Pacific Island Books
Pacific Region

Pacific Region

Chemistry serves the South Pacific. Recommended retail price $20.

The editors of this book have assembled twenty short chapters, many of which explain how chemistry is being used all around us in the South Pacific Islands to yield products that we need or which to have. In some chapters, the use of chemistry in quality control and in discovering what materials contain, has been described. The idea for the book came to us after we read the excellent collection of articles entitled “Chemical Processes in New Zealand” edited by Packer and published by the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. A particular effort has been made to describe only the applications of chemistry in the South Pacific Islands and not in Australia, the United States, Europe or elsewhere. Many of the chapters have been written by nationals of the regional countries. Soft cover, 199 pages

Island Days: Galapagos Islands; Christmas Island and Tristan da Cunha by Roger Perry. Published by Stacey International. ISBN 1900988801. Recommended retail price $X.

This book is a captivating account of life on some of the most isolated and unspoiled islands in the world. Roger Perry writes evocatively, and with understated humour, about the people, the places and the experiences of his island days. Hard cover, 311 pages. Published in 2004.

Pacific Diaspora: Island Peoples in the United States and Across the Pacific ed. by Paul Spickard; Joanne Rondilla; Debbie Hippolite Wright. Published by University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-2619-1. Recommended retail price $27.00.

"Excellent ... a most valuable addition to the literature on Pacific international migration" --Pacific Affairs, Winter 2003-2004

"Much needed ... a 'must-read' for anyone interested in Pacific Islander cultures, identities, and/or migration" --Ethnic & Racial Studies, March 2004

"Pacific Diaspora is particularly welcome because insider views [by members of the communities concerned] are seldom published." --The Contemporary Pacific, Spring 2004.

Pacific Islander Americans constitute one of the United States' least understood ethnic groups. As expected, stereotypes abound: Samoans are good at football; Hawaiians make the best surfers; all Tahitians dance. Although Pacific history, society, and culture have been the subjects of much scholarly research and writing, the lives of Pacific Islanders in the diaspora (particularly in the U.S.) have received far less attention. The contributors to this volume of articles and essays compiled by the Pacific Islander Americans Research Project hope to rectify this oversight.

Pacific Diaspora brings together the individual and community histories of Pacific Island peoples in the U.S. It is designed for use in Pacific and ethnic studies courses, but it will also find an audience among those with a general interest in Pacific Islander Americans. Soft cover, 384 pages. Published in 2002.

Pacific Islands, The - an encyclopedia Edited by B. Lal and K. Fortune. Published by University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0-8248-2265-x. Recommended retail price $117.00.

The vast geographic expanse of the Pacific has been the subject of countless books and articles, but few attempts have been made to produce a comprehensive compendium of this remarkable region in all its variety and complexity. The Pacific Islands: An Encyclopedia brings together in one place for the first time information on major aspects of Pacific island life (the physical environment, peoples, history, politics, economy, society, and culture) compiled by some of the world's leading scholars from the Pacific, the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.

Unlike conventional encyclopedias, which present objective, uncontroversial facts, this work acknowledges the complex dialectics between the past and the present and the politics of representing other people and cultures and reflects these new intellectual developments, particularly in the longer essays. In addition, The Pacific Islands is organized according to broad subject areas to avoid the fragmentation that arises from an alphabetical arrangement and to furnish readers with more richly contextualized information.

The accompanying CD-ROM version of the encyclopedia allows readers to exploit the search and navigation potentials of the medium. It contains hyperlinks between cross-referenced section titles and sections, a library of all the maps reproduced in the encyclopedia, and a photo library.

Brij V. Lal is professor and director, Centre for the Contemporary Pacific, Australian National University. Kate Fortune is executive editor and research associate, Division of Pacific and Asian History, Australian National University. Hard cover, 664 pages. Published in 2000.

Pacific Islands, Atlas of the by Max Quanchi. ISBN 1573061530. Published by Bess Press. Recommended retail price $24.95.

The Atlas of the Pacific Islands is an exciting new atlas for libraries, teachers, school students and anyone else who has an interest in the Pacific region. This atlas presents up-to-date and accurate coverage of the Pacific islands and the world through clear, detailed maps and high-interest case studies.

Key features:
· Mapping detail and clarity
· Extensive map and case study coverage of the North and South Pacific region
· Comprehensive world section with case studies
· High-quality illustrations including photos, block diagrams, satellite images and graphic displays
· Pacific and world statistics
· Developed in conjunction with Max Quanchi, acknowledged educational expert on the Pacific region

Max Quanchi has taught Pacific Island history since 1973 at universities in Australia and Papua New Guinea. In the course of his work, Max has visited all the nations and territories in the region. He is a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops around the Pacific region for the TTPF, now history COPs projects. His school textbook credits include Culture Contact in the Pacific, Pacific People and Change and Fiji in the Pacific. He currently teaches in the School of Humanities at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Soft cover, 158 pages. Published in 2003.

Pacific Islands, The 3rd ed. by Douglas L. Oliver. ISBN 0824812336. Published by the University of Hawai'i Press. Recommended retail price $20.00.

"By far the best compendium on Pacific studies available today. There have been several attempts to imitate it during the past decade but they are either boiled-down histories or else reference works without any cohesive structure." --H.E. Maude, Australian National University. Soft cover, 303 pages. Published in 1989.

Pacific Islands, The : Environment & Society edited by Moshe Rapaport. ISBN 1573060429. Published by Bess Press. Recommended retail price $39.95.

The Pacific Islands: Environment and Society combines the scholarship and research of forty-five notable contributors in a volume suitable as a text for university-level courses in geography, anthropology, or area studies. Its thirty-three referenced chapters cover physical environment, living environment, history, culture, population, and economy. The comprehensive, up-to-date text is enhanced by hundreds of maps, photographs, tables, and diagrams, thirty-two pages of color plates and sectional maps, an island gazetteer, and indexes. Soft cover, 442 pages. Published in 1999.

Pacific Islands and the Sea, The edited by Fran Dieudonne. ISBN 0965978214. Published by Neptune House Publications. Recommended retail price $X.

Over 100 authors and narrators, including 30 Pacific Islanders, chronicle their findings and descriptions of royal fishponds, coral reefs and ancient walled fishtraps found on a variety of Pacific islands.

The core of this anthology is native Pacific Island culture and its preservation. It explores the ingenuity of indigenous Pacific Islanders and the tangible evidence of what their ancestors did to survive on the atolls and islands of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Soft cover, 184 pages. Published in 2002.

Pacific Ocean. Map. Recommended retail price $7.95.

Ever wondered where Kiribati is or Swains' Island? Look them up on this full color Mercator projection of the Pacific Ocean. The reverse side shows each of the Pacific Island groups in greater detail On Pitcairn island you will be able to find "Oh Dear" and other equally fascinating place names. Free postage.

Pidgin Phrasebook: Pidgin Languages of Oceania by Trevor Balzer et al. Recommended retail price $5.95.

If someone in the Solomon Islands says “Mi no herem iu gud” will you know that you will have to speak louder? Or how about this delicious phrase from Papua New Guinea “Man nogut I stilim kar” (A bad man stole the car) … is this instantly recognizable? If you want to learn enough pidgin to get by then this Lonely Planet book is recommended. Soft cover, 172 pages.

Reach for Paradise by Andrew Rayner. ISBN 9780988674851. Published by Companionway Press. recomended retail price $45. Our discounted price $29.95.

A song to Pacific islands rooted in a far-ranging journey, Reach for Paradise is the Pacific addition to the world's fine travel literature. Written as he gained deep knowledge of the islands and their peoples, their history and traditions, the influences that have shaped their destiny, Rayner's story conveys the mystery and marvel of travel to destinations denied most people. Intent on exploring what if anything has survived of the paradise celebrated by travelers of past centuries, Rayner bought a sailboat and set off, picking up both boat and island knowledge as he ploughed 30,000 miles of ocean. A personal journey of delight, Reach for Paradise is rich with information gleaned from Pacific peoples, literature and observation. For Pacific voyagers, Reach for Paradise is an invaluable source. If a guide, rather than explaining how to get there it is the sort that will tell thoughtful adventurers why to go. And what you miss if you can't. Protected uniquely by distance and time, Pacific islands are extraordinary, often meeting the old definition of that devalued word "paradise" as a place that inspires blissful contentment. Island spirits and magic, landscapes, the splendor of coral reefs, the gift economy, Rayner defies you to argue that planet Earth has any better elixir for a world-weary traveler. Hard cover 376 pages. Published 2013.

Science of Pacific Island People vol. 2: Land Use and Agriculture. Recommended retail price $18.

This, the second volume, on Land Use and Agriculture contains chapters on Kiribati, Western Samoa, yam cultivation in Tonga, an irrigated taro agrosystem in Fiji, the impact of mining in Papua New Guinea, taro islets in Chuuk, refuges to Hawaii, Polynesian forest, aerial photography, yam cultivation in Solomon Islands and agroforestry. Soft cover, 235 pages.

Science of Pacific Island People vol. 3: Fauna, Flora, Food and Medicine. Recommended retail price $18.

This, the third volume, on Fauna, Flora, Food & Medicine contains chapters on food technology, women’s plants in Vanuatu, medicine in the Eastern Caroline Islands, the kiore rat in Aotearoa/New Zealand, marine animals in Wayan, classification and collection, ethnobotany, medical plants in Papua New Guinea, tree farming in Vanuatu, and healers on Guam. Soft cover, 237 pages.

Treasure Islands: A Robert Louis Stevenson Centenary Anthology compiled and edited by Jenni Calder. Our price $15.00.

This superb book is a compilation of excerpts from Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous works. Most of them deal with the South Pacific. The book is beautifully illustrated with old engravings, paintings, maps and photographs from the regions discussed. We are really lucky to have picked up a small number of this gem. Soft cover, 88 pages. Published 1994.

A Woman in the South Pacific by Sheree Lipton.Recommended retail price $29.95.


A young woman's passion for life in all its beauty and complexity led Sheree Lipton to remote South Pacific archipelagos at a time before these isles and atolls were compelled to yield their ancient traditions to the inexorable forces of outside influence.

The adventures she shares offer a rare glimpse into a way of life that has nearly vanished in some of these still remarkable islands.  Recent events and economic and political changes in nations such as Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga have vastly impacted life and attitudes in the South Pacific making the memories related here all the more poignant.

Sheree's tales are often cautionary, and sometimes exacted a toll in matters of health and danger, but they are always filled with candor, a wry wit and, admittedly, some naivete.  The characters encountered are real people and include heads of state, rogues, lovers, ex-cannibals, eccentric expatriates, and warm-hearted islanders who reashed out to Sheree and welcomed her into their homes and families.

Illustrated with the author's award-winning photography, "A Womoan in the South Pacific" draws us in, island by island.  Rather than being arranged in a strict chronology, the chapters relate travels that went back and forth among many destinations over a period of years.

This book captures an honest, vivid and idyllic moment in time in the South Pacific as it once was.  It is a personal memoir that invites readers to laugh, cry and be glad to have been along for the ride.

Travel writer and photographer Sheree Lipton has spent most of her life living and working in the islands of the Pacific.  At a young age, her quest for adventure led her from her native Pennsylvania to the islands of Oceania, where she fell in love, raised her children and found her life's vocation.

Her determination, energy and love of the people she encountered inspired her to unusual feats of kindness.  She brought flush toilets to one island, a fire engine to another.  When she saw a need she tried to fill it, whether it was church bells, oversized shoes for Tongan men, or a water tank for a remote atoll in Papua New Guinea.

Sheree's first book, "Fiji I Love You Full Speed", a travel adventure saga, was published in 1972 bySeven Seas Pulications (Wellington, New Zealand).  Her credits also include four awards for best self-illustrated articles from the Pacific Asia Travel Association for assignments published in a wide variety of national and international publications.  She was chosen as Global Health Photographer of the Year 2002, for a collection of portraits of villagers and scenes in underdeveloped countries.  The collection was exhibited by the Global Health Council in Washington, D.C.

Sheree has continued her travels, documenting development issues around the world.  Her portraits acutely demonstrate the face of hopeshining in the midst of poverty.  Her photographs are visions of courage against impossible odds. Hardcover 162 pages published 2009.

Click on links below for these books.

Adventure Guide to the South Pacific by Thomas H. Booth

Climate and Agriculture in the Pacific Islands ... future perspectives edited by Aalbersberg et al.

Have We Offended? by Mark Cross

Kava: Nature’s Answer to Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia by Hyla Cass, M.D. and Terrence McNally

Land Issues In The Pacific edited by Ron Crocombe and Malama Maleisea

Land Tenure in the Pacific (3rd edition) edited by Ron Crocombe

Life of Adventure, A by Oswald Schulze

Mammals of the South-West Pacific & Moluccan Islands by Tim Flannery

Pacific Women, Roles and Status of women in Pacific Societies, edited by Taiamoni Tongamoa

Romancing the Islands by Kim Gravelle.

Slavers in Paradise by H.E, Maude

South Pacific Islands, Nelles Guide by Michael Brillat

The Snorkeller's Guide to the Coral Reef by Paddy Ryan

Where to watch birds in Australasia & Oceania by Nigel Wheatley.