Australia & Oceania Books - Page 5

The Worst Journey in the World: A Tale of Loss and Courage in Antarctica

Apsley Cherry-Garrard

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 53 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Telling of a Great Adventure 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Cherry-Garrard is a literate,educated man, writing his experiences as well as including the memories, and journals of the other expedition members. Interesting how this young man of means who is accustomed to comfortable living,could endure such extreme hardship without complaint. The hardship and adventure begins with the terrible storm experienced on the ship from New Zealand to Antarctica. The description of this ordeal grabs hold and they haven't yet reached the Southern continent. The first year on the ice and the sledge trip during the winter months is gripping.

A compelling aspect is the matter of fact descriptions of the unbelievable [to us] hardship and daily rigors of living, sledging, carrying out scientific experiments, etc., in -20 to -70 degrees. Wind conditions that regularly must have sent wind chill factors [they never recorded such a thing] to -80 to -100 degrees,and the physical exertion. They regularly experience frost bite, hunger, occasional ptomaine from spoiled food, symptoms of Dysentary, and scurvy. Yet, they are able to recover. They never lose their spirit and comeraderie.
Until discovering the Pole parties' bodies the following year, Cherry-Garrard writes of his contentment and pride in being a member of this expedition.
In the subsequent years, until he writes the book in 1922, he becomes guilt ridden as to whether he and the other survivors could have reached and saved Scott before they died,[it seems apparent they could not have reached them. [In fact, rescueres would probably have died in an attempt]. It's impossible to imagine living in such conditions for 3 years. Constant cold, diet of seal, penguin, sometimes dog and horse, blubber, biscuit, and tea. Occasionally, chocolate, butter and sugar as a treat.
I agree with other reviewers that there is redundancy and repetition but I found it interesting to read how different members experienced the same events.
I thought from reading other books that Scott was somewhat naive and a dreamer when it came to planning and preparing for this expedition. I now feel differently. Scott prepared and planned diligently. He was well liked and respected by his men, in general, he was a strong leader. A terrible mistake was deciding at the last supply depot, to take 5 men on the final push to the Pole rather than the 4 which was the original plan. The 5th man, for which they did not have adequate supplies and the physical collapse of one member after reaching the Pole, probably cost them their lives.
Reading of a group of men living for years in these conditions, survival aways in doubt, out of touch with the rest of the world, gives perspective and toleration for what we think are trying experiences today. Early explorers are compared to to our astronauts. However,when one considers that communication is constant with space travelers. These men left and were never heard from again until they returned, if they did return, years later.

Editorial Review:

The author, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, was 24 when he was chosen from among 8,000 volunteers to join Robert Falcon Scott on the scientific expedition that was, in part, a race with Amundsen to the South Pole. Scott did not return, and Cherry-Garrard was determined to honor the accomplishments of all who participated. But it is the courage and decency of the men that is the true tale here. Enthralling, harrowing and astounding. Paul Theroux names this book as one of his favorites and it is a masterpiece of adventure narrative.

Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny

Mike Dash

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1628 the Dutch East India Company loaded the Batavia, the flagship of its fleet, with a king’s ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java; the ship itself was a tangible symbol of the world’s richest and most powerful monopoly.

The company also sent along a new employee to guard its treasure. He was Jeronimus Corneliszoon, a disgraced and bankrupt man with great charisma and dangerously heretical ideas. With the help of a few disgruntled sailors, he hatched a plot to seize the ship and her riches. The mutiny might have succeeded, but in the dark morning hours of June 3, 1629, the Batavia smashed through a coral reef and ran aground on a small chain of islands near Australia. The captain and skipper escaped the wreck, and in a tiny lifeboat they set sail for Java—some 1,500 miles north—to summon help. More than 250 frightened survivors waded ashore, thankful to be alive. Unfortunately, Jeronimus and the mutineers had survived too, and the nightmare was only beginning.

Australia ABCs: A Book About the People and Places of Australia (Country Abcs)

Heiman, Sarah

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Features:

• Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind.
• Top Quality Children's Item.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great learning tool 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book to help children learn about Australia. It's beautifully illustrated too!

Editorial Review:

In this book, you'll learn about the world's smallest continent, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Sydney Opera House.

In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic

Valerian Albanov

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1912, six months after Robert Falcon Scott and four of his men came to grief in Antarctica, a thirty-two-year-old Russian navigator named Valerian Albanov embarked on an expedition that would prove even more disastrous. In search of new Arctic hunting grounds, Albanov's ship, the Saint Anna, was frozen fast in the pack ice of the treacherous Kara Sea-a misfortune grievously compounded by an incompetent commander, the absence of crucial nautical charts, insufficient fuel, and inadequate provisions that left the crew weak and debilitated by scurvy.

For nearly a year and a half, the twenty-five men and one woman aboard the Saint Anna endured terrible hardships and danger as the icebound ship drifted helplessly north. Convinced that the Saint Anna would never free herself from the ice, Albanov and thirteen crewmen left the ship in January 1914, hauling makeshift sledges and kayaks behind them across the frozen sea, hoping to reach the distant coast of Franz Josef Land. With only a shockingly inaccurate map to guide him, Albanov led his men on a 235-mile journey of continuous peril, enduring blizzards, disintegrating ice floes, attacks by polar bears and walrus, starvation, sickness, snowblindness, and mutiny. That any of the team survived is a wonder. That Albanov kept a diary of his ninety-day ordeal-a story that Jon Krakauer calls an "astounding, utterly compelling book," and David Roberts calls "as lean and taut as a good thriller"-is nearly miraculous.

First published in Russia in 1917, Albanov's narrative is here translated into English for the first time. Haunting, suspenseful, and told with gripping detail, In the Land of White Death can now rightfully take its place among the classic writings of Nansen, Scott, Cherry-Garrard, and Shackleton.

Mawson's Will: The Greatest Polar Survival Story Ever Written

Lennard Bickel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

MAWSON'S WILL is the dramatic story of what Sir Edmund Hillary calls "the most outstanding solo journey ever recorded in Antarctic history." For weeks in Antarctica, Douglas Mawson faced some of the most daunting conditions ever known to man: blistering wind, snow, and cold; loss of his companion, his dogs and supplies, the skin on his hands and the soles of his feet; thirst, starvation, disease, snowblindness - and he survived.
Sir Douglas Mawson is remembered as the young Australian who would not go to the South Pole with Robert Scott in 1911, choosing instead to lead his own expedition on the less glamorous mission of charting nearly 1,500 miles of Antarctic coastline and claiming its resources for the British Crown. His party of three set out through the mountains across glaciers in 60-mile-per-hour winds. Six weeks and 320 miles out, one man fell into a crevasse, along with the tent, most of the equipment, all of the dogs' food, and all except a week's supply of the men's provisions.
Mawson's Will is the unforgettable story of one man's ingenious practicality and unbreakable spirit and how he continued his meticulous scientific observations even in the face of death. When the expedition was over, Mawson had added more territory to the Antarctic map than anyone else of his time. Thanks to Bickel's moving account, Mawson can be remembered for the vision and dedication that make him one of the world's great explorers.

"A riveting account . . . makes Mawson's achievement a symbol of the desire to live." -- The New York Times Book Review

"A powerful reading experience." -- Publishers Weekly

DOWN UNDER.

Bill. Bryson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

cheated 1 out of 5 stars.
18 of 30 people found this review helpful.

This book has the exactly same content (word by word) with another Bill Bryson's book under the title 'In a Sunburned Country'.
I searched both books thoroughly and neither of them said anything about another book with the exactly content as itself.
I bought both and felt CHEATED.

Very informative, telling you many things no ordinary travel book does 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Bill Bryson is best known for writing very humorous travel books, and "In a Sunburned Country" is indeed a funny account of his travels in Australia. Those who love Bill Bryson's books for their humor won't be disappointed.

But unlike most people, I like Bill Bryson best when he's NOT trying to be funny, and my appreciation of this book is mostly due to the great amount of very interesting information presented.

Bill Bryson amazes you with loads of information about the geology, the animal life, the plants and insects, the history, the statistics, the folklore, etc., etc. The many dangers: poisonous snakes, poisonous insects, poisonous jellyfish, crocodiles, sharks, and rip currents - they're all out to get you. The inhospitable deserts, the beautiful beaches, the huge distances; Bill Bryson gives you a feeling of what it's all like.

The book goes into detail about many aspects of Australian life that are fairly unknown, including the discovery (and re-discovery) of Australia, the settlement by British prisoners, the early expeditions to explore the interior, the gold rushes, the outlaws, and the devastation caused by rabbits and other imported animals and plants. Bill Bryson talks about the many unusual animal species found only in Australia, including giant earthworms that grow up to 1 meter (and can be stretched to 4 meters) and the platypus, a cross between a reptile and a mammal. He talks about Australians and the Australian society, and the situation regarding the native people, the aboriginals.

Bill Bryson doesn't cover all of Australia from the geographical point of view, and the parts he does cover are somewhat random. But that doesn't matter because he captures the spirit of the whole country based on the parts he does visit and the general information he includes.

A very positive aspect is that Bill Bryson makes it clear that he loves Australia. The feeling is infectious, and it makes you want to pack your bags and head "down under" for a long leisurely trip so you can do your own exploring.

If I were to mention two things I was less happy about, it would be the occasional excessive attempts to be funny and the lack of contact with Australians. One of the best parts of the book is about his traveling together with an Australian couple for 3-4 days, but other than this passage Bill Bryson is mostly playing the typical tourist, with little or no contact with Australians. And despite a fairly long discussion about the aboriginal situation he does not ever get into contact with any aboriginals. Why not?

A final note regarding the unabridged audio version of the book, read by Bill Bryson himself: Most authors are poor readers, but Mr. Bryson does a very good job here, almost on a par with a professional reader. Recommended.

Rennie Petersen

PS. "In a Sunburned Country" has also been published under the title "Down Under". It is exactly the same book.

Island World: A History of Hawai'i and the United States (California World History Library)

Gary Y. Okihiro

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Editorial Review:

Brilliantly mixing geology, folklore, music, cultural commentary, and history, Gary Y. Okihiro overturns the customary narrative in which the United States acts upon and dominates Hawai'i. Instead, Island World depicts the islands' press against the continent, endowing America's story with fresh meaning. Okihiro's reconsidered history reveals Hawaiians fighting in the Civil War, sailing on nineteenth-century New England ships, and living in pre-gold rush California. He points to Hawai'i's lingering effect on twentieth-century American culture--from surfboards, hula, sports, and films, to art, imagination, and racial perspectives--even as the islands themselves succumb slowly to the continental United States. In placing Hawai'i at the center of the national story, Island World rejects the premise that continents comprise "natural" states while islands are "tiny spaces," without significance, to be acted upon by continents. An astonishingly compact tour de force, this book not only revises the way we think about islands, oceans, and continents, it also recasts the way we write about space and time.

The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica

David G. Campbell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not About Antarctica 2 out of 5 stars.
29 of 33 people found this review helpful.

This was a disappointing read, mainly because it isn't about Antarctica, but about King George Island. Like writing a book about North America from research conducted on Cuba. Yes, Cuba is part of North America, but... If you want information on Antarctica, look elsewhere. Why he named it "Crystal Desert" is beyond me because there is NOTHING on the ice cap. Secondly, Campbell, who may or may not be a competent biologist, spends far to much time grinding his environmental axe. For some reason, he thinks he and other academicians are the only people with the right to go to Antarctica, making numerous disparaging comments about tourism throughout the text. Moreover, he seems to have a major problem with males - be they human, sperm whale, or elephant seal, espousing traits such as "machismo" and other derogatory human emotions to these animals simply because they are larger than the females. And finally, he spends the entire final third of the book expounding on the horrors of the seal and whale hunts that decimated the populations of these magnificant animals. Unfortunate, definately. But the book is supposed to be about Antarctica - not a treatise on over-sealing and over-whaling by people from another period in time. It does have some good descriptions of Admiralty Bay on King George Island - mainly from a biological perspective, but overall, it was a waste of time.

Editorial Review:

THE CRYSTAL DESERT: SUMMERS IN ANTARCTICA is the story of life's tenacity on the coldest of Earth's continents. It tells of the explorers who discovered Antarctica, of the whalers and sealers who despoiled it, and of the scientists who are deciphering its mysteries. In beautiful, lucid prose, David G. Campbell chronicles the desperately short summers on the Antarctic Peninsula. He presents a fascinating portrait of the evolution of life in Antarctica and also of the evolution of the continent itself.

Shoal of time;: A history of the Hawaiian Islands

Gavan Daws

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Pure Truth 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is a must read for any one studying or interested in Hawaiian history. It is very detailed and the timeline of events is easy to follow. There are even specific names mentioned that helped a friend with his genealogy research.

Hawaiian History 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

We arrived on Oahu June of 2004 for a 3 year military tour. While one of the critics indicates this book does not fully explain the (in my own words) hostile take over of the Hawaiian monarchy, he also does not tell you that Hawaiian history while plentiful is not well published.

Unlike the American Civil war for which there are hundreds and thousands of volumes of work, there are just a handful of well written published Hawaiian history books. This is why the reviewer did not also suggest alternatives.

I was stunned by the limited amount of material available to read. And for the reviewer who criticized the incomplete research of the Hawaiian newspapers - I look forward to reading the book you write from this research. I hope the next decade brings more and more published work of this great island nation.

Shoal of Time does what few other books do. It gives a reasonably thorough look at Hawaiian history. It is a great place to start for those interested in Hawaiian history and a great diving board for those wishing to write their own works.

Again hundreds if not thousands of books on the American Civil war from 1861-1865. A handful of Hawaiian history books for the entire period of history.

I would celebrate if the the Sovereignty movement produced some well written books of their own. Instead, during our three years living and traveling throughout the islands, it was limited to a few newspaper articles and some protest type gatherings. There is a definite voice among the Hawaiian Nation movement, but one that is not clearly understood by the rest of the 49 states.

No one book can be all things to all people. This one is an excellent "history" book. Daws tells the story of Hawaii with his voice.

Hawaii is a story which isn't finished and the richness of its history leaves plenty of room for others to pick up their pen and bring it to life for those of us who are readers.

Editorial Review:

Gavan Daws' remarkable achievement is to free Hawaiian history from the dust of antiquity. Based on years of work in the documentary sources, Shoal of Time emerges as the most readable of all Hawaiian histories.

Starting with the Western discovery of the islands in 1778--on through the days of the whalers, the missionary period, the plantation era with its vast numbers of Oriental immigrants, to the fall of the Hawaiian monarchy, annexation by the United States, and the long, slow move to statehood--the characters and events of Hawaii's past shine with new vitality and immediacy.

Frozen In Time: The Fate of The Franklin Expedition

Owen Beattie, John Geiger

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Simply compelling."--Mordecai Richler. "A cautionary tale of scholarly merit."--William S. Burroughs. "Chilling...will keep you up nights turning pages."--Peter Gorner, The Chicago Tribune. In 1845, Sir John Franklin set off, determined to "penetrate the icy fastness" of the Arctic. But he and his 129 men never made it. For the next 35 years, more than 20 major rescue parties searched fruitlessly for the vanished expedition. In this updated version of a bestseller that sold over 118,000 copies, a top forensic anthropologist and a historian tell the dramatic tale of excavating three sailors from the Franklin party. The bodies, well preserved by the permafrost, gave up their secrets to 20th century science, and the researchers pieced together a story of horrific starvation, scurvy, and cannibalism...Absolutely unforgettable--with photos in both color and black and white. The authors both live in Alberta, Canada. 192 pages, 43 color illus., 5 x 7 3/4.