Reviews (2)

An excellent overview
Australian Aboriginal art is gaining international recognition, and rightly so.It is an art form driven by the culture of the artsists, and this book covers the traditional works of desert Australia, and also touches on more the more contemporary works of urban dwellers.These works are vibrant and alive, and the illustrations do justice to the richness of the work.The accompanying text is detailed and authoritative. Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture
This book was recently reviewed on the Sunday Arts program on ABC television in Australia. The book presents an authoratitive overview of the origins and development of Aboriginal Art and Culture in Australia.Read more

Subjects:  1. Aboriginal Australians    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Arts, Aboriginal Australian    5. Asian    6. Australia    7. Australia & New Zealand - Australia    8. Encyclopedias    9. Ethnic arts    10. Reference    11. Art & Architecture | History | Non-Western    12. Art / History / Asian    13. Art of indigenous peoples    14. Australasian & Pacific history    15. Cultural studies    16. Indigenous peoples   

Subjects:  1. Asia - General    2. Australia & New Zealand - General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Indian Ocean    7. Indian Ocean Region    8. Navigation    9. World - General    10. History / Asia    11. Maritime history    12. Oceanography (seas)    13. Regional geography    14. World history   

Subjects:  1. 1933-    2. 20th century    3. Ancher, Mortlock & Woolley    4. Architects    5. Architecture    6. Architecture, Australian    7. Architecture, Modern    8. Australia    9. Design & Drafting    10. History - Specific Styles    11. Individual Architect    12. Individual Architects Of The 20th Century    13. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    14. Woolley, Ken,    15. Individual architects    16. Woolley, Ken   

Editorial Review

The title Read more

Reviews (2)

Superior scholarship, but tedious at times
Daniel Rodgers' thesis in Atlantic Crossings is simple and direct: "the reconstruction of American social politics was of a part with movements of politics and ideas throughout the North Atlantic world that trade and capitalism had tied together." (3) He concludes that from the 1870s through World War II, America was not an internalist or an imperialist nation, but instead these years saw an "opening" for social reformers in the U.S. to import foreign models and ideals from other North Atlantic countries.Furthermore, these imported policies and reforms (mostly from Britain and Germany) were not adopted in America (if at all) unchanged upon reaching the Atlantic's western shores, but instead were adapted to the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of American society and political structure.Finally, Rodgers argues, the seeds of the New Deal can be found in the activities and positions of the social reform activists of the last two decades of the 19th century and the first thirty years of the 20th century. The next definitive work on the Progressive Era.
This is the policy-side answer to Kloppenberg's UNCERTAIN VICTORY. While that book focussed on intellectual links between European (esp. German or French) thought and early American pragmatism, Rodgers seeks more practicalapplications, well into the 20th century. He is so well versed in theliterature that scant references are made to secondary sources. It is richin the literature of the time, particularly journals, magazines, andnewspapers from several different countries. Interestingly, unlikeKloppenberg this book examines England and Scotland which provide springboards for American reforms. Rodgers' thesis is that the Europeanstried numerous policies which Americans learned about and then implemented,almost always later than their counterparts across the Atlantic--andsometimes with very limited success. The book is also noteworthy for someof the most practical applications of MODERNISM yet seen in contemporaryscholarship. This is a hot topic, largely seen in discussions of art orliterature. Here Rodgers takes all that knowledge, absorbs it, and thendemonstrates it in action across the POLITICAL spectrum. Despite theenormous research behind it, Rodgers has written an enjoyable, readablework that is of considerable importance. After all, this is the author ofthe famous article, "An Obituary for the Progressive Movement,"(1970) which claimed that there NEVER WAS such a movement. Here Rodgersanswers his own claim, saying that the American reform impulse built upon aEuropean foundation and produced policies which survive to the present. Myonly complaint is that this book is slanted TOWARDS Europe, with maybe 60%of the discussion dwelling across the Atlantic ... the format gets a littletedious, with most chapters beginning in Europe, then the Americans pick upon the policy (welfare, municipal gas/water etc) and then they try itthemselves. This is nitpicking, though, for such a substantive,well-researched, lucid work that defines this generation's scholarship onthe Progressive Era. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Americas (North Central South West Indies)    2. Australia & New Zealand - General    3. History    4. History & Theory - General    5. History: World    6. Politics / Current Events    7. United States - 19th Century/Turn of the Century    8. 20th century    9. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    10. American history: from c 1900 -    11. Anthropology    12. Political science & theory    13. USA    14. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (2)

A Most Amazing Book
The first three "official" reviews of this book fail to convey the sheer original, revealing, even emotional nature of this book.Many Americans now accept that their patriotic Revolutionary ancestors--including the Founding Fathers--owned slaves.Some Americans are aware that many of these slaves fled to the British controlled areas and cities under the promise of gaining freedom. A few Americans may then know of what happened to these former slaves--how many were take off to Nova Scotia with thousands of white Loyalists. What Cassandra Pybus reveals in this book opens all this up into dimensions undreamed of by all but perhaps a literal handful of historians. And in fact, what she presents is more like a nightmare than a dream.In an impeccably researched and footnoted narrative, she first investigates those three relatively "knowns" that I referred to above, providing details that will astound most of us. And when she goes onto present the story of what happenened to most of these former slaves as they movd on not only to Nova Scotia and London but then on to Sierra Leone and Australia--well, it is history as revelation. Although Pybus stays rooted in the strictest procedures of the historian, the end effect is to feel you are reading a novel. But a novel describing events of such unnmitigated misery, of human suffering, of human cruelty, that no novelist would dare invent these happenings.I defy any reader to put the book down saying (a) "Oh, I had suspected all this might have happened" and (b) "In any case I can't see getting especially worked up over it."The end result is a book that both charges far more human beings than we have imagined with being cruel to African-Americans and at the same time informs us of how many of these same African-Americans endured these cruelties and utimately prevailed. In a word, I found it spellbinding!

A side of the American Revolution little known until now
While most American schoolchildren in the U.S. are taught of the American Revolution as a glorious struggle of backwoods colonials fighting for their freedom and independence against the world's most powerful empire, few, if any, are taught of the great tragedy experienced by African-Americans, many of them former slaves, who fought with or sided with the British in the hopes that they would secure their individual freedoms.I was one of those many schoolchildren inculcated in the myth of the Revolution, but I have since expanded my knowledge of the Revolution beyond the history texts.Despite this, I was not aware of the globe-circling stories of former slaves of the American Revolution as carefully documented and researched by Cassandra Pybus in "Epic Journeys of Freedom".But now that I am, I hope these stories become more widely known as examples of not only the failure of the American Revolution to live up to its ideals, but more important, as examples of the unquenchable human desire for freedom and the extent to which brave men and women will go to find it.
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Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Australia    3. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    4. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - Histor    5. Fugitive slaves    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: American    9. New South Wales    10. Sierra Leone    11. Slavery    12. Sociology    13. United States    14. United States - 18th Century    15. United States - Revolutionary War    16. History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)   

Reviews (2)

From wasps to wallabies
John Alcock's status as the dean of animal behaviour studies is delightfully illustrated by this excellent book.A collection of over two dozen essays on the conduct of various animal [and one plant] species relate the findings of an Australian sabbatical.Using his own and other's research he poses questions arising from a medley of animal antics.How have these behaviours come about?He shows how these queries have adaptive evolutionary roots. The beauty of Darwin's idea, he reminds us, is that it provides us with "an adaptationist foundation" for testing hypotheses, arguments and ideas.Adaptations are subtle, often requiring careful perception and analysis.With careful study and cautious speculation he provides some stimulating ideas about the things he observed. entertaining book on Australian animal behavior
Written by American biologist John Alcock (along with excellent illustrations by Marilyn Hoff Stewart), this book chronicles Alcock animal observations throughout the land Down Under. Alcocok observed the intimate details of the birth, breeding habits, feeding habits, and sometimes death of a large variety of Australian birds, insects, and mammals. Each chapter devoted to a particular species, he covers not only well known species such as the kookaburra, flying fox, and platypus, but lesser known ones (at least to Americans), such as the northern logrunner, resin wasp, and silver gull. Read more

Subjects:  1. Adaptation (Biology)    2. Animal behavior    3. Animals    4. Australia    5. Evolution (Biology)    6. Natural History    7. Science/Mathematics   

Subjects:  1. Christianity - History - Protestant    2. Religion - Church History   

Reviews (23)

Never Give Up
Lennard Bickel's "Mawson's Will" is the story of Australian geologist Douglas Mawson's 1911-1912 Expedition to Antarctica, and more particularly, his desparate struggle to return alone from a sledging expedition gone badly.
Bickel's Gift
Rarely has fiction served the truth so well. Rarely has the truth served fiction so well.
An Unbelievable Tale of Courage and Will
I couldn't put the book down, once I started.I was awestruck by the courage and will demonstrated by Mawson.I would have given up long before.These types of men are fast-disappearing from our society--a real tragedy for us. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (1911-1914)    2. 1882-1958    3. Antarctica    4. Australasian Antarctic Expedition    5. Australian    6. Discovery and exploration    7. Expeditions & Discoveries    8. History - General History    9. Mawson, Douglas,    10. Polar Regions    11. Research & Methodology    12. Scientific Expeditions    13. Sir,    14. Sports    15. Travel    16. History / Polar Regions   

Reviews (6)

Oceanic navigation classic
The most complete study of early navigation I have come across. The author does a fantastic job of comparing the different styles of landfinding as used by the Pacific islanders. Lewis brings the knowledge and experience of an accomplished western sailor and navigator to his studies, and in doing so is able compare and contrast ancient and modern techniques. A scholarly study of primitive navigation, the book is not always an easy read, however for the reader looking for a complete comparison this is the volume to have.

An academic book by a knowledgable navigator
This book is written by an academic. I don't necessarily mean this in a negative sense. The author has done a very thorough research on the topic and presented his findings. The effect is a book that can be called a comprehensive treatment as far as it can be done given that the practictioners are disappearing fast. Exellent on Pacific Voyaging
David Lewis has zig-zaged the Pacific in modern yachts and traditional canoes. His broad experience and long resarch, using his own and many schoolars data, has made this a good analysis and documentation of theextremly impressing and interesting phenomenon of ancient and presentvoyaging in the Pacific. Others, specially anthropologists fieldworking inthe Central Carolines of Micronesia, had written about the presently usedMicronesian voyaging system, others less throughly about the forgottenpolynesian,but Lewis mangage to give a synthesis of the technologies andsome of the social aspectsof traditional voyaging in the Pacific ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia & New Zealand - General    2. History    3. History: World    4. Micronesians    5. Navigation    6. Polynesians    7. Ships & Shipbuilding - Engineering    8. South Pacific Ocean    9. Transportation    10. Hawaii    11. Travel & holiday guides   

Reviews (2)

Very Good
This guide covers all the bird species known to occur in Australia - not an easy task in a continent with as rich an aviafauna.
Peterson Down Under
This book never left my side while I was in Oz, although at times I thought about leaving it behind.My biggest complaint would be size; this book is a bit too large to be a proper field guide.It is as thick as Nat'l Geo, but about an inch longer in width and height.The plates were more than adequate, however few birds were shown in juv. plumage.Good text descriptions, notes on behaviors, and birds in flight usually shown.Very Peterson-esque.Half of the book is a handbook at the back.Plenty of good life history info. on the birds, but not necessary in the field.If only the handbook came as a seperate supplement . . .Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia    2. Birds    3. Birds & Birdwatching - General    4. Birds & Birdwatching - Guides    5. Identification    6. Life Sciences - Zoology - Ornithology    7. Nature    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Biological Sciences    10. Birds (ornithology)    11. Birds and Natural History    12. Nature / Birds & Birdwatching   

Subjects:  1. 1795-1869    2. Australia    3. Australia & New Zealand - General    4. Central Australia    5. Diaries    6. Explorers    7. History    8. History: World    9. Natural history    10. Sturt, Charles,   

Reviews (7)

funny and depressing
The book is depressing because it's about extinction and endangerment; it's funny because our authors manage to stay optimistic and cheerful in the face of extinction. They have an extremely clear eye for the foibles of humans, as well as for the traits of the animals they see. It takes talented writers to make roadkill amusing; these guys manage it.
This book is very special
I loved this book, because it was humorous, compelling, and educational.The "team" felt like friends, even the odd but likeable Alex.I found all the information about Tasmanian wild life fascinating.It made me feel differently about that little corner of the world.This is way to learn about the background of the Tasmanian tiger and many other creatures.It sure beats reading a dry 'academic' tome on the subject.

Magical Mystery Tour to Tasmania
Carnivorous Nights is a hugely enjoyable read. The authors and their artist pal travel from the museum of natural history in NYC to view rare aboriginal artwork outside of Sydney, Australia, and then on to the wild and strange island of Tasmania---where they encounter screaming Tasmanian devils, baby fairy penguins, creepy cave creatures, andmuch more. All the while, they keep their eyes peeled for the iconic Tasmanian tiger---which was last seen in 1936. While theoretically extinct, this wolf-like marsupial has been sighted repeatedly, and is the object of awe and lore in Tasmania.Do they still exist, are they extinct, or something in between?
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Subjects:  1. Australia    2. Australia & Oceania - General    3. General    4. Natural history    5. Tasmania    6. Tasmania (Australia)    7. Thylacine    8. Travel    9. Travel - Foreign    10. Wildlife    11. Travel / Australia & Oceania   

Editorial Review

The leap between dreamy child living in a provincial Australian neighborhood and journalisthopscotching through war zones is massive. In Read more

Reviews (19)

The Country I Wanted to know.
Geraldine Brooks has written a book that I can empathise with. I think of how I might have had that life in Australia had my parents not returned to England in the 1930's. I wanted, and still do, very much to talk to the author and ask her questions as she is such a good writer with a warm personality.

Not as wonderful as her other books
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. Great one for book clubs!
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. Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Brooks, Geraldine    7. General    8. Historical - General    9. Journalists    10. Media Studies - Print Media    11. Pen pals    12. Women    13. Biography & Autobiography / General    14. Biography: general    15. Press & journalism    16. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (6)

Harm not the Magyars!(Zrinyi)
I often wondered why Hungary and Hungarians have such poor public relations, particularly in the US.Unfortunately, this book fails to answer that question.It is a fascinating read, if only because it gives, (in parts) a refreshingly different perspective.In others, unfortunately, the Communist-era interpretation of the author's sources is painfully evident.The many details in the narrative are interesting, partly because the selection of the details reveals the author's biases.There are a number of translation errors I found in the book which naturally led to faulty conclusions.P.e. "Honved"(seg)(hon=home, vedni=to defend) is not the militia, it's the standing army."Nemzet orseg," (nemzet=nation, orseg=guard) is the militia. All in all however, it was worthwhile to read through the book.It will lead those, who are not familiar with the Magyars to some understanding of the background of this nation although will leave them feel shortchanged in understanding their psyche.I senta copy of the book to both of my (adult) children together with a 16 page commentary.It is a laudable effort on the part of author Lendvai and by and large I believe it will benefit the Hungarians' image as well.

The Hungarians is a victory
This book is a well rounded look at a thousand year old country.
A comprehensive focus on the Hungarian people
Hungarian history is largely omitted from college-level courses, at least as a focus on its own: European journalist and television commentator Paul Lendvai corrects this omission with The Hungarians: A Thousand Years Of Victory In Defeat, a comprehensive focus on the Hungarian people once known in Europe as 'huns'. Hungarians became defenders of the Christian West and fought many freedom battles: The Hungarians traces their many achievements, their country's changing history, and how the Hungarians have survived as a people against all odds.
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Subjects:  1. Eastern Europe - General    2. Europe - Austria & Hungary    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Hungary    7. Australasia, Oceania & Other Land Areas    8. Australasian & Pacific history    9. Eastern Europe    10. European History    11. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    12. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (1)

The best introduction to early NZ history
James Belich is probably now the definitive New Zealand historian, with a strong grasp of both M�ori and pakeha (New Zealand decendants of Europeans) perspectives.This account of New Zealand's history up to the mid-to late 19th century is both informative and interesting.Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia & New Zealand - General    2. Australia & New Zealand - New Zealand    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. New Zealand   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques / Collectibles    3. Art    4. Clip Art    5. Collage    6. Collage, Australian    7. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)   

Subjects:  1. Christianity - History - Protestant    2. Religion - Church History   

Reviews (2)

Unique Topic
Vietnam ANZACs - Australian & New Zealand Troops in Vietnam, 1962-72 is the latest Vietnam War-related volume in Osprey Publishing's Elite Series.For years Osprey has been known for its excellent treatment of a wide variety of military history topics and this volume is no exception.Kevin Lyles has written and/or illustrated more than a dozen books on military history, most particularly on the Vietnam War, his area of special interest.Lyles does double duty as both the book's author and illustrator, allowing for a greater coordination between the photographs and artwork than is possible when different individuals perform the roles of author and illustrator.
Long overdue treatment for a niche subject
Given that Vietnam War uniforms is a pet subject of Kevin Lyles and knowing that he has devoted a number of years to this project, I had high expectations of this book.I am happy to report that these have largely been fulfilled.
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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. Military    4. Military - Vietnam War    5. Asian history: Vietnam War    6. Australasian & Pacific history: postwar, from c 1945 -    7. Australia    8. History / Military / Vietnam War    9. Land forces & warfare    10. New Zealand    11. Special & elite forces    12. Vietnam    13. c 1960 to c 1970    14. c 1970 to c 1980   

Reviews (4)

A Window into a Fascinating Culture
Over the past two decades, Aboriginal art from Australia has been gathering momentum as a major international art movement.Christie's, Sotheby's and other auction houses hold regular, successful sales of paintings and artifacts produced at Aboriginal settlements across Australia.Major historical figures such as Rover Thomas and Emily Kngwarre can command several hundred thousand dollars for a single painting.Even though indigenous people make up less than three percent of the population, their art in recent years reportedly accounts for about half of the total dollar value of all art sold in Australia.
Aboriginal Art - Howard Morphy
This beautiful reference book is full of beautiful photography of aboriginal art and Howard Morphy has researched this subject in great depth having lived with tribes in Arnhem Land.A great resource for those studying for degrees in Anthropology and Art History.

How the Aboriginals Coped
This book is not your standard art history, by any means.It is the story of how the Aboriginals coped with the European indruders.They had much experience dealing with strange people from overseas but nothing prepared them for their encounter with Europeans.They were at first completely baffled and also almost wiped out.The people of Tasmania were literally completely eliminated--the last native of Tasmania died in the second part of the 19th century.Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Art, Aboriginal Australian    4. Criticism    5. Fine Arts    6. History - General    7. Primitive Art    8. Art / History / General    9. Art of indigenous peoples    10. Australia    11. Cultural studies    12. Social history   

Editorial Review

In 1629, the Dutch merchantman Read more

Reviews (49)

Puts modern serial killers to shame
It says a lot for a story when it begins with a shipwreck and builds in intensity from there.
The Senseless Death of One and All
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.
Incredible history..mutiny, murder and the revenge of justice.
Author takes us back to Holland in the 1600's, how the Directors of The Dutch East India Company made millions by investing in funding the construction of ships, and paying a crew to sail them to Java, and trade small amounts of jewels etc for spices, which were sold at a huge profit when the ship rturned. The wealthy exploited the poor, who were recruited to sail the ships in a 2-3 year round trip voyage. The book details the first and final voyage of "Batavia", which ran aground on a reef of the West Coast of what is now Australia. The story of mutiny, murder, survival, rescue and the brutal punishment is compelling. The details of the Dutch legal system of the 1600's helps to explain the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. A must read for any history buff; those with an interest in Indonesia, Australia, or the Dutch legal system. ... Read more