Australasian and Pacific history Books

Book Synopsis''Brilliantly researched and sympathetically told, 44 DAYS is more than just a fitting tribute to brave but overlooked heroes. It''s also a top read.'' DAILY TELEGRAPHThe epic World War II story of the heroes of Australia''s 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely trained pilots fought alone against the Japanese.In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold.The recruits had almost nothing going for them against the Japanese war machine, except for one extraordinary leader named John Jackson, a balding, tubby Queenslander - at 35 possibly the oldest fighter pilot in the world - who said little, led from the front, and who had absolutely no sense of physical fear.Time and time again this brave group were hurled into battle, against all odds and logic, and succeeded in mauling a far superior enemy - whilst also fighting against the air force hierarchy. After relentless attack, the squadron was almost wiped out by the time relief came, having succeeded in their mission - but also paying a terrible price.Michael Veitch, actor, presenter and critically acclaimed author, brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of this courageous squadron of Australian heroes.Trade ReviewAn entertaining and comprehensive tour . . . Few readers will remain unmoved. * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD on THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS *A rich and enjoyable island-hopping journey. * SUNDAY HERALD SUN on THE FORGOTTEN ISLANDS *compelling * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD on HEROES OF THE SKIES *Tells the epic Second World War story of Australia's 75 Squadron. * Sunshine Coast Sunday *Brilliantly researched and sympathetically told. A fitting tribute to brave but overlooked heroes. A top read. * Adelaide Advertiser, Sunday Territorian, The Daily Telegraph *Included in Going Out v Staying In * Sunday Herald Sun *Vividly describes the extremely brave men, who with little preparation or material support, flew missions in Kittyhawks against the superior Japanese Zero aircraft. * Readplus *Epic WWII story. * Sunday Herald Sun *Review * Good Reading *heroism abounds in [44 Days] * Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin *profoundly moving and stunningly written * Sunshine Coast Sunday *well crafted, flowing and... an enjoyable read * Flightpath Magazine *This is a book for all those whose passion is military aviation * Australian Defence Magazine *thank you Michael Veitch * Golden Plains Miner *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe contribution of women to the first century of photography has been overlooked across the world, including in New Zealand. Through superb images and fascinating individual stories, this important book tilts the balance, unearthing a large and hitherto unknown number of women photographers who operated in New Zealand from the 1860s to 1960.Trade ReviewLandfall, reviewed by Mary Macpherson. “A lavishly-illustrated blockbuster of a book that reveals a whole world of women active at every level of photography … At a deeper level, these images … give us part of the history of our country across the centuries. It’s difficult not to be moved by this, and the book deserves to fly high at the next Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.”; Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books, reviewed by Hamish Coney. “Mitchell’s decade of research has unearthed a wealth of wonderful images created by women in Aotearoa, and provided a powerful narrative that reveals their creators’ lives and motivations. Through Shaded Glass is both a corrective and a celebration, and will no doubt create a legacy in its own right, as a point of departure for future scholarship.”; NZ Booklovers, reviewed by Lyn Potter. “Lissa Mitchell has skilfully and successfully filled a gap in the history of women’s participation in photography in the Western world. She has amply succeeded in her aim of showing that in New Zealand, women from 1860-1960 did have access to photographic equipment and used it in all sorts of ways. … She is a very erudite photography historian but has written Through Shaded Glass in a very engaging and accessible way for the general reader. I found it unputdownable.”; The Post, reviewed by Mark Amery. “Through Shaded Glass impresses in providing a different window on our past than the other photographic history books on my shelves.”; Kete Books, reviewed by Jessica Agoston Cleary. “As one of Aotearoa’s most knowledgeable and experienced photographic historians, there is no one better than Lissa Mitchell to research, distill and re-contextualise the photographic history of our country … It is a whirlwind tour and it is well worth it.”; New Zealand Geographic, reviewed by Catherine Woulfe. “Mitchell’s text validates the various ways women participated in photography … her own mastery is clear on each page.”; Gisborne Herald, review by Wynsley Wrigley of the chapter on Gisborne photographers. “Gloriously illustrated publication … fascinating book.”

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis open access book offers a detailed study of the foundation and expansion of the Dutch Cape Colony to ask why certain regions in the global south became European settler societies from the 16th century onwards. Examining the different factors that led to the creation of the Cape Colony, Erik Green reveals it was a gradual process, made up of ad hoc decisions, in which the agency of indigenous peoples played an important role. He identifies the drivers behind settler expansion, explores the effect of inequality on long-term economic development and examines the relationship between settlers and the colonial authorities, asserting that they should not be treated as one homogenous group with shared economic interests. Assessing specific characteristics of the Cape Colony, such as the proposition it was a slavery economy, and comparing key insights of this study with the historiography of other settler colonies, Creating the Cape Colony demonstrates the need to revise our underTrade ReviewIn this stimulating and sophisticated study, Erik Green lets loose the theories and questions of much recent economic history on the particularly detailed data of the Cape Colony. The results are often surprising, notably regarding the considerable importance played by Khoesan labour. It is a model of comparative, quantitative research. * Robert Ross, Emeritus Professor of African history, Leiden University, The Netherlands *Green has written a timely new economic history of the Cape Colony: one that uncovers the fragility of the Dutch East India Company operation, as well as the critical role played by indigenous Khoesan communities, as both laborers and resisters, in shaping economic and social institutions with a legacy that continues to impact South Africa in the present. * Anne EC McCants, Ann F. Friedlaender, Professor of History, MIT, USA *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Maps List of Tables 1. Understanding the Establishment of Settler Colonies 2. Indigenous Agency, the Cost of Trade and Initial Steps Towards a Settler Colony 3. Factor Endowments, Institutions and the Expansion of the Frontier 4. Was the Cape a Slave Economy? 5. Unequal We Stand 6. Elites, Coalitions and Settler Resistance Conclusion Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCentering on cases of sexual violence, this open access book illuminates the contested introduction of British and French colonial criminal justice in the Pacific Islands during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu/New Hebrides. It foregrounds the experiences of Indigenous Islanders and indentured laborers in the colonial court system, a space in which marginalized voices entered the historical record.Rape and sexual assault trials reveal how hierarchies of race, gender and status all shaped the practice of colonial law in the courtroom and the gendered experiences of colonialism. Trials provided a space where men and women narrated their own story and at times challenged the operation of colonial law. Through these cases, Gender, Violence and Criminal Justice in the Colonial Pacific highlights the extent to which colonial bureaucracies engaged with and affected private lives, as well as the varied ways in which individu

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf only these walls and this land could talk . . . The Sydney Opera House is a breathtaking building, recognised around the world as a symbol of modern Australia. Along with the Taj Mahal and other World Heritage sites, it is celebrated for its architectural grandeur and the daring and innovation of its design. It showcases the incomparable talents involved in its conception, construction and performance history. But this stunning house on Bennelong Point also holds many secrets and scandals. In his gripping biography, Peter FitzSimons marvels at how this magnificent building came to be, details its enthralling history and reveals the dramatic stories and hidden secrets about the people whose lives have been affected, both negatively and positively, by its presence. He shares how a conservative 1950s state government had the incredible vision and courage to embark on this nation-defining structure; how an architect from Denmark and construction workers from A

Read more less

Book SynopsisSir Hubert Wilkins is one of the most remarkable Australians who ever lived.The son of pioneer pastoralists in South Australia, Hubert studied engineering before moving on to photography. In 1908 he sailed for England and a job producing films with the Gaumont Film Co. Brave and bold, he became a polar expeditioner, a brilliant war photographer, a spy in the Soviet Union, a pioneering aviator-navigator, a death-defying submariner - all while being an explorer and chronicler of the planet and its life forms that would do Vasco da Gama and Sir David Attenborough proud. As a WW1 photographer he was twice awarded the Military Cross for bravery under fire, the only Australian photographer in any war to be decorated. He explored the Antarctic with Sir Ernest Shackleton, led a groundbreaking ornithological study in Australia and was knighted in 1928 for his aviation exploits, but many more astounding achievements would follow. Wilkins'' quest for knowledge and polar explorations we

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn April 1941, as Churchill strove to counter the German threat to the Balkans, New Zealand troops were hastily committed to combat in the wake of the German invasion of Greece where they would face off against the German Kradschützen motorcycle troops. Examining three major encounters in detail with the help of maps and contemporary photographs, this lively study shows how the New Zealanders used all their courage and ingenuity to counter the mobile and well-trained motorcycle forces opposing them in the mountains and plains of Greece and Crete. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon first-hand accounts, this exciting account pits New Zealand's infantrymen against Germany's motorcycle troops at the height of World War II in the Mediterranean theatre, assessing the origins, doctrine and combat performance of both sides.Table of ContentsIntroduction /The opposing sides /Combat 1 /Combat 2 /Combat 3 /Analysis /Aftermath /Bibliography /Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this revised and updated edition new accounts have been included of the ways in which the islanders resisted occupation and did not - hitherto unpublished material describes how a small minority of islanders threw their lot in with the Argentines.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInvestigates the role of memory in forming ethnic and national identities in the early twentieth-century Tasman WorldTrade Review"Very well researched, and always alert both to the trends of current scholarship and to the nuances of the evidence. It is impressively but unobtrusively documented and written in a clear and engaging fashion." -Professor David Goodman, Professor of History, Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis edited collection investigates New Zealand’s history as an imperial power, and its evolving place within the British Empire. It revises and expands the history of empire within, to and from New Zealand by looking at the country’s spheres of internal imperialism, its relationship with Australia, its Pacific empire and its outreach to Antarctica. The book critically revises our understanding of the range of ways that New Zealand has played a role as an imperial power, including the cultural histories of New Zealand inside the British Empire, engagements with imperial practices and notions of imperialism, the special significance of New Zealand in the Pacific region, and the circulation of ideas of empire both through and inside New Zealand over time. The essays in this volume span social, cultural, political and economic history, and in testing the concept of New Zealand's empire, the contributors take new directions in both historiographical and empirical research.Trade Review'At the edge of empire, at "home" with the British or somewhere in the Pacific? Pickles and Coleborne take up the puzzle of New Zealand's Empire with freshness and surprise. Both the questions and answers are new, rewarding readers with an insightful and original excursion.'Charlotte Macdonald, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand‘The book rewards its readers with a series of original, varied, and sometimes intriguing essays into particular dimensions…the editors succeed in their stated aim of opening up discussion as to how New Zealand’s own empire might be conceived.’ Vincent O'Malley, H-Empire July 2016‘Scholars who have been following the historiography of British settler colonialism overthe past few decades can testify to the significant contributions made by historians of New Zealand to thisbody of work. New Zealand’s Empire,though, takes that work in a new and intriguing direction, as it asks questionsabout multiple forms of empire in New Zealand’s history.’Cecilia Morgan, University of Toronto, Australian HistoricalStudies, 48, 2017 -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: New Zealand’s Empire – Katie Pickles and Catharine ColebornePart I: ‘Empire at home’1. Te Karere Maori and the defence of Empire, 1855–60 – Kenton Storey2. An imperial icon Indigenised: the Queen Victoria Memorial at Ohinemutu – Mark Stocker3. ‘Two branches of the brown Polynesians’: ethnographic fieldwork, colonial governmentality and the ‘dance of agency’ – Conal McCarthyPart II: Imperial mobility4. Travelling the Tasman world: travel writing and narratives of transit – Anna Johnston5. Law’s mobility: vagrancy and imperial legality in the trans-Tasman colonial world, 1860s–1914 – Catharine Coleborne6. ‘The World’s Fernery’: New Zealand, fern albums, and nineteenth-century fern fever – Molly DugginsPart III: New Zealand’s Pacific Empire7. From Sudan to Samoa: imperial legacies and cultures in New Zealand’s rule over the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa – Patricia O’Brien 8. ‘Fiji is really the Honolulu of the Dominion’: tourism, empire and New Zealand’s Pacific, c.1900–35 – Frances Steel9. Empire in the eyes of the beholder: New Zealand in the Pacific through French eyes – Adrian Muckle 1900–55 10. War surplus? New Zealand and American children of Indigenous women in Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Tokelau – Judith A. BennettPart IV Inside and outside Empire11. Official occasions and vernacular voices: New Zealand’s British Empire and Commonwealth Games, 1950–90 – Michael Dawson12. Australia as New Zealand’s western frontier, 1965–95 – Rosemary Baird and Philippa Mein Smith13. Southern outreach: New Zealand claims Antarctica from the ‘heroic era’ to the twenty-first century – Katie Pickles14. A radical reinterpretation of New Zealand history: apology, remorse and reconciliation – Giselle ByrnesGlossaryIndex

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘What joy to be at sea again, adrift on the vast Pacific, in the clutches of a gifted storyteller. Harrison Christian and the mutineers of Men Without Country held me happily captive to the very last page.’ – Dava Sobel, author of Longitude‘Men Without Country shows what a writer can produce when he has real skin in the game... Harrison Christian sets the record straight on the Bounty mutiny with forensic fervour, including the before, the during – and the after.’ – Adam Courtenay, author of The Ship that Never WasFull of misadventure and mystery, Men Without Country is a sweeping history of exploration and rebellion in the South Seas – told by a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, the man who led the infamous mutiny on the BountyA mission to collect breadfruit from Tahiti becomes the most famous mutiny in history when the crew rise up against Captain William Bligh, with accusations of food restrictions and unfair punishments.Bligh’s remarkable journey back to safety is well documented, but the fates of the mutinous men remain shrouded in mystery. Some settled in Tahiti only to face capture and court martial, others sailed on to form a secret colony on Pitcairn Island, the most remote inhabited island on earth, avoiding detection for twenty years. When an American captain stumbled across the island in 1808, only one of the Bounty mutineers was left alive.Told by a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, Men Without Country details the journey of the Bounty, and the lives of the men aboard. Lives dominated by a punishing regime of hard work and scarce rations, and deeply divided by the hierarchy of class. It is a tale of adventure and exploration punctuated by moments of extreme violence – towards each other and the people of the South Pacific.For the first time, Christian provides a comprehensive and compelling account of the whole story – from the history of trade and exploration in the South Seas to Pitcairn Island, which provided the mutineers’ salvation, and then became their grave.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe battle for Guadalcanal that lasted from August 1942 to February 1943 was the first major American counteroffensive against the Japanese in the Pacific. The battle of Savo Island on the night of 9 August 1942, saw the Japanese inflict a sever defeat on the Allied force, driving them away from Guadalcanal and leaving the just-landed marines in a perilously exposed position. This was the start of a series of night battles that culminated in the First and Second battles of Guadalcanal, fought on the nights of 13 and 15 November. One further major naval action followed, the battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942, when the US Navy once again suffered a severe defeat, but this time it was too late to alter the course of the battle as the Japanese evacuated Guadalcanal in early February 1943.This title will detail the contrasting fortunes experienced by both sides over the intense course of naval battles around the island throughout the second half of 1942 that did so much to turn the tide in the Pacific.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing fleets /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /Further reading /Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe extraordinary sixty-thousand-year history of how the Pacific islands were settled. 'Takes readers on a narrative odyssey' Wall Street Journal, Books of the Year 'Highlights a dizzying burst of new research' The Economist 'A refreshing addition to the canon of literature that contemplates Oceanic navigation' Noelle Kahanu 'I would not be surprised if, after reading this masterpiece, many readers are compelled to take up voyaging themselves' Science Magazine Thousands of islands, inhabited by a multitude of different peoples, are scattered across the vastness of the Pacific. The first European explorers to visit Oceania, from the sixteenth century on, were astounded and perplexed to find populations thriving so many miles from the nearest continents. Who were these people and where did they come from? In Voyagers, the distinguished anthropologist Nicholas Thomas charts the course of the seaborne migrations that populated the islands between Asia and the Americas. Drawing on the latest research, including insights gained from linguistics, archaeology, and the re-enactment of voyages, Thomas provides a dazzling account of these long-distance migrations, the sea-going technologies that enabled them, and the societies that they left in their wake.Trade ReviewWeaving together material culture and personal accounts of the author's own time in some of these islands, the book is an elucidating, accessible, and well-illustrated guide to the long history of Oceanic settlement and connections * Minerva Magazine *How and why did these explorers cross vast ocean distances to unseen landfalls?... Nicholas Thomas takes readers on a narrative odyssey to match their intrepid journeys' * Wall Street Journal, Books of the Year *Highlights a dizzying burst of new research that draws on advanced genetics, linguistics and, not least, a revival of voyaging itself by indigenous navigators * Economist *Thomas should be commended for his engaging writing style, which regularly had me looking forward to turning the page. I would not be surprised if, after reading this masterpiece, many readers are compelled to take up voyaging themselves * Science Magazine *Blending ethnohistory, archaeology, and linguistics, Thomas asks the big questions about a civilization that has seldom been recognized as such... Brings a welcome world-systems approach to Oceania, an understudied region' * Kirkus Reviews *With lucid explanations of modern advances in historical anthropology and evocative reflections on the author's own fascination with Oceania, this is an accessible introduction to an astounding chapter in human history * Publishers Weekly *Thomas successfully draws readers into this fascinating, often-overlooked history and offers plenty of resources for those looking to read more * Library Journal *Written in an engaging style, Thomas points to indigenous technologies and the reactivation of navigational knowledge which perfectly captures the vital and energetic relationship Pacific peoples enjoy today with the ocean that defines their lives -- Maia Nuku, Curator for Oceanic Art, Metropolitan Museum of ArtVoyagers will deeply engage and delight new readers of Pacific histories, while scholars will marvel at the author's elegant, concise chronicle -- Matt Matsuda, Rutgers UniversityThe peopling of the Pacific is one of humanity's greatest feats of imagination, ingenuity, and courage. Voyagers authoritatively recounts that achievement with both sympathy and wonder -- David Armitage, Harvard UniversityVoyagers is a refreshing addition to the canon of literature that contemplates Oceanic navigation... At once global yet intimate, shaped by Thomas's own Pacific journeys, and filled with wonderful images, historical and contemporary, that pay homage to Oceania's profound relationship with the sea -- Noelle Kahanu, University of Hawai'i

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrailblazing women of Australian Public Broadcasting, 1945 – 1975 offers a compelling new perspective of Australian radio and television history. It chronicles how a group of female producers defied the odds and forged remarkable careers in the traditionally male domain of public-affairs production at the ABC in the post-war decades. Kay Kinane, Catherine King, Therése Denny and Joyce Belfrage were ambitious and resourceful producers, part of the vanguard of Australian broadcasters who used mass media as a vehicle for their social and political activism. Fiercely dedicated to their audiences, they wrote, directed and produced ground-breaking documentaries and current affairs programs that celebrated Australian life, while also challenging its cultural complacency, its racism and sexism. They immersed themselves in the ABC’s many networks of collaboration and initiated a range of strategies to expand their agency and authority. With vivid descriptions of life at the ABC, this book traces their careers as they crossed borders and crossed mediums, following them as they worked on location shoots and in production offices, in television studios, control rooms and radio booths. In doing so it highlights the barriers, both official and unofficial, that confronted so many women working in broadcasting after World War II.Trade Review‘Kylie Andrews’ fascinating book is a tour-de-force of feminist scholarship and media history. In rescuing the pioneering women of radio and television from the footnotes of history, it offers us not just a vivid panorama of highly talented programme-makers but an endlessly illuminating new take on post-war Australian broadcasting.’ — David Hendy, Emeritus Professor, University of Sussex, England.‘A lively, impressively researched, and informative look at barriers faced, and battles won, by a select group of talented female producers at the ABC and beyond – battles won not only for themselves, but for the status of all women who have confronted the same attitudes and obstacles. An inspiring read.’ — Michele Hilmes, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.‘This is an important, overdue ‘remembering’ of women’s role in the creation of the ABC - an entertaining read to set the historical (‘herstorical’) record straight - with startling insights into the good old days when the boys ‘owned the game’. It’s an eye-opener for younger program-makers to meet the feisty women who paved the way for them.’ — Caroline Jones AO, Veteran ABC broadcaster and national patron of Women in Media.‘This compelling and impeccably researched book uncovers the story of four colourful individuals, Joyce Belfrage, Therese Denny, Kay Kinane and Catherine King, and their outstanding contribution to Australian, and transnational, broadcasting. Battling a culture that was largely unsupportive of working women, Andrews brings their careers and achievements vividly to life.’ — Dr Kate Murphy, Visiting Fellow, Faculty of Media and Communication, Bournemouth University, UK.‘This is a brilliant book unearthing the forgotten women of radio and television. Too often, male exploits take precedence in Australian historical recounts. Kylie Andrews has produced a work that is both entertaining and academic. Highly recommended!’ — Tracey Spicer, Broadcaster and Author.‘In the post-war years, the ABC carved out a distinctive role as a national broadcaster, both shaping and questioning Australian identity. Kylie Andrews’ passionate, highly engaging history tells the stories of groundbreaking women who worked for the ABC in those years, demonstrating that the ABC was not only ‘built by men’; it was built by women, too’. — Professor Michelle Arrow, Department of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, AUS.‘In this lively and accessible work of historical reclamation, Kylie Andrews brings vividly to life the careers of four indomitable women at the ABC in the decades after World War II.' — Professor Bridget Griffen-Foley, Macquarie University, Table of ContentsList of Figures; List of Abbreviations; Preface; 1. Introduction, Showrunners, Shot Callers and Flying Typewriters, Notes; 2. Career Snapshots, Kay Kinane, Catherine King, Therése Denny, Joyce Belfrage, Notes; 3. Welcome to the ABC, Ladies, How and Why ‘Women’s Work’ Was Marginalized at the ABC, Trapped in the Typing Pool, Acceptable Behaviour, Birds, Chicks and Old Ducks , Forbidden Domains, Contesting ‘Women’s Worlds’, Notes; 4. The New Nation-Builders, A Cuckoo in the ABC’s Nest, The Adelaide Legacy, The ‘Schoolie with the Motorbike’, The Scholarly Troublemaker, Nation-builders and Citizens but Not Feminists?, Notes; 5. Talent Was Not Enough, ABC Mentors and Gatekeepers, Opportunities Arising during Times of Disruption, Bargaining from a Position of Strength and Refusing to Be Bullied, Joyce and the ABC’s Transition to Television: A Cautionary Tale, Notes; 6. Thinking Outside the Box, Moving between Radio and TV , Manipulating the Message: Using the Press to Shape Public Personas, Embracing ‘Platform Agnostic’ Careers, Notes; 7. Timely Escapes and Bittersweet Homecomings, ‘New Ways of Living and Loving’, Notes; 8. International Adventures and Global Networking, Kay’s First Big Adventure: The Imperial Relations Trust, Some Benefits of Membership, Reversing the Tide: Taking Advantage of Polarities of Exchange, Joyce Makes the Most of Empire Employment Networks, Turning a Negative into a Positive: Therése Exploits Her Colonial Identity, Kay’s American Adventure, Networks of Collaboration and Support, Broadcasting Advocacy Goes Global, Notes; 9. Farewell to the ABC, Notes; 10. Epilogue, Revising Limited Historical Narratives, Notes; Reference List, Primary Sources, Industry Memos, Intra-ABC Communications and Reports, Personal Correspondence and Diary Entries, Audio and Audio-Visual Projects, Press, Newspaper and Magazine Articles, Interviews and Oral Histories, Industry Reports, Archive Reports and Legislation, Secondary Sources, Books and Book Chapters, Journal Articles, Conference Papers and Speeches, Websites; Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAustralian deserts remain dotted with the ruins of old mosques. Beginning with a Bengali poetry collection discovered in a nineteenth-century mosque in the town of Broken Hill, Samia Khatun weaves together the stories of various peoples colonised by the British Empire to chart a history of South Asian diaspora. Australia has long been an outpost of Anglo empires in the Indian Ocean world, today the site of military infrastructure central to the surveillance of `Muslim-majority' countries across the region. Imperial knowledges from Australian territories contribute significantly to the Islamic-Western binary of the post- Cold War era. In narrating a history of Indian Ocean connections from the perspectives of those colonised by the British, Khatun highlights alternative contexts against which to consider accounts of non-white people. Australianama challenges a central idea that powerfully shapes history books across the Anglophone world: the colonial myth that European knowledge traditions are superior to the epistemologies of the colonised. Arguing that Aboriginal and South Asian language sources are keys to the vast, complex libraries that belie colonised geographies, Khatun shows that stories in colonised tongues can transform the very ground from which we view past, present and future.Trade Review'Khatun’s achievement in Australianama… is not simply the unearthing of new histories of South Asian and Muslim diasporas in Australia, but the posing of a new set of questions about the implications of seeing, reading, hearing and thinking otherwise, and about how these practices might rework our understanding of a national past.' -- Australian Historical Studies

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow did the word ''kiwi'' migrate from the Mãori name of a secretive bird to signify a New Zealander, a globally recognised fruit, and be used in all manner of national and international branding? In this highly illustrated study of a key aspect of New Zealand identity, cultural historian Richard Wolfe explores the evolution of ''kiwi'' through to its multiplicity of uses today. With extensive colour illustrations and ephemera, and Wolfe''s trademark eye for the curious, Kiwi is both entertaining and important.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThroughout the first year of the war in the Pacific during World War II the USAAF was relatively ineffective against ships. Indeed, warships in particular proved to be too elusive for conventional medium-level bombing. High-level attacks wasted bombs, and torpedo attacks required extensive training. But as 1942 closed, the Fifth Air Force developed new weapons and new tactics that were not just effective, they were deadly. A maintenance officer assigned to a B-25 unit found a way to fill the bombardier's position with four 0.50-cal machine guns and strap an additional four 0.50s to the sides of the bomber, firing forward. Additionally, skip-bombing was developed. This called for mast-top height approaches flying the length of the target ship. If the bombs missed the target, they exploded in the water close enough to crush the sides. The technique worked perfectly when paired with strafe B-25s. Over the first two months of 1943, squadrons perfected these tactics. Then, in early March,Table of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Design and Development Technical Specifications The Strategic Situation The Combatants Combat Statistics and Analysis Aftermath Further Reading Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisCal Flyn was very proud when she discovered that her ancestor, Angus McMillan, had been a pioneer of colonial Australia. However, when she dug deeper, she began to question her pride. McMillan had not only cut tracks through the bush, but played a dark role in Australia''s bloody history.In 1837 Angus McMillan left the Scottish Highlands for the other side of the world. Cutting paths through the Australian frontier, he became a feted pioneer, to be forever mythologised in status and landmarks. He was also Cal Flyn's great-great-great-uncle. Inspired by his fame, Flyn followed in his footsteps to Australia, where she would face horrifying family secrets.Blending memoir, history and travel,Thicker Than Water' evokes the startlingly beautiful wilderness of the Highlands, the desolate bush of Victoria and the reverberations on one from the other. A tale of blood and bloodlines, it is a powerful, personal journey into dark family history, grief and guilt.Trade ReviewSummer Reads of 2016, GuardianBooks of the Year 2016, The Times ‘Stunning. ‘Thicker Than Water’ is a thrilling debut, a true story that reads like a classy, compelling fiction’ The Times ‘A moving and impressive debut’ Telegraph ‘Deftly captures the looking-glass world of the antipodean landscape … Her account is vivid with a sense of strangeness … ‘Thicker Than Water’ is, to borrow a word Australians use when dealing with anything unsettling, a “confronting” book’ Guardian ‘Intelligently and evocatively written’ Allan Massie, Scotsman 'A searing tale of adventure and (self) discovery that shows the past is nearer than we think. Flyn is a writer with a gimlet eye and a big heart' Ben Rawlence ‘Thicker Than Water combines memoir, history, travelogue and lyrical nature writing; a true story that reads like classy, page-turning fiction’ Melanie Read, The Times ‘An unflinchingly honest, profoundly moving memoir’ Herald

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisEvery year, at the Wa Huang Gong temple in Hebei Province, China, people gather to worship the great mother, Nuwa, the oldest deity in Chinese myth, praising her for bringing them a happy life. It is a vivid demonstration of both the ancient reach and the continuing relevance of mythology in the lives of the Chinese people. Compiled from ancient and scattered texts and based on groundbreaking new research, Handbook of Chinese Mythology is the most comprehensive English-language work on the subject ever written from an exclusively Chinese perspective. This work focuses on the Han Chinese people but ranges across the full spectrum of ancient and modern China, showing how key myths endured and evolved over time. A quick reference section covers all major deities, spirits, and demigods, as well as important places (Kunlun Mountain), mythical animals and plants (the crow with three feet; Fusang tree), and related items (Xirang-a kind of mythical soil; Bu Si Yao-mythical medicine for long li

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn account of relations between the sexes and the role of myth in the transition between unconscious fantasy and cultural forms, based on studies of the mythologies of the Gimi, from the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume offers and extensive critique of Benedict Anderson's deepitions of colonial history, his comparative method, and his political anthropology.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA uniquely collaborative analysis of human adaptation to the Polynesian islands, told through oral histories, biophysical evidence, and historical recordsTrade Review“Islands and Cultures is very important in its content, voice, and coverage. Each chapter is rich with new ideas, and every author brings a different kind of evidence to explore their focal place and peoples.”—Eleanor Sterling, director, Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology“This book seeks—and at times finds—the confluence where the waters of Western knowledge and Pacific indigenous knowledge meet. Humanity’s future path is there, a path by which our Mother the Earth and all of her descendants may yet thrive.”—Justice Sir Joe Williams, New Zealand Supreme Court“Islands and Cultures provides a unique contribution in demonstrating how the ideology, epistemology, and science of Polynesian worldviews are woven together to create and maintain the living universe.”—Joseph P. Brewer II, University of Kansas

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA timely study of an important, but often overlooked collector of early Melanesian objects and a pioneering anthropologist of his time, providing important contextual material for many of the objects collected by Codrington now in the British Museum, The Pitt Rivers Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: ' I have little doubt but that I can get some good things sooner or later': museum demands Chapter 2: 'Matters that lie upon the surface of native life and are open to the observation of the visitor and traveller ': the collections Chapter 3: 'There was a spirit in my pen': Codrington's visual documentation Chapter 4: 'It has rained shell adzes today, large and small': trading Chapter 5: On stones and poised arrows : Codrington on mana Conclusion: Codrington’s importance today Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis account of Sir Earle Page''s eight-month mission to London provides insights into Anglo-Australian, Anglo-Dominion and United StatesAustralian wartime relations during a crucial phase of the Second World War. It offers an understanding into the man himself: his thoughts about Australia during the war; his hopes for its future after the war; and the relations Page had with leading political figures, military officials, and policy-makers of the day. The diary revolves around interrelated themes: the battles to represent Australia in the British War Cabinet and to secure a larger share of lucrative wartime food contracts; and the future of Anglo-Australian relations in the Pacific as the United States asserted its dominance over its British ally. The ill-fated defence of Malaya/Singapore and the collapse of British prestige at the hands of the Japanese between December 1941 and May 1942 serves as a backcloth to Page''s mission and its significance.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Kent Fedorowich and Jayne Gifford (eds); List of abbreviations; Introduction: The wartime diary of Sir Earle Page and his mission to London, 1941–1942; Editorial practices; the diary of Sir Earle Page; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMark Peel is Provost at the University of Leicester, UK. Christina Twomey is a Professor in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University, AustraliaTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Maps, Tables and Figures Acknowledgements Introduction First People The Great South Land: 1500-1800 Britain's Prison: Convicts, Settlers and Indigenous People: 1788-1802 Free and Unfree: Reforming New South Wales: 1803-1829 New Australias: 1829-1849 The Golden Lands: 1850-1868 At the Forefront of the Race: 1868-1888 A Truly New World: 1888-1901 A Protective Nation: 1901-1914 A Nation at War: 1914-1918 A Nation Divided: 1919-1939 Defending Australia: 1939-1949 Security: 1949-1963 Dissent and Social Change: 1964-1979 Global Nation: 1980-2010 Notes Further Reading Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of the British Empire's most troubling colonial exports in the 19th-century, James Busby is known as the father of the Australian wine industry, the author of New Zealand's Declaration of Independence and a central figure in the early history of independent New Zealand as its British Resident from 1833 to 1840.Officially the man on the ground for the British government in the volatile society of New Zealand in the 1830s, Busby endeavoured to create his own parliament and act independently of his superiors in London. This put him on a collision course with the British Government, and ultimately destroyed his career. With a reputation as an inept, conceited and increasingly embittered person, this caricature of Busby's character has slipped into the historical bloodstream where it remains to the present day. This book draws on an extensive range of previously-unused archival records to reconstruct Busby's life in much more intimate form, and exposes the back-room pTrade ReviewPaul Moon’s biography succeeds in rescuing James Busby from the condescension of posterity. It does so by situating Busby in the larger contexts—Scottish Enlightenment, religious, British imperial, Maori, settler colonial—necessary to understand his controversial career. * John Stenhouse, Associate Professor of History, University of Otago, New Zealand *In The Rise and Fall of James Busby, we encounter the British Resident who for seven years maintained relationships between the chaotic Colonial Office, the mercurial New South Wales government, a lawless pre-treaty New Zealand and the nascent state which emerged after Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Through Paul Moon’s incisive research we meet the obsessive, prickly, land-hungry Busby of historic renown, but we also encounter the lesser-known stories of the friend to Hone Heke, the administrator who could be generous, thorough and principled, and the loyal husband and father. Busby’s central place in the early colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand is at last detailed in these pages. * Lloyd Carpenter, Senior Lecturer in Maori Studies, Lincoln University, New Zealand *[Paul Moon] has done both Busby and us a service by rescuing him from historical marginalisation and providing a fuller portrait of the man whose efforts laid the groundwork for the Treaty. * Australian Historical Studies *Table of ContentsForeword 1. The Ambitions of the Father 2. The Tenacity of the Son 3. ‘I Am To Take Charge’ 4. Destitute in London 5. Convergence 6. Landed 7. Trouble at Home 8. Independence 9. ‘Destroy Busby at All Costs’ 10. A Career and Life in Tatters 11. Enemies with Everyone 12. An Embittered End Epilogue

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book details the exploits of the highly skilled Naval Aviators charged with achieving air supremacy over New Guinea in their A6M2/3 Zero-sens. The combat record of the Zero-sen in New Guinea has mostly been overstated, with little due being given to the constraining conditions under which the fighter operated. The air combats fought over New Guinea in 1942 between Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) pilots and their Allied counterparts in P-39 Airacobras and P-40 Warhawks were often trial and error' affairs, with both belligerents being caught out by weather. This study covers the key role played by governing factors including geography and climatic conditions, and examines the modified tactics employed by IJNAF Zero-sen pilots to help them cope in-theatre through the comprehensive analysis of RAAF, USAAF and Japanese operational after action reports. Using first-hand accounts from both famous aviators and previously unknown RAAF and Japanese pilots, and specially coTable of Contents(Subject to confirmation) 1. In Battle 2. Setting the Scene 3. Path to Combat 4. Weapon of war 5. Art of War 6. Combat Aftermath Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the first book to investigate the coming-of-age genre as a significant phenomenon in New Zealand's national cinema, tracing its development and elucidating its role in cultural change.

Read more less

Book Synopsis Today''s New Zealand is an emerging paradigm for successful cultural relations. Although the nation''s Maori (indigenous Polynesian) and Pakeha (colonial European) populations of the 19th century were dramatically different and often at odds, they are today co-contributors to a vibrant society. For more than a century they have been working out the kind of nation that engenders respect and well-being; and their interaction, though often riddled with confrontation, is finally bearing bicultural fruit. By their model, the encounter of diverse cultures does not require the surrender of one to the other; rather, it entails each expanding its own cultural categories in the light of the other. The time is ripe to explore modern New Zealand''s cultural dynamics for what we can learn about getting along. The present anthropological work focuses on religion and related symbols, forms of reciprocity, the operation of power and the concept of culture in modern New Zealand society.<

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn See How We Roll Melinda Hinkson follows the experiences of Nungarrayi, a Warlpiri woman from the Central Australian desert, as she struggles to establish a new life for herself in the city of Adelaide. Banished from her hometown, Nungarrayi energetically navigates promises of transformation as well as sedimented racialized expectations on the urban streets. Drawing on a decades-long friendship, Hinkson explores these circumstances through Nungarrayi''s relationships: those between her country and kin that sustain and confound life beyond the desert, those that regulate her marginalized citizenship, and the new friendships called out by displacement and metropolitan life. An intimate ethnography, See How We Roll provides great insight into the enduring violence of the settler colonial state while illuminating the efforts of Indigenous people to create lives of dignity and shared purpose in the face of turbulence, grief, and tightening governmental controls.Trade Review“Reflecting on issues of migration, exile, and life under continuing settler occupation in Australia, Melinda Hinkson brings into view the quotidian pressures and moments of joy for diasporic Warlpiri communities while pushing against anthropology's too hasty withdrawal from accounts of place-based difference. Her ruminations on ethnographic representation and theories of identity and place will bring long-standing anthropological debates to a new level of vulnerability and exposure.” -- Tess Lea, author of * Wild Policy: Indigeneity and the Unruly Logics of Intervention *“Melinda Hinkson communicates the massive sense of grief and loss that underlies contemporary Indigenous life in Central Australia while addressing the drastic and changing policies that the Australian government has imposed on Indigenous people. With her extended attention to Indigenous life in new conditions, Hinkson engages with social life in a framework that allows for its considerations in terms of global processes. An intimate and nuanced exploration of life lived in difficult circumstances, See How We Roll is a singular and beautifully executed book.” -- Fred R. Myers, author of * Painting Culture: The Making of an Aboriginal High Art *"This book will be of considerable interest to students and scholars of settler colonialism and contemporary configurations of indigeneity, including the continued relevance of place in reconfigured social and cultural worlds. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals." -- C. J. MacKenzie * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction: In and Out of Place 1 1. Journeying With 23 2. Staking New Ground 43 3. Between Here and There 67 4. Ties That Bind 93 5. Forces of Containment 117 6. See How We Roll 141 7. Free to the World 157 Afterword 179 Notes 183 Bibliography 205 Index 221

Read more less