No comments about See Australia National Parks (Gregorys).

No comments about There Were Three Ships.

No comments about Ruth Park's Sydney.

No comments about Australia a Visual Celebration: A Visual Celebration.

3 comments about AAA Essential Guide: New Zealand.

1. Whether or not I agree with its top ten list, I cross-checked it over and over in planning my upcoming trip. Compact, well-written and informative -- it may be the only guide I put in my suitcase.



2. This guide's major advantage is its size. The guide highlights all of the major New Zealand attractions with a terse, yet comprehensive, style. It may not have all of the information you need in New Zealand, but it will certainly help!



3. I bought this book expecting it to be quite useful on our recent trip. We've just returned from 4 weeks driving throughout New Zealand, and this book was worthless. I guess it might be worth buying if you're only going to be in New Zealand for a short week and don't expect to wander far from your hotel, but if you're spending any time there -- or if you're looking for a guide that will help you explore what New Zealand really has to offer -- don't waste your money buying this guide. The places shown as "must see" are very limited, with glaring omissions, and there are a lot of better (and much less expensive) hotels and restaurants than listed. Some of the information is just plain inaccurate, and even some of the maps have errors in them. We wound up trading this guide for a dog-eared Tony Hillerman novel in one of the places we stayed, and we got the better part of the deal. If you're looking for a good guide that will give you accurate information and lots of things to choose from, it's better to spend a little more and buy Frommer's or Fodor's. If you're looking for a good map, I highly recommend the AA New Zealand Road Atlas (paperback) -- it was our bible when it came to finding our way around the country.

No comments about Surviving New Zealand: Ups and Downs of a Swiss Miss.

4 comments about The Fatal Impact: The Invasion of the South Pacific, 1767-1840.

1. A magnificent short book which places the reader on the deck of Endeavor and the Resolution during Cook's first two voyages of discovery in the Pacific. An easy read, yet a scholarly study of the consequences of Western contact in Tahiti, Australia and the Antarctic. One of Moorhead's central themes in the book is the Noble Savage, "happy, healthy, beautiful people whose every want was supplied by the tropical forest, and who, best of all, knew nothing of the cramping sophostries of civilization." Cook brought back evidence that the noble savage indeed existed, and writers such as Boswell, Diederot and Rousseau used it to argue that life in Europe during the late 18th century had evolved into something less than desirable. It is ironic that, despite the high purpose of Cook's voyages of discovery and the pleas of those who recognized the validity and desirability of life in Tahiti or on the barren lands of Australia, the voyages touched off a frenzy by religious zealots and profiteers. A half century after Cook had opened Tahiti to the rest of the world, Gaugin sees shadows of something so beautiful that it still moves him to create his paintings; "The overwhelming physical beauty of the woman remains, but she does not dance. Instead, she lies inert and naked on her bed ... waiting for nothing, hoping for nothing, the petals of the tiare Tahiti scattered about her, a dark, conspiratorial couple in the background and all around them the mystical shapes and symbols of the Tropics. On this one canvas the painter has written in English the one word, "Nevermore."



2. They say that history is written by the victor. While this may have been the case years ago, before the advent of electronic and paper printing, it is interesting to note that often small jewels of history can still be found hidden in the sands of time. This is such a book. You may have read the bestseller, "The Fatal Shore" by Robert Hughes. While this book is dedicated to Alan Moorehead's "The Fatal Impact", it is a rather overblown attempt to take off from where Moorehead left off. Moorehead, unlike Hughes, is succinct and straight to the point, describing in a paragraph what might take Hughes pages to deploy. But Moorehead goes further by re-writing history with some of the most beautiful and descriptive language ever displayed in word, especially his lyrical but simple descriptions of the Australian 'bush' before the advent of the white man.Unlike many historical essays, Mooreheads style is to grab and swallow us; it takes and immerses us in our own past, and it is frightening. This book is a true account of the effect of the white invasion of the South pacific. Though often sad, it is devoid of token sentimentality. It is books such as these that keep our history grounded and firmly established in truth, and not the often repeated propoganda that is a common style for Western academia to employ and justfiy our own convoluted history...



3. This 1966 book coined a term that still is used to describe disastrous impacts of more powerful cultures on weaker ones. Moorehead describes the effects of initial European contacts with Tahiti, Australia, and the Antarctic, giving special attention to the voyages of Captain Cook. Early British contacts with the Tahitians are described in fascinating detail. Cook perceived that Western impact on Tahiti would have serious negative effects, writing that it would have been better for the Tahitians if the British had never visited the island. In his description of the initial British colonization of Australia, Moorehead focuses on the mistreatment of the aborigines, including the complete elimination of native Tasmanians from their homeland. Most of the section on the Antarctic is about Cook's determined attempts to reach the continent with his ships. Cook's descriptions of abundant sea life around Antarctica had the unintended effect of provoking whalers and sealers to decimate many species. Well written, this book is a chastening read.



4. An absolute classic. No praise can do justice. Suffice to say, if you're here, you'll buy this book. It's just sad that so few people have even heard of anything written by Alan Moorehead apart from the two books on the White and Blue Nile.

No comments about Margaret River.

No comments about New Zealand 360: Landscape Panoramas (360 Degree Landscape Panoramas - The "Fascinating Ones").

5 comments about Berlitz Swedish (Berlitz Cassette Pack).

1. This was the first book of "svenska" I got to help me "talar" it, and once I had the little berlitz dictionary and this book combined to witness a bit of grammar, they both make a wonderful combination. It depends on the person to who finds one method useful and who finds it useless to their capability to learn. THis is just one method out of several to learn a language. :)



2. This book/cassette is a bit dated, with too much use of the polite form and of more formal phrases. Nonetheless, a booklet plus a cassette is the best way to become familiar with a language on your own. The booklet covers most situations quite well. The cassette is difficult to follow without the book, so drivers beware!

   I've read reviews of this and other Swedish introductions that say the pronounciation is wrong. The truth is that pronouciation varies, depending where in Sweden you are. The Swedes don't volunteer this information, so it's easy to get confused. The good news is that it's difficult to pronouce something so horribly that you won't be understood, so just give it a try and learn!




3. I have used the very fine Pimsleur course for another language (Hebrew) but, in looking for a course that costs a fraction of the Pimsleur price, I struck gold with the Berlitz Basic Spanish. There are 24 lessons, each about 7 minutes long. The lessons are divided into scenes on three audio tapes. The lessons are taught entirely in Spanish. It is amazing how well this works by putting the conversation in context and by using a guidebook. By going through each lesson several times and doing the exercises in the book, you learn Spanish in an easy and enjoyable manner, Having used Pimsleur, I believe that dollar for dollar, the Berlitz method compares well. You can't go wrong with either {Pimsleur or Berlitz) but, for less than 30 bucks, your money is very well spent with the Berlitz basic Spanish. The big difference between these two fine methods (Berlitz & Pimsleur) is the following: (1) Pimsleur has a series of 32 longer lessons in which the language is taught using both English and the language you are learning on the tape. The Pimsleur lessons are about an hour long. (2) The series of Berlitz lessons are about 8 or so minutes long and no English is spoken. The accompanying book provides English translation in marginal notes for new words that are introduced into the vocabulary. Both, programs are effective but Berlitz is a great bargain.



4. Swedish is a very difficult language for Americans to pronounce. It's a double tone language. In other words, you often stress more than one syllable in the same word. This sounds kinda silly to English speakers. You simply cannot look at this book (or any book) and try to speak Swedish. What is good about this book is the pronuniation guide that appears beside each word. This makes it possible that you won't sound silly every time you try to speak Swedish. Once you have been in Swedish and listened to the way they speak, you can use this book's pronunication guides and try to immitate the Swedes.

   But, this book is really only for travelers, and travelers don't need to speak Swedish. Most Swedes speak English very well.




5. It is a really useful book for people with no time to learn swedish using the long way. Practical words, phrases, idioms, and expresions. If you only want to communicate accurate in many situations without any idea what the swedish is, This is the right book, the cassete is very interactive. Don't forget you Swedish dicctionary Berlitz also, is really good despite its size. Both, are easy to carry on with you all time.