardly deserving of its billing as a dark comedy. In fact, I found it to be barely comic at all. Some of Carey's other work ("The Fat Man In History" and "Illywhacker" in particular) is much funnier and more substantial. If you're a big Peter Carey fan, you'll want to read this to round out your exposure to his body of work. If not, I'd skip "Bliss" and read some of his later books, such as "Illywhacker" and "Oscar and Lucinda."

I was initially drawn by the overall theme of the book - a man is brought back to life from a heart attack and is convinced that he has in fact died and gone to hell. I found this precept interesting enough to start me reading the book, and watching the protagonist sorting people into "Actors", "Captives", and "Those In Charge" is delightful. In the end, this original groundwork is remembered from time to time, but falls by the wayside as Harry Joy continues through his life. I was surprised that this distraction from the original concept (which is what drew me to the novel) did not disappoint me. The book was inteligent, witty, and dry. With a sharp eye for detail and dialogue, Peter Carey made for an enjoyable read.

Bliss is a lively, entertaining, and thought-provoking seriocomic novel, and Peter Carey is a terrifically amusing writer with a great ear for dialogue, a wry humor, and a broad vision. He delights in poking fun of us and our foibles, while saving his barbs for corporations and institutions. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Bliss, I know I would have enjoyed it even more, and maybe even loved it, when it was published in 1981. I feel Bliss to be just a bit dated now--still well worth reading and lots of fun, with many extremely funny scenes--but less relevant with its environmental messages and its anti-Big Business needling than it must have been when these messages were fresh, new, and more importantly, uncommon. As it was, Carey's approach now feels a bit patronizing at times and the environmental message, just a bit didactic--and old.

The book opens with Harry Joy, an advertising executive, having an out-of-body experience as he "dies" from a heart attack. When he comes back to life, he is convinced that he is in Hell. Since his wife is having an affair with his business partner, his son is selling drugs, and his daughter is a sexually precocious junkie, it is easy to see why Harry is convinced that his life is Hell and why he feels a captive to it. As he seeks enlightenment, Harry recognizes that Krappe Chemicals, a client, is polluting the environment with cancer-causing fumes, sees a cancer map showing the rates of cancer near industrial polluters, and meets Honey Barbara, an environmentally conscious prostitute with a heart of green.

Carey's satire here also includes the vagaries of religious doctrine, the absurdities of police procedure, the abuses of the mental health "industry" and its institutions, the fear of Communist conspiracies, and even of the trustee selection process for the State Gallery, which draws from "the very inner circle of society." It is lots of fun to read, with some laugh-out-loud funny scenes, but its thematic punch seems to have dulled a bit over time.

I am a person of normal stature, however, I am also only 5ft tall. :) Aside from height, there are many ways in which any reader would be able to relate to the author as well as his subjects. Richardson's research about the history and word origin of dwarfs & little people make the book even more enjoyable, focusing only on the eyebrow-raising tidbits of information while foregoing the usual boring background stuff. What starts off as a thorough account of his participation in the Little People of America convention becomes a book of how intertwined his life became to learn about what it means to be different. His honesty and willingness to share the behind-the-scenes conversations and fights made for a very raw, intriguing, and dramatic story.

Once on OPRAH I'd heard a guest state that if we white people say we are not prejudiced, then we ARE and we are in denial. I was worried. Did she mean me? Lately I've been reading a lot about dwarfism, fiction and nonfiction. (The LPA/Amazon booklist has been a great resource). Richardson's book was the one that forced me to rethink my feelings and opinions about the little world.

I am an average sized woman with a baby niece with achondroplasia. For years, even before she was born, I had been fascinated by dwarfism so I welcomed her with a soaring heart. I felt special, chosen, to be family to this little person. I saw IN THE LITTLE WORLD as another book that could add to my awareness and it did, but not as I'd expected. The words are sometimes brutally honest, sometimes irritating, but always moving and informative.

Just as many authors have done with fictional accounts, average sized people can use dwarfs' sometimes traumatic experiences as metaphors to their own personal anguish. John Richarson bares his soul striving to see how patronizing it is to use dwarfs' struggles in this tall world for our own benefit; "They're different, and they're brave", we say, "...just like me!" This is still stereotyping and discriminatory thinking, not to mention egoism!

Well, Richardson's reporting caught me in the act, so to speak. Dwarfs are people. Why should they be arbitrarily elevated onto a pedestal or be dropped into the depths of pity for simply living their lives? Attitude is the disability! Here is a strong voice and a new perspective from the average sized world saying: Stop the brazen condescension! Thank you to all the little people who spoke so honestly through this account and to John Richardson for taking risks telling an often difficult story.

I took this book out of the library at my college, thinking that, at best, it'd be a "big person goes to visit the world of Little People" kind of thing. Objective. Curious.

It was anything but. I was fascinated by how the author begins by being repulsed by and fascinated with the people he meets, and then begins to think of them as real people, sharing in their triumphs and hurts - while still realizing that there is, and will always be, a barrier there that he cannot cross, and doesn't want to.

It is a brutally honest book in all its parts, and I consider it to be one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

Four high schoolers from Avondale North (Cassie Martin, the protagonist, Scott Baldwin, Eddie "Scaredy" Katz, and Bruce "Winks" Winkleman) secretly go out one evening to practice their driving on a nearby deserted road. However, on the way back home, they accidentally hit and kill a man crossing the street. The foursome try and keep it a secret, but too many odd things start to happen shortly after: the corpse of the man they killed is reported missing from the morgue, the four young teens start receiving threatening phone calls from the deceased man (Brandt Tinkers), as well as other signs to indicate the man isn't dead after all--or is he? Could this whole stunt really just be a sick joke?

"Hit and Run" loosely follows the path of Lois Duncan's "I Know What You Did Last Summer", except there's not as much bloodshed in this book as compared to the movie (which is surprising, since this is a Stine book), except for another hit-and-run targeting Winks. As is typical with any R. L. Stine book, the writing's spare and short, and there's a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. The identity of the killer is pretty easy to guess as well (at least it was for me), and I'm sure most readers familiar with Stine's work will guess him/her nearly from the beginning. There is some morbid, juvenile humor (i.e., at the beginning with the human eye prank and at the end when they're playing around with a stiff), but I think the intended audience will probably enjoy it rather than be disgusted.

Hit And Run by R.L Stine is a good book. It's pretty much about four friends who decide to take a ride to help their friend Eddie, pass his drivers test. Then they hit someone and killed him. Since none of the kids had their license they decided to just leave. The first three chapters made me think of the movie, I know what you did last summer, but it's not the same.It's totally different but just as good.I really would recommend this book to poeple who enjoy suspensful books.

Hit and run was the first book i have ever read by R.L.STINE and since that first day 6 years ago i can't get enough currently i am reading the FEAR STREET SAGAS and i highly recommend his books to anyone ready for a good scare...it just keeps getting better and better

This book is simple a must if you're a real AC/DC fan. Altough it is focused mainly on Bon Scott ( for the simple reason of the man's unbeliavable great charisma ), of course it deals a lot about AC/DC's career until the "HIGHWAY TO HELL" album. YOu have to got a little patience in the first hundred pages or so, when the book deals with all the secundary bands Bon worked before joining the Young Brothers. But this phase is fundamental in understanding the man's backgorund and way of life. Of course there is no official quote from AC/DC actual members ( AC/DC would never permit it!!!), but a lot of interviews from ex-bassist Mark Evans. What becomes clear after reading the book (what was already clear for clear-minded fans) is how the band lost creativity after Bon died, mainly in the lyrical department. The book reveals that some years ago the band even contemplated sacking Brian Johnson (the guy just can't sing or scream anymore - it's awful !!). The band today is almost an "Institution", like the Stones (that's why they released only two albuns in the entire period since 1991)and losing their second singer could be a definitive blow to the band. All in all, this book is a must have.

I can't understand the Young Brothers ruthless personality. I love AC/DC.
So, when a writer like CLinton Walker tries "heroically" to pay a unabiased tribute to Bon Scott, one should expect that the Young clan would give support to his project.

No. That didn't happen. Malcolm, Angus, George, drummer Phil Rudd, Harry Vanda, ex-manager Peter Mensch, well, nobody connected to Alberts Productions accepted to give an interview for this book, which was almost a "last chance" to homage their fallen comrade. This is even made worse by the fact that Bon's parents, Chuck and Iza, gave their blessing to the project...
Just intriguing, I assume... The author could not even obtain permission to quote from Bon's lyrics, what would have certainly made the book still better!!!
As for the book, it's excellent, altough it quotes so much from Bon's girlfriends (as explained above, this was the only line of action left to the author).
As for people within the band, the most interesting sources are ex-bassist Mark Evans and ex-manager Michael Browning. Altough sometimes criticizing the band, they (and the author) did it in a very soft manner, with respect and gallantry.
Well, once we don't have (and probably never will) any kind of oficial biography about AC/DC, we've gt to put our hands upon anything released. And this is a fine effort!

The book is great!!! You find out the story behind Bon Scott. I was very touched by this book. Bon lived more life than most people will EVER see in their whole entire lifetime. And he died so young. Right before AC/DC got SUPERHUGE. But as it was stated in the book, the band moved on, and it's the way Bon would have wanted it. Nothing could have been done to change that. Clinton Walker does a very good job of making Bon out to be the legend he surely was.

This is a good overall narrative account of the Falklands War, as well as the diplomatic events leading up to it. Like most military writing however it does suffer from being too clinical, in spite of the fact that Max Hastings shared the same hazards and privations as the ground level soldier. For a more complete picture of what it was like being involved in the actual conflict, at the squaddie's level, you should read The Battle for the Falklands in conjunction with Ken Lukowiak's superb "A Soldier's Song" (Orion Books, 1993). Disjointed, reflective, ambivalent, irreverant, Lukowiak's account of the conflict must rank alongside "All Quiet on the Western Front" as a testament to the pointlessness of war in general. Interestingly, it does lay bare the British media's manipulation of events for maximum emotional effect -- a shining example of this being the myth that Colonel Jones, who died leading the attack at Goose Green, was affectionaly known as "H" to his men; to the ordinary squaddies of 2 Para, the Colonel was respected but only the officers referred to him as "H" - the sqaddies called him "Jonesie" or somesuch. It's also interesting how Lukowiak was repelled when The Sun ran its "Gotcha" headline on the sinking of the General Belgrano - he and many others fighting the war felt that the UK media, safe behind their word processors in Wapping, London, had no right to be so belligerant and jingoistic as they weren't the ones up to their necks in sheep ... in the trenches fighting the actual war! He has another great anecdote about how a Brit journalist desirous of wiring home a news story, attempted to queue-jump a line of paratroopers who were themselves waiting to call home to their loved ones on a satellite phone and was very nearly bashed for his trouble! You get the feeling somehow that the reporters weren't particularly respected by the squaddies. All in all, for the bare facts & analysis I'd read Hastings, but for the authenticity of the experience, I'd stick to Lukowiak anytime.

The Falkland Islands War was a strange event. I was only 12 at the time, but even so, I remember thinking it was very unusual that a war could start and end so quickly, between nations you would not consider traditional enemies. As the authors point out, it was the last of Britains colonial wars - fought maintain prestige more so than because of the worth of the territory. Argentina invaded the Islands on the assumption that Britain would not fight for them. Obviously they underestimated the will of the British people, and especially that of the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who quickly dispatched the largest task force she could muster to reclaim the islands. This book starts well before the war and explains the colonial situation and the history of Argentina's attempts to win sovreignty over the islands they can the Malvinas. It then moves to the details of the actual invasion and attempts to rationalise the motives behind the Argentine junta's decision. The book really hits its stride with the dispatch of the task force and the battles that then took place on land and at sea.

The book was written shortly after the end of the war. Max Hastings is a journalist that accompanied the task force, and brings a level of authenticity that only a first-hand experience can give. Simon Jenkins's contribution was on the home front, detailing the cabinet and parliamentary discussions and direction of the war. That these two parts seamlessly mesh is a credit to the editor.

Even though there was little time between the end of hostilities and the release of the book, the conclusions of the authors have stood the test of time. Unfortunately, we will likely never know all the details about the Argentine side (due to the instability of the government at the time), so most of the commentary and description of events is from the point of view of the British forces. The authors are careful not to "cheerlead" the British side, and condemn both sides equally for failing to resolve the dispute peacefully.

Most importantly, the book is very easy to read, and tells an exciting story besides. The conclusions are inescapeable - the British won due to superior training, tactics, and motivation of the footsoldier on the ground. Full marks go to the Argentine Air Force for their spirited conduct during the hostilities, but air power alone cannot win a war. The authors also blame the situation on the lack of human intellegence (as opposed to signal or satellite intel) that totally missed the imminent threat to the Falklands from Argentina. They further argue for balanced armed forces because, as we rediscovered on Sept. 11, you never know what kind of threat you will face. These conclusions are applicable today, which tells for the universality and timelessness of this fine account.

This book is truly the full account of the falklands conflict. It charts the history of the islands, from the initial discovery, to the lives lost in its defence. Being British, I did not find it looking for patriotic sympathy. Neither does the author force an opinion on the ethics of war. The fact thet Max Hastings was on the islands, with the troops only adds to the authenticity of the book.

Imagine growing up and not being aware that you were part aboriginal until the age of fifteen, having been told by your mother that the reason your grandmother was black was because she was Indian. Sally Morgan grew up in Perth, Western Australia in the 50s and 60s, and this is the story of how she eventually went back to discover her grandmother's origins in 1982, and thereby found her "Place". A moving and enriching book, which will have you in tears one minute and laughing the next

Sally Morgan writes from the heart as she explores her family's hidden Aboriginal history in a book that spares no punches. My Place is all about identity and what racism and prejudice can do to a people. The white settlers who colonized Australia have systematically tried to bury the Aboriginal people and their way of life but somehow against all odds they have survived, and people like Sally Morgan are standing up to be counted as the descendants lost tribes of mixed race people who were never given a chance to choose who they wanted to live with. Sally Morgan writes with startling clarity as she describes her childhood with her half Aboriginal Grandmother who would never admit to being native, and often told her Grandchildren to lay claim to an Indian heritage rather than admit the truth. Sally's Grandmother's fears lay deep within her own childhood when she was taken away from her mother, and it was this fear she passed onto Sally's mother who was three quarter's white. Both women were terrified of white authority and the power it had to tear families apart. My Place is a haunting, true story of one woman's search for her roots in a country that saw Aboriginal blood as a taint rather than a celebration. We need more books like this on our bookshelves, and even more people to read them...

I enjoyed "My Place." As an American from the Midwest, the only things I knew about Australia were what I learned in a college foreign politics class centered on Australia and New Zealand. I never sought out more information until I met an Australian friend who inspired me to learn more about his country. And he suggested this book.

I've started reading but just can't seem to finish "The Fatal Shore." But Sally Morgan's book gave me a feeling of reading fiction with some history behind it. I know that all her "facts" aren't to the tee. While I am not Native American, I live in South Dakota, where the Native Americans have been subject to much of the same treatment. This really opened up my eyes of what it must be like to live as Aboriginal, or part Aboriginal, Native American or part Native American in the modern day world. And how we've progressed to get where we are...if you can call it progression.

I think Sally Morgan does a great job of getting you in the story of her growing up, and then tying it all together with the dictated stories from her great uncle, mother and grandmother.

Reading "My Place" has made me eager to learn more about the Aboriginal culture, maybe a deeper knowledge. I believe I really enjoyed this book because it wasn't a straight history book. While it isn't as thick, it reminds me of another text that tells the history of London through a handful of families.

I recommend "My Place." From someone who doesn't have time to read 400+ page books, this one kept me turning the page. It was enlightening

I have read several of Brooks' books (both her non-fiction and fiction) and I was excited to rec'e and read Foreign Correspondance. Unfortunately, I was deeply disappointed.

The book has an outstanding premise---as a child growing up in Australia during the 1960s, Brooks was eager to experience the outside world. An avid letter writer, she found pen-pals in the U.S., Israel and France. As an adult, Brooks set off to meet and re-discover these people. So far so good. But the book peters out---with the exception of the American pen-pal (to whom she was closest), the characters lack enough detail to be interesting.

Her meeting with her French pen-pal was especially disappointing. This was a girl who chose to remain in her native village (while Brooks became a world-traveler and global correspondant). I hoped for more insights and more discussion of the contrast and why they chose such radically different paths---despite coming from somewhat similar backgrounds (Brooks saw herself as living in a giant provincial village---the village of Australia). But there was little discussion and the meeting simply sounded painful. Her trip to Israel to meet her non-Jewish Israeli pen-pal would also have benefitted from a deeper discussion about one's choices and opportunities (there was some discussion of this but I wanted to know more).

Had I not read Brooks' other books, I probably would have thought this was a fairly good book. But I know she can write such a better book!

Australian born Geraldine Brooks spent many years as a foreign correspondent covering the Middle East. I loved her book, "Nine Parts of Desire" which was about Muslim women, and I have followed her life somewhat as she is often mentioned by her husband, Tony Horwitz, in his books "Confederates in the Attic", "Baghdad Without a Map," and "One for the Road." I find her an excellent reporter and in this memoir, "Foreign Correspondence," she turns the spotlight on herself.

As a child growing up in a lower middle class neighborhood on a street actually called "Bland Street", she yearned for a larger world. And so she developed pen pals. There was a girl from New Jersey, another one from France, and even one from an upper class neighborhood just a few towns away. And then there were two Israeli boys, one an Arab and one a Jew. As an adult, she found these old letters in her father's basement and, now more than twenty years later, she decided to look up each of these people. What follows is the result of her quest and some wonderful insights into world events from a personal one-on-one perspective. It was fascinating.

As a teenager in the early seventies she was aware of the new consciousness developing, even reaching her in her protective Catholic school. She had an active imagination and the gift of using words well. It's not surprising that she developed pen pals and that they influenced her life so much. Her gift of words certainly reached me too. I shared her sense of wonder and enthusiasm as she looked forward to each letter. I felt her straining to break the bonds of her loving but restrictive world. I felt her hopes and dreams and frustrations. And then, later, I shared her discoveries as she searched out the people who had meant so much to her early life. She writes with a clear voice, painting a picture with details, taking me on her quest to discover the world and eventually to discover herself. The book is short, a mere 210 pages but she sure does pack a lot into it. It's a wonderful read. Highly recommended.

I bought this as an "airplane read" but couldn't put it down. Geraldine Brooks has done us a great favor by not only illuminating the process of finding one's long lost penpals, but also by educating many folks about Australia in the process. It's fascinating to see her perceptions of the world, and particularly America, based on the letters that come in her mailbox each month.

While I read this one on my own, I have since leant this book to several friends and we've engaged in some interesting discussions about our own penpal experiences, so I recommend it for book clubs.

The book is about two educated englishmen who venture to the island of Borneo determined to capture the the sights of a rare albino rhino. The author sets the humor rolling straight off, and in his sardonic wit, recounts his adventures into the rainforest of Borneo.

Duly noted are the risks to life and limb (and appendages)he must be aware of during his adventure. These lessons are given to him by his good natured guides who taunt and tease the overweight white (very white) man. All in good fun, the banter flows both ways. Descriptions of their meals may take a tough stomach on the part of the reader. He spared the reader nothing when it came to describing the delights of dinnertime. The recollection of some repasts, especially the gourmet monster lizard meals were among the more memorable (unfortunately). It was amazing what they scrounged up to eat. I will not spoil all the little surprises they had at mealtime, you will know soon enough when you read the book!

Aside from the culinary experience, I found the travel journey delightfully funny and educational. While I know this is NOT the kind of trip I would care to have, I appreciate that the author had the guts to do it. At times, he doubted his stamina, but that is what made the novel work - he was a regular guy doing something outrageously difficult, not to mention dangerous. I can see that this kind of adventure would appeal to many others, but for me, I took his trip in an armchair where I was safe and knew what I was eating for lunch!

He is a charming writer, hooking the reader with teasing references. I admit I learned alot about their culture and some of their more sensitive political and social issures. A quick read, I went out and bought more of his books and look forward to a similar experience.

There are three things you should know about Redmond O'Hanlon's Into the Heart of Borneo: it's very educational, it's very funny, and it's a heckuva good adventure. The premise is that two middle-aged British academics, poet James Fenton and naturalist Redmond O'Hanlon, are dispatched to Borneo in search of the rare mountain Rhinoceros. Whatever their ultimate goal, after two pages you're hooked by O'Hanlon's clever writing and self-deprecating wit as he describes the preparations for their epic journey.
You can learn a lot from this book. For example, did you realize that Borneo is the world's third largest island? that over 1,700 different species of parasitic worm can infest your bloodstream? that a bite from a Wagler's Pit Viper will lead to nothing worse than near-death? On the more substantive side, you will also learn about Borneo's history, native cultures, geography, flora, and fauna-especially its amazing birds! And funny? the education you'll receive about Borneo is a bonus because the book could carry itself quite successfully on O'Hanlon's hilarious writing. Imagine two English intellectuals travelling by foot and canoe through remote rainforest with three Iban tribesman; one of whom, Leon, could host the Letterman Show.
I giggled continually throughout this book. One passage describing how Redmond and the Iban planned to "take Jam's head" upon returning to camp where a nervous but unsuspecting James was waiting had me laughing with glee.
As a fellow middle-aged, balding, and slightly pudgy man, this book gave me great hope that I too could travel to Borneo and survive such an adventure. Read it to learn about Borneo. Read it to laugh. Just read it! You won't be disappointed.

This the fifth book I've read on traveling in Borneo, and in certain ways it rivals my favorite (Eric Hansen's "A Stranger in the Forest"). O'Hanlon is not only literate and well-informed on the subject (Borneo) but he's one of those highly educated writers who doesn't take himself (or his elderly, unathletic) traveling companion (a famous poet) seriously. Part of the screamingly funny parts are when O'Hanlon is either making fun of himself or the Borneo natives are making fun of his ineptness. O'Hanlon is fat and out-of-shape and his small, powerfully strong, local guides never let him forget it for a minute! O'Hanlon is able to write characters so well, one feels as if you are on the boat with them; the three guides are lovingly drawn. For those with an interest in the ecology of Borneo, birds, or river journeys, there is much to learn through this engrossing read. I recently saw a documentary that filmed the "remote" areas where O'Hanlon's journey took place and I am sad to say, it has been totally deforested by the Indonesian timber industry; huge corporations that are destroying the Borneo rainforest due to graft and a lack of enforcement by the Indonesian goverment... subjects that O'Hanlon writes about in this book. Think twice about buying teak furniture, much of it comes from poached wood that is illegally cut from Borneo's rainforest, a sad coda to this funny book.

David Stanley has covered the Pacific Islands for a long time with his various guidebooks. He continues doing an incredible job with his latest Tahiti Handbook. This is a very comprehensive, readable and accurate guidebook on travel through Tahiti and the islands of French Polynesia plus the Cook Islands and Easter Island. This books covers a huge chunk of Polynesia and it does it well. The 140 pages of intro material, important background and travel info is very useful. First-time South Pacific visitors intending stops in Tahiti, the Cooks and/or Easter Island will find this book essential. It's well-organized, easy-to-read, has great maps and interesting historic and contemporary photos. Knowing a bit about the complexities and problems associated with travel between and among these far-flung islands, I think the indepth coverage says much about Stanley's journalistic skills and diligence in collecting information and presenting it in a practical, useful manner. He covers just about everything necessary to know about travel through Tahiti and related island groups, the Cook Islands and Easter Island. There is a very useful resources listings as well with website/internet sources, bibliography, glossary, an Islands at a Glance vital stats table, accommodation and subject indexes, etc. You won't need any other book to travel easily, comfortably and intelligently through these islands.

High prices in Tahiti and the other islands of "French Polynesia" forced me to choose other destinations in the South Pacific so far. Reading Stanley's book, however, I found out that even in these islands there must be good and inexpensive places to stay. As a user of other books by David Stanley I do not fear to rely on his findings. Stanley's remarks are based on personal experiences as a traveller rather than on deals wih tourist agencies, hotels, and so on. Besides, his personal involvement with and love for the people in the Pacific favors his book to similar publications by other authors. You do not need to agree with all his political and other statements, but I personally appreciate that Stanley does not present only the sunny sides of life in the area. He also dares to point at the darker sides as well. This enables me to arrive in a country with a more balanced view of it and its society, rather than only the perspectives given in the more general tourist brochures and travel books.

This is the only book you need for a trip to Tahiti, catering to luxury travelers right on down to backpackers. The author separates the Polynesian island chains into different sections, giving complete coverage to history, accomodations, food (including cooking local cuisine), getting there, getting around and more for each island. The maps are simply spectacular, starting with the entire region (including air travel routes) all the way down to individual island and primary city maps. In fact, individual maps even have exact, pinpointed hotel and attraction locations, an extremely useful reference during your actual trip.

The Tahiti handbook also contains useful background on this region. Topics include the coral reefs of the Pacific, typhoons, Tahiti's climate, plants, animals and local customs. Show me another guidebook that has such unique content like Polynesian dance diagrams or instructions how to buy a black pearl.

The book concludes with a complete bibliography, related Internet web pages and some useful direct email addresses of contacts in the region. Overall, I highly recommend this guide book to anyone planning a trip to Tahiti/French Polynesia, Easter Island or the Cook Islands.