the book totally ignores one of the biggest micronesian countries...the Marshall Islands. Could you do Polynesia without Tahiti

This book is a must have for the hundreds of American teachers that come to fill the schools of Micronesia. It covers practically all of the native cultures of the islands, though not very "in-depth". The pictures show the true beauty of the islands and the people - how 'bout a sequel?

I wavered between giving this three and four stars, but decided on three stars for folks who don't know anything about Caldicott. Those of us who are either already fans of her personally, or care deeply about anti-nuclear and environmental issues, would more likely give it at least four stars. Dr. Caldicott is an inspiration to anyone who either wants to make a difference in the world, or fears that no one person can. She started on her anti-nuclear campaign as an Australian pediatrician and concerned mother -- writing an angry letter to the editor about French nuclear tests in the South Pacific (which did not get published) -- and went on to found Physicians for Social Responsibility and to inspire millions. I've seen Dr. Caldicott speak twice, and she's a marvel. She has authored other books, _Missile Envy_ and _If You Love This Planet_ among them, about more specific issues; this is a very personal account, in which she is honest about her failures, disappointments, setbacks, loneliness, and fear of death. But it is ultimately a triumph of the will and spirit. I wish her many more years of health, happiness, and successful activism.

This autobiography by Helen Caldicott is stunning in the information it offers. Caldicott is one of the most important women of our century and her discussion with Ronald Reagan's daughter is worth the price of the book alone. Caldicott as a nationally renown antinuclear activist --full of knowledge and bravier in her cause, had the credentials and intelligence to fight the good fight and her memoir of her adventures in doing so opens the eyes wide and fills the mind with jarring reality. She is a life saver, a gift to our salvation on earth--a woman one wants to know and understand and empathize with. Blessings on this book. Buy it. It will light up your mind with her intelligence and caring spirit. All of her books are vital as can be. Buy them. Read them and share them. Daniela Gioseffi, Author of WOMEN ON WAR: International Voices for the Nuclear Age, American Book Award, 1990

Destiny's Landfall is a book which I would love to like. A supposedly thorough, comprehensive history of my island of Guam, it seemed too good to be true when I purchased it as an undergraduate. It eventually was too good to be true.

I cannot fault Rogers in terms of his completeness or accuracy, he has taken nearly every text imaginable pretaining to Guam and somehow woven them all together into a narrative of some sort, which is occasionally exciting but ultimately demeaning, archaic and mediocre.

Rogers cannot sustain his own biases for more than a chapter in his text. Beginning with the always questionable "parable of the tribes," which is one of those wonderful little bed time stories that haole people tell themselves in practical and academic forms to soothe their aching consciences and souls. I found myself reiterating time and time again, where is the agency, where is the spirit? Where is the soul of the Chamorro people in this? "Where are they themselves?" I asked myself at times.

It was Victorian Anthropological deja'vu for me, reading a text written today through a mindset of a century ago. The title in itself alludes to the mettle of the text, "destiny's landfall." Sounds something white western and exciting. Of course this all comes at the espense of the indengous inhabitants as this history of Guam celebrates the actions, accomplishments of those luckly losers who made landfall on Guam and gives little attention to those unfortunate people, already on Guam, that they fell upon. The Chamorro people, save for the contemporary sections of the text are painted as little more than mannequins which are placed and posed at the whims of primary texts from European/Western explorers, priests government officials and other washouts. No attempt is made to mitigate the racist writings of the past centuries, the history of Guam is reported as it has always been, of a victimized people, with no power over anything (as destiny the Spanish, Japanese or Americans control them), who somehow have survived, but lost everything in the process.

A point could be made that this is because of the lack of any voice of defense for the Chamorros in the source documents since they were all written by outsiders, however this intimates to less of a hope for objectivity and search for truth by the author, but more for a racist laziness, which would report everything from old Spanish documents, near verbatim, except for where Magellan landed.

I rate this text with a three despite my loathing for it, because the comprehensive nature of it cannot be denied. The rating would be much higher if Rogers had attempted to create a balanced history, implying a new and different voice, one which centered around those that have lived on Guam for thousands of years, rather than its Europeans explorers, tyrannical tourists and lazy lay-overs, rather than retiterating the voice of every Spanish and American Govenror of Guam since time immemorial. But since it did not, the rating is only average, for in spirit it is an average text, anyone could of put this together.

Bob Rogers offers an insightful and gripping view into the history of the island where America's day begins. Rogers' thorough research shows as he takes the reader from the landing of Magellan, right up through the modern day issues and struggles of this tiny, yet action packed island. Roger's fluid style coupled with his amusing stories of such things as "the big, ugly dinnerboat" that sits in Tumon bay, make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. If you are looking for one book that will give you all you need to know about the history of Guam, look no further.

Great collection. The nice thing about Corris is he uses hisspare style with aplomb. The details are used to just the rightaffect. His series isn't much on violence either. Often he's just looking for missing persons and not tripping over corpses.

For fans of Chandler and Hammett, here is a contemporary writer who is a worthy follower. "The Dying Trade" is the first in a 20+ series featuring Sydney, Australia, private detective Cliff Hardy, who observes the wealthy and the underworld with humourous.

All of the series entries are very good; this first is excellent.

Although you can certainly love the book without knowing Sydney, those who have been will enjoy Corris' excellent sense of place. I like mysteries as, among other things, a substitute for travel, and this one will bring you down under.

Both books contain lovely paintings of about 500 different species of Eucalyptus. In most cases, only leafs and buds are painted.

I have ordered this book around 1990 and was somehow dissapointed as I was searching for detailed information on Eucalyptus, including tree forms, growth and habit. This information is given as text only, but I expected it to be supplied by fotos.

Of course it was my mistake not to check if the books fit my requirements.

Anyway, the author has done very good work and it is quite obvious that he loves the family of Eucalytus.

Stan Kelly was a railroad engineer who loved eucalyptus and spent his time hunting rare species and painting them with water color paints.His two volumnes contain exquisite paintings of 500 species of eucalupts, with concise descriptions of each species by eminent botonists in the field.

This book is an interesting true life story of the small and peculiar world of extreme right wing politics. Through the narrative of Greason we are shown a world of incredibly insecure people who strangely enough think they have something to offer Australia. Just be thankful the world these people live in will never become reality. Greason has offered a view which is disturbing, but at the same time rather comical and personable.

This book is the first autobiography by a former rightwinger turned lefty published in Australia. While there have been relatively few extremists in Australia, there is a lineage of organisations from the New Guard in the thirties, to more recent Nazi parties headed by the likes of David Palmer. While you will not read much about fascist policies in Australia, you will read a lot about rightwingers themselves including the infamous and absurd "The Skull", a Sydney character who has been a Nazi since the early 60s, perhaps making him the longest serving nazi in history. AMusing stories, get hold of the book if you can.

Peter Ellyard is a futurist whose company name - Preferred Futures Pty Ltd - announces where he stands on the spectrum that runs from 'classical' analytical approaches, through scenario approaches that seek to establish robust strategies in the face of multiple alternative plausible futures, to approaches based on finding ways of envisioning and then bringing about preferred futures, and this is reflected in his book. It is a detailed description of a world that, in his opinion, ought to emerge in the new millennium, together with some prescriptions for what needs to be done to cause it to emerge. It is also a sustained piece of evangelism for the development of a 'mission-directed/ preferred-future culture'. As such, it is an interesting and useful example of this genre of writing and this style of strategic planning, which is becoming increasingly popular.

Interestingly however, it makes almost no mention of the methods that are most effective in building a broad consensus round a well articulated vision and set of strategies. Rather it seems to assume that this will naturally emerge. That values and beliefs are changing is unquestionable; it is much less clear that they are changing coherently or in the same direction. The essence of realising a preferred future is in the way that a coalition of shared values is built up that has the systemic leverage to cause the world to develop in a particular way. Ellyard gives very little attention to this process, other than to say that it requires a particular kind of leadership and to assert that a new consensus is emerging. The most useful books describing that process are concerned with Future Search/ Search Conference methodologies.

Ideas for the New Millennium

Peter Ellyard Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1998

As Peter Ellyard - one of Australia's most prominent futurists - sees it, Anglo-Celtic countries like this one, along with many other western cultures, are coping badly with the juggernaut of globalisation and technological change which is hurtling us towards the new millennium. Our fault, he claims, is that we are locked into a culture which is dominated by problem centred strategies and probable future destinations, in contrast to other nations, which have cultures characterised by mission directed strategies and long term, preferred futures strategic visions. Countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia, their current socio-economic difficulties notwithstanding, have a clear preferred future vision which is being used to drive structural adjustment and to realise strategic visions which would be regarded as hopelessly unrealistic by most Australians. South Africa would have been an even more powerful examplar, and indeed might be seen to represent the first true example of a new cultural paradigm that the author asserts is in the process of emerging in the midst of this postmodern phase in which we currently find ourselves. Adapting insights drawn from work done almost four decades ago by the late, great economist and systems theorist Kenneth Boulding, Ellyard suggests that this new cultural form might be termed planetism, or 'the culture of the cosmonaut', which can be clearly contrasted with the 'cowboy culture' of modernism. Thus where the modernist emphasise individualism, independence and autocracy, the planetist focuses on communitarianism, interdependence, and democracy. Where the former pitted humanity against nature, and sought to resolve conflict through confrontation, the latter treats humanity as part of nature while seeking to resolve conflict through negotiation. Where modernists sought to accept probable futures as the context for their strategic development, planetists creatively derive their preferred futures and use these as the focus for their strategies. In essence this is another book in the genre of 'wake up calls' for Australia which, as Ellyard seeks to illustrate throughout, is still firmly embedded within a modernist cultural paradigm. We have, he suggests, failed to move with the times and have been slow to accept the profound opportunities that the newly emerging generation of advanced technologies offers. While ironically we have been - and continue to be - a very inventive people, we are wretched innovators, slow to the point of despair, to derive industries around the 'great technological revolutions of our time' - the information, advanced material, bio- and nano- and micro-technologies which reflect the knowledge-based industries which are the way of the future, as the author sees it. In contrast to many Asian countries which have established economies dominated by enterprises involved in these knowledge-based industries, it is unlikely, Ellyard asserts, that there will be any such companies in the top ten Australian companies in a decade's time 'unless the current problem-centred/probable future mindset changes'. Given the events in our own particular region of the world over the past few months, and what might be seen as many as a retrogression to mainstream modernism in them, there will many who feel that the author is being unduly harsh in his critique of Australia. Indeed it is not difficult to defend the submission that with its strong democratic traditions, its historical cultural tolerance and celebration of interdependence, and its increasing tendencies towards gender equality, negotiation, and concern for environmental responsibility and landcare ethic, Australia exhibits many more planetist characteristics than any of her near neighbours. But mounting such a defence would be to miss the thrust of Ellyard's thesis and the centrality of his argument in favour of the shift in our culture from 'cowboy' to 'cosmonaut'. In many ways it matters not what other countries around the world are doing. The call for an emphasis on preferred futures as the guide for our strategic directions is a call set within the context of the survival of the planet. This book is much less about competition amongst nations than it is about Australia taking its own lead in developing responsible visions for its own future, and thus providing leadership in the shift from a modernist culture to a planetist one. In this eloquent book, Peter Ellyard provides the framework for such a shift, exploring in turn the significance of leadership, learning, innovation, ecological, social and cultural sustainability, food production, and the health and wellbeing of the planet. The case for a cultural shift to planetism makes for a compelling thesis, and the dissertation that the author presents is worthy of our most serious consideration: as Australian citizens, as members of our respective organisations, as responsible individuals, and above all, as cosmonauts on Spaceship Earth - even if we do harbour lingering doubts about our abilities to create our own futures.

By Dr Richard Bawden

Islands in the Clouds is one of the better travelogues to come out as part of the Lonely Planet Journeys series. Tree gives a good overview of the history, sociology and culture of the highlands of Papua New Guinea in an well-paced, beautifully written tale. Adding to the value of the book is its Tok Pisin glossary, which makes for a nice introduction to the pidgin/creole language of PNG.

I've been to Papua New Guinea, and I found this a very enjoyable read. Isabella Tree lets you get to know the people she meets, and her writing style really takes you along with her. This is just a short note to say "give this one a try."

This book tells the story of Jacaranda Vines, a family-owned wine farm set in Australia. It follows the historical progression from the establishment of the farm in the mid 19th century, till the present day. Although this is a gripping story, like Matilda's Last Waltz (the author's previous book), it is not quite on the same level as that book.

Like the earlier book, the tale evolves along two separate, but subtly interwoven, story lines. The story line progression is quite 'fragmented' and lacks a logical flow to it, and the transitions from past to present and back again, sometimes are not as smooth as they could have been.

A good read, nevertheless, worth the time and trouble.

In 1990 at the age of ninety-one Joseph "Jock" Whitney dies. Few if any mourn his death and many rejoice at his expiring. The Australian mogul owned and managed the country's biggest wine business, JACARANDA VINES, with an iron fist and an ugly temper that fell upon anyone within his radarscope including beleaguered family members. However, like many despots throughout history, Jock must have felt he would live forever because he failed to properly train his successor. Most business experts anticipate that Jock's survivors will carve up the kingdom of the "King of the Vines" into little duchies before selling off their shares. If nothing else, the civil war between Jock's wife, her brother, and her children and grandchildren will probably kill the company.

For years Jock publicly and privately humiliated his wife Cordelia. Surprisingly, she is the prime person refusing to sell the company. Desperate to find one ally among her relatives, Cordelia relates the family history starting with Rose in 1830 England to her prime hope of a supporter, her granddaughter Sophie.

JACARANDA VINES is an exciting Australian historical tale that spans over a hundred and seventy years, as Cordelia affectionately tells the family history, which enables the reader to understand why she wants to save the firm. The strong story line provides the audience incredible insight into Australia through Cordelia's narrative. Tamara McKinley furbishes a terrific tale that will surely garner her awards and several toasts from readers for this entertainingly deep novel.

Harriet Klausner

Invaluable, this is the kind of book you'd want even if you lived in Sydney. It explains the different character of Sydney's neighborhoods and gives concise intelligent explanations of how Sydney has become the muti-faceted city it is. I've only been to Sydney twice, but with the help of this guide I'm beginning to get it. The maps are pretty good, but some lack detail. Hotel and restaurant sections are comprehensive, and in my experience extremely accurate.

This is an excellent guidebook for Yanks and others who want to learn more about the Harbour City. With 4 million people, Sydney is almost too big to cover in a single volume, but the editors of this fine book do their best. The descriptions of hotels and restaurants are usefully broken down by neighborhood - and Sydney is even more diverse than most cities; the reader who is planning a trip will want to decide where he or she is going to stay before making any other decisions. The maps are superb. The city has changed almost beyond recognition in recent years, and an up-to-date guidebook is a must for the serious traveller. Highly recommended.