No comments about Australia (Exploring Continents).

4 comments about Lonely Planet Maldives (Lonely Planet Travel Guides).

1. It was a good book about an overview of Maldives but did not focus much on the interior travel within Maldives and getting around its myriad of islands



2. There are four main tour books for the Maldives, and this one is a good place to start. (Another good one is the Michelin guide.) This book gives a general overview of the islands and many of the resorts. Divers will want the Divers' Guide to the Maldives to fill out the information here.



3. I find this guide very useful in terms of choosing the resorts. It has good descriptions of all the resorts in terms of facilities, clients, food served and activities. The resorts are in different chapters according to the different atolls. So, it is a good guide for choosing the right resort according to one's taste



4. Like all Lonely Planet guides, a mine of useful information, that proves invaluable in picking the resort that best suits your interests and pocket. A good section on diving and snorkelling. Well worth the money.

1 comments about Voyage of Rediscovery: A Cultural Odyssey through Polynesia.

1. This is another book everybody ought to have in their library. Why?
   
   (1) The Polynesian double-canoe was the great voyaging craft of the human race. Not that other boats were not great too, but these people had so little -- little land, only a few precious trees, no metals, no compass -- and yet in a remarkably short period of time they populated a territory of Earth that would astound you. With a stellar navigation system stored in their brains (not on charts or in complicated sextants or chronometers) they found their way across a vast ocean. The double-canoe was the least boat (the least amount of materials, the least environmental impact for a given need for reliable sailcraft) that could be made to do the most work in the harshest of conditions -- just for those reasons the boats and their crews deserve recognition.
   
   (2) The book chronicles the several voyages of a reconstructed canoe in order to hypothesize about the ways in which the ancient crews used information about seasonal variations in winds and currents to make destinations that, during some parts of the year, would not have been accessible given the heading angles these boats could sail (about as good as a well-designed European square-rigger, though other Polynsesian outrigger canoes -- proas -- gradually developed after the great voyaging period and would eventually sail closer to the wind and astound the early European explorers with their sailing qualities). These voyages were adventures of thinking, training, and sailing a boat of unknown qualities and using a native type of non-instrument navigation -- those adventures are now a testament to the accomplishments of the native people of Oceania. (In a goofy kind of way, you can also remember such accomplishments when you are feeling a bit down on the human race).
   
   I hope those are good enough reasons to buy this book. There are others, but I'm tired, and I want you to write a review about the ones I have not covered.
   
   Flaws? Who has none? The author rightly desires to document the accomplishments of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, but some cultural/racial tensions arose during this long experiment, which is understandable given the state of things in territories whose historical development was altered by colonization and colonial administration. It was no doubt a difficult thing that some of the first impetus and funding for the adventure came from the 'White'-American "establishment" so to speak. But it would be fair to learn more about the total story of this cultural revival project, both the accomplishments and the tensions. [Note 1/8/08: Finney's later book, "Sailing in the Wake of the Ancestors," which I just received, addresses this issue] --wt

1 comments about Pacific Explorer: The Life of Jean-Francois de La Perouse, 1741-1788.

1. "Any news of M. de la Perouse?", Louis XVI is said to have asked before his execution. Jean Francois de Galloupe de La Perouse, who famously visited Botany Bay (modern Sydney, Australia) in January 1788, precisely the same time the founding First Fleet arrived - only to vanish thereafter - was the greatest and most romantic of the French Pacific explorers. He served with distinction in the Seven Years' War and the Wars of the American Revolution, famously raiding the British commercial bases in Hudson Bay in the early 1780s. He also plied the trade routes between Mauritius (then Isle De France) and India. Based on his talent, and the then government's desire to best the exploits of James Cook, he was selected for a great Voyage of Discovery. Among his many achievements was finding La Perouse Strait (between the Japanese and Russian islands of the North-West Pacific). Tragically, after visiting the British colony in New South Wales, his ships disappeared somewhere off Samoa - and his fate remained an enigma for the French people until the 1960s. Dunmore's narrative brings us both the splendor and the tragedy of La Perouse's career.

No comments about Saved: The Extraordinary Tale of Survival and Rescue in the Southern Ocean.

No comments about Going Back: Australian Veterans Return to Viet Nam.

3 comments about Drowned Under: A tipsy tale of one American's experiences abroad in Australia.

1. this guy here, this popp character, someone every person should meet. at least thats how i feel after reading his book. its a great, easy read that'll keep you laughing throughout. this guy tells of his experiences while in australia for college credit, funniest thing about that: he didnt mention studying more than twice in the whole book! he is obviously a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants guy, which makes for hilarious antics and truly great guy book. this is totally for guys in college, guys recently graduated (i'm 26) or guys who just like being guys. and the girls will have a blast too...learning what guys actually say and do, to and about them!! i literally laughed out loud about 15 times. i couldnt put it down. it reminded me of my years in college, the things i did, the things i didnt do, and the things i should have done...in fact, i may go back to school just to have some crazy experiences like this guy!!



2. I recently purchased this book as something to flip through on the john. As a 26 year old male I figured if I can't drink and party in Australia why not read about someone who has and maybe I will one day venture to the land down under. Little did I know how much I would actually enjoy this book. I felt like I was right there with "Dooza" tipping back pints and sharing laughs with the locals. A truly laugh out loud book. The chapter on wingman and "D.U.F.F.S is probably the funniest thing ever printed ever. Enjoy



3. A wonderfully entertaining memoir written by an unabashed free spirit. Popp recounts his romps through equatorial Australia in a delightfully playful narrative saturated with stories of friendships formed and loves lost. It is a great beach read!

No comments about Country: A Continent, a Scientist and a Kangaroo.

5 comments about Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger.

1. 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.
   
   If you've ever read Gerald Durrell, then you would find this book similar, both in the attitude toward travel and the observations of native humans. The humor is somewhat similar, too, although of course Durrell's is a bit dated by now. If you read and enjoy this book, then I'd strongly encourage you to go find and read anything you can by Gerald Durrell, especially his earlier books.
   
   Completely by coincidence, during the same week that I read this book, I read a story by Harry Turtledove in a science fiction magazine, and an article in a newspaper about lemurs. Turtledove's story was about an alternate history where the island of Atlantis did not sink, and it has a great deal of unique island wildlife, like Tasmania or Madagascar. The plot of the story was that John James Audubon goes to visit Atlantis to sketch and paint all the endangered wildlife there - because of course, the incursion of man onto the island has endangered most of the species. The story highlights the casual cruelty of 19th-century practices, killing rare animals just to pose and paint them and stuff them for museums; I contrasted that to the care that Mittlebach et al. take not to kill anything, and Alexis' efforts to connect to the animals he is painting by using their bioproducts to make paint. Then the article in a Maine newspaper was about a 14-year old who had saved money since she was 6 years old to go to Madagascar and work on lemur conservation; she accomplished her trip finally, and I felt that the viewpoint of the young generation on the many endangered island animals also added to my appreciation of what the authors of "Carnivorous Nights" were seeing on Tasmania.
   
   The paintings in the book are wonderful; I only could wish some were in color. I have always been fond of wombats, echidnas, and platypodes (or platypuses if you want to simplify it), and have stuffed toys of each (yes, I am half a century old and have a large collection of plush toy marsupials, insectivores, extinct reptiles, and assorted endangered species) and had the fun of meeting an echidna face to face once; it was the short-beaked kind, not the long-beaked one, but still odd enough.
   
   A short "family-reading" alert: while the topic is ideal for kids, there are a few things some parents might object to - assorted unmarried people sharing hotel rooms, more than a few four-letter words, a lot of discussion of blood, gore, and animal parts. I personally don't think there's anything here an 11-year old wouldn't already have met, but your children may vary, and I suspect that more than one 8-year old would have nightmares after the scene about feeding a Tasmanian devil. But definitely, the whole family should get to see the pictures, and get to hear about baby pademelons and Bennett's wallabies!



2. Funny, deep and educational. Environmentally aware and a fantastic travel story. What else could a person want?
   
   The book centers on the Tasmanian tiger but threads through cloning, giant lobsters and other strange Tasmanian beasties, extinction, hope and, of course, all manner of strange Tasmanian scenes.



3. Carnivorous Nights on the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger follows three New Yorkers, authors Margaret Mittelbach and Michael Crewdson and their artist friend Alexis Rockman as they search for the Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger. The thylacine is presumed to have been hunted to extinction with the last known individual dying in Beaumaris zoo in 1936. There have been many sightings since then and many still hold hope the Thylacine persists somewhere on the island of Tasmania.
   As you might expect, the trio find little evidence of the Tiger in their travels but provide a lot of information on its natural history and some of the more credible recent sightings. They also spend a lot of time checking out Tasmania's many other non-extinct weird and wonderful animals, and I believe they give a good feel for the general atmosphere on the Island. I read this book a few months prior to my own trip to Tassie and it lead me to visit Marakoopa caves and check out the glow worms, which was really fantastic. As far as an informative and interesting book on the wildlife of Tasmanian goes, it earns five stars.
   I had to take two stars off however for what are basically stylistic reasons. Normally this doesn't bother me too much, but in this case it turned what would have been a great book into something that was a bit of an effort to read.
   
   The first problem is that this book intends to be a bit of a wacky-travel-adventure read. That in its self is fine (check out Redmond O'Hanlon's "Into the Heart of Borneo" for a perfect example of how it can work) but the problem here is that we have three Americans traveling in Australia, a first world English speaking country. Let's face it, they don't have any really wacky adventures. In fact the attempt to have wacky adventures seems to distract from the book and dumbs down the text a bit. (see pg. 10 "... we were happy to find out that English was spoken on the island.") Nevertheless the authors try to keep the humor up by making lots and lots of quips. Mostly unfunny quips in my opinion. Most other reviewers found this book funny, and I usually enjoy a humorous travel book (Bill Bryson) but most of this was just off for me. Most of the 'humorous' dialog is attributed to Alexis, which resulted in my wishing about halfway through the book that he'd just keep his mouth shut. But I have to admit I took an early disliking to Alexis due to what was probably the worst part of the "travel adventure" side of the text, his purchase of pot (illegal in Australia as in the US) and his smuggling it around the country. There is something about a tourist abroad willfully committing a crime that is also a crime in his own country that I find really distasteful, and I was sorry to see it treated as a sort of comic aside in this book. To be even handed to poor Alexis, his artwork featured in the book is beautiful and I loved his choice of media.
   
   The second problem and really the worst aspect of the book for me was the narrative voice. Since the book was written by two authors and covered their personal experiences, they opted to refer to themselves as 'WE'. Bad idea. While I can't really offer a better suggestion for two authors to have an equal say in a tale, using 'we' is a bad way to go. At times it was fine, at times it sounded like a married couple, at times it sounded like a olde time king, and at times it sounded like a missive from the Borg. To see how bad it gets one can read the dream sequence on page 118 "That night we dreamed about wombats and feral cats..." Actually I recommend using the search inside function to read a few pages and see whether or not this style will bother you.
   
   A final gripe that is probably worth a third of a star or so is that this book lacks an index, which is probably indicative of its trending to pulpy mass media marketing as opposed to a more intelligent natural history text. And yet it does have a decent set of notes and further reading in the back. While I haven't read any other works by these authors, it feels like they are smart natural history writers lead astray by an editor asking for a dumbed down text in the hope it will have a boarder appeal.
   
   In short, if you have an interest in Tasmania, the Thylacine, or Australia travel in general I can recommend purchasing this book, but I was sorry to see a potentially fantastic book severely damaged by some bad editing decisions.



4. Being an avid fan of the Thylacine, I had great hopes for Carnivorous Nights. Boy was I disappointed!!!!! "The Last Thylacine" 2005 by Terry Domico ISBN 1883385156 is a far better book.
   
   There is some very good information in Carnivorous Nights but it is covered by filthy language (the F word every few pages) and Middle School level humor (nipple clamp joke on page 111, many references to scat or other bodily functions in a so-called humorous manner, etc...) Additionally, I did not like the glorification of illegal drug use by one stoned adventurer who seemed to focus his life around his next hit of weed.
   
   I also did not care for the artwork. It was simplistic and not especially inspiring. The black and white images were just basic and nothing special. I thought some of them looked like they were traced over old photos.
   
   A truly good book could have been here if the authors had just had some common decency and maturity. Not everyone speaks with a potty mouth, nor do all adults think of mating habits and sexual issues all the time about all of nature. Unfortunately, reading Carnivorous Nights was more like digging through a dung heap looking for treasure. Too bad that in this case the treasure was not worth the garbage it was covered in.



5. This book is a wonderful celebration of wildlife--what's lost and what still survives--in a beautiful and strange part of the world. But what makes Carnivorous Nights great is the oddball voice of its narrators.
   
   While appalled by the destructive forces that pushed the Tasmanian tiger to the edge of extinction, the authors manage to find beauty and humor in the amazing creatures--and people--that still populate this far-flung island.
   
   The illustrations are black-and-white watercolors of Tasmania's animals. And they're like ghostly photos of a long-lost world.
   
   This book really stuck with me, and made me want to travel to Tasmania.

No comments about Australia: The New Frontier (Wanderer).