No comments about The Rough Guide to Gay & Lesbian Australia (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

3 comments about Diving & Snorkeling Tahiti & French Polynesia (Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Tahiti and French Polynesia).

1. This met my expectations quite well. A good overview of the area, followed by a review of the key dive spots in French Polynesia. Excellent phtography, including a good critter guide at the end.

   The only downside I can find is that there's no real overview of good snorkeling sites . . . they're lumped in with diving sites.

   Overall, I'd recommend . . . I know it will be useful for my trip!




2. An excellent guide with supurb photos, invaluable to anyone planning to dive these islands. The layout is intelligent and very easy to follow, and the practical advice is well up to the standards I expect of LP.

   Buy it well before you go to plan out that dream vacation




3. This book is ok for snorkeling advice. Mostly geared to diving. A lot of the descriptions of the locations for snorkeling where not accurate. I would recommend since you really do not have a choice.

1 comments about Voyages of Discovery: Captain Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific.

1. Lynne Withey succeeds in providing a balanced and well-researched account of the famous explorations of Captain James Cook in the South Pacific. She discusses the impact of Cook's journeys on both the 18th century Europeans and the native peoples of the South Pacific. Although it has been popular to cast the "Age of Discovery" as a violent and invasive period for indigenous people, Withey shows that Cook generally had the best intentions when dealing with the inhabitants of these islands, and that most unfortunate incidents were the result of misunderstandings. Further, Cook showed an uncommon concern and compassion for all the people he came in contact with. Withey's book provides the reader with numerous insights into the motivations which spurred on this age of exploration, both political, in the case of the English government, and personal, in Cook's case. Her fascinating account of the complex events surrounding Cook's death in Hawaii, and the Hawaiian belief system that contributed to this unfortunate event, clearly show how two cultures can come unwittingly into conflict when they first meet. Overall, this book is a clearly written, comprehensive, and highly informative treatment of this fascinating period of our history.

No comments about Pocket Map and Guide Sydney (EYEWITNESS POCKET MAP & GUIDE).

No comments about The Pacific Islands: Environment & Society.

4 comments about A Traveller's History of Australia (Traveller's History).

1. If you're going to the Olympic Games in Sydney Australia in September, this book will provide the background you need. The author takes you from the aboriginal Dream-Time, 53,000 years ago, to the booming cities of 2000. If you want to know why boomerangs return, how in the early days of settlement many ex-convicts became millionaires (legally!), where is the world's largest flat surface, at which battle in the Vietnam War the Aussies killed the Vietcong 15 to 1, why Canberra and not Sydney is the capital city, when Australia experienced a military coup, or who is the cricket equivalent of Babe Ruth, this is your book. There is also a chronology of the main historical events and, useful for visitors, a historical gazeteer of the main cities and tourist spots.



2. This book is an excellent, succinct history that is an easy read. I searched for books on Australia and this seemed to be the most objectively written. I wouldn't use it like a Fodor's guide to plan a trip with interesting places to eat or stay. It does give a nice history of the country to familiarize yourself with Australia and gives you an idea of places to see in this wonderful and diverse country. I'm going to check out books from this series on other countries.



3. Good overview of Australian history from prehostory to 2001. I have been looking for something like this for a while. A lot of information, well worth the cost. I like the explanation of why boomerangs return. It includes a historical gazeteer in the back and a summary chronology of major dates in Austrailian history.



4. A condensed, concise history from from earliest human occupation to the modern times. It was interesting to see the contrast of the development of the colonies in Victoria, SA and WA with the original settlement. I felt the book gives a much wider view of the Australian persona.

2 comments about Hidden Baja: Including Tijuana, Ensenada, Mulege, LA Paz, and Los Cabos (Hidden Baja).

1. Not a bad book if you looking at the areas of Northern Baja and the Cabo San Lucas area. Out of 258 pages about 130 pages cover these area while only 58 cover the remainder. There are much better books out there.



2. Richard Harris' updated third edition Hidden Baja covers everything from beaches and lodging to outdoor adventure travel in Baja, providing details on a wealth of outdoor activities for those who are oriented toward adventure travel. Lesser-known byways of the region are the focus in a title packed with tips on travel through the region.

No comments about East Coast Australia, 3rd: Tread Your Own Path (Footprint - Travel Guides).

No comments about Pocket Adventures New Zealand (Adventure Guide to New Zealand (Pocket)) (Adventure Guide to New Zealand (Pocket)) (Adventure Guide to New Zealand (Pocket)).

1 comments about Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas (Penguin Classics).

1. (This review is based on the Library of America edition.)
   
   If you liked "Typee", then you should like "Omoo"; but you should know that the narrative isn't quite as tight. What I mean is that "Omoo" is as excellently written as its predecessor, but it doesn't seem to have much a strong story-line. In short, it's a series of adventures, well told, but there's nothing building. I couldn't even sum the book up in other ways than this: a series of adventures in the South Seas.
   
   If you're into sea and island stories, you may like it. The book is made of short chapters, as usual with Melville, and it's really funny (I always found Melville funny). It's interesting in parts, but on the whole, I think it's a much less successful novel than "Typee". Perhaps this was the beginning of what Melville would later do with "Moby-Dick", a sort of willed unfocusedness.