1942, The Year That Tried Men's Souls  •  Winston Groom HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 480 PAGES Groom (Forrest Gump, A Storm in Flanders) brings to life the heroism, tragedy and trials of America's entry into the Pacific, including the brutal fight for Guadalcanal, in this popular, page-turning history. (WAR122, $15.00)
The Apotheosis of Captain Cook, European Mythmaking in the Pacific  •  Gananath Obeyesekere HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 344 PAGES In this academic work, a Sri Lankan scholar debunks the notion that the natives of the South Pacific hailed Captain James Cook as a lost deity, claiming that the myth of Europeans being celebrated as returning gods was a fabrication of the western world. (PAC156, $27.95)
Argonauts of the Western Pacific  •  Bronislaw Malinowski CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1984 •  PAPER  • 527 PAGES A landmark work in the field of economic anthropology, this book focuses on the exchange system of the Trobriand Islands. It also includes well considered ruminations on social organization, folklore, magic and ways of life. (PNG07, $21.95)
The Art of Tonga  •  Keith St. Cartmail ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 152 PAGES A spectacular, comprehensive overview of Tongan material culture, this handsome book features the sculpture, body adornment, canoes, clubs, containers, tools, textiles and other art of Tonga, ancient and modern. Well illustrated throughout with stunning examples. It's a handsome overview of Tongan culture with a focus on art and society. (PAC69, $29.95)
Arts of the Pacific Islands  •  Anne D'Alleva ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES • COMING IN A brief overview of the well known textiles, sculptures, jewelry, paintings, architecture and dance of the Pacific Islands. Definitively written and thoroughly illustrated, this handsomely produced paperback covers the diversity of Polynesian and Micronesian art -- and the cultures that produce it. With color photographs, a timeline and a glossary. (PAC81, $18.95)
Batavia's Graveyard, The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny  •  Mike Dash HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER A fascinating yet chilling account of a 17th-century shipwreck not for the squeamish. A mutinous heretic and his followers systematically murder over 100 passengers of a Dutch East India Company merchant vessel after it is marooned off the coast of Australia. Besides telling the tale in in gruesome detail, historian Mike Dash treats questions of navigation, religion, medicine, psychology and sociology in their historical context. (PAC132, $15.95)
Beach Crossings, Voyaging Across Times, Cultures, And Self  •  Greg Dening HISTORY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 376 PAGES Dening, an ethnographer of Polynesia, sums up a life's work in these autobiographical essays, covering the Marquesas and other island groups. (PAC157, $49.95)
The Birth and Death of Miracle Man  •  Albert Wendt LITERATURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES A collection of 12 short stories by the Samoan-born writer, rich in the atmosphere and particularity of island life. (PAC106, $16.95)
Blue Latitudes  •  Tony Horwitz  •  David Gerroll TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2002 •  AUDIO CD An abridged audio version of Horwitz's vivid tale of modern adventures, history and fun in the wake of Captain Cook. Horwitz paints a broad picture of Cook and his time, capturing the places and personalities Cook encountered in his daring voyages around the world. Since he doesn't like the cold, the author (who sailed on a replica of the Endeavor as a crewman) skipped the Antarctic. Narrated by British actor Daniel Gerroll. (PAC151, $34.95)
The Bounty, The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty  •  Caroline Alexander BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2004 •  PAPER  • 491 PAGES We wondered what Caroline Alexander has been up to since her phenomenally successful The Endurance. The Bounty is a brilliant choice. She tackles William Bligh, Christian Fletcher and the story of the Bounty with the same spirit and meticulous research. Hers is a rousing tale of class barriers, the British courts and remarkable seamanship. And her Bligh is a far cry from that portrayed by Charles Laughton. The man may have been prickly (and from working class roots, which she argues was his real crime) but Bligh was a remarkable navigator. With maps and 32 pages of illustrations. (PAC134, $17.00)
Captain Bligh and Mister Christian: The Men and the Mutiny  •  Richard Hough BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  PAPER  • 315 PAGES • COMING IN A gripping tale, full of drama, tension and incident, originally published in 1972, of the mutiny and its aftermath, including Lieutenant Bligh's remarkable 3,600-mile voyage to Timor and the fate of the mutineers on Pitcairn. It's a scholarly, beautifully written account. A classic. (PAC135, $19.95)
Coming of Age in Samoa  •  Margaret Mead CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 223 PAGES The original, much-debated account of life and development in America Samoa, originally published in 1928. Written when she was just 23 years old, it launched Meade's long career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Though her conclusions and methods may be in dispute, the book remains a compelling and popular story of the islands. (PAC12, $14.00)
Desolation Island  •  Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE •  1994 •  HARD COVER An Aubrey-Maturin adventure, set in the Pacific and Australia. (PAC57, $24.00)
Destiny's Landfall, A History of Guam  •  Robert Rogers HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 380 PAGES This standard comprehensive history of the island of Guam and its Chamorro inhabitants is written with an anthropological focus. (PAC38, $29.00)
A Diary in the Strict Sense of the Term  •  Bronislaw Malinowski JOURNAL •  1989 •  PAPER  • 615 PAGES Extracts from the diaries of the renowned anthropologist, written during stays on New Guinea, Mailu and the Trobriand Islands. Combining private reflections with detached scientific observation, this book is an intimate portrait of aboriginal Pacific cultures and the foreign scientist who studied them. (PAC191, $29.95)
Diving and Snorkeling Chuuk Lagoon, Pohnpei and Kosrae  •  Tim Rock GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES A nicely illustrated guide to the lagoon, with many excellent color photographs of wrecks, coral, artifacts and fish. The author includes diagrams and a brief history of many important wrecks. (PAC115, $17.95)
Early Tonga, As the Explorers Saw It, 1616-1810  •  Edwin Ferdon ANTHOLOGY •  1987 •  HARD COVER  • 339 PAGES • COMING IN For anyone interested in pre-Christian Tonga, this is an excellent sourcebook. The author presents the island nation as perceived by early literate visitors. (PAC70, $50.00)
The Edge of Paradise, America in Micronesia  •  P. K. Kluge BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1993 •  PAPER  • 244 PAGES The insightful memoir of a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia in 1967 -- and an account of his journey back a generation later after the death of his good friend (who had become president of Pall). Kluge, a writer and former correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, writes with affection of this then-undeveloped corner of Micronesia, and especially of the people he meets. He includes his impressions of Palau, Turk, Ponape, Tinian, Saipan and the Marshall Islands. By the author of Biggest Elivs. (PAC33, $19.00)
Explorations of Captain James Cook in the Pacific as Told by Selections of His Own Journals, 1768-1779  •  James Cook  •  A. Grenfell Price  •  Geoffrey C. Ingleton EXPLORATION •  1971 •  PAPER  • 292 PAGES The editors have chosen well from Cook's own journals of his three great voyages, highlighting his many historic discoveries and encounters. (PAC160, $14.95)
The Far Side of the World  •  Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 366 PAGES This tale, set in 1812, features a trip around Cape Horn, with Stephen Maturin, Patrick O'Brian's wonderful opium-addicted naturalist, exploring the new world with his pal Jack Aubrey. If you haven't yet been introduced to O'Brian's vivid portraits of Nelson's British Navy, here's your chance to dip into this fine series, with a book featuring evocative descriptions of Patagonian wildlife and natural features. A great read (and a great reread for O'Brian fans). (PAC55, $24.00)
Farther Than Any Man, The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook  •  Martin Dugard BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A fast-paced account of the discoveries of the 18th-century navigator. Dugard, a sailor and adventurer himself, is especially attuned to the demands of long sea voyages under difficult circumstances. (PAC127, $14.00)
The Fateful Hoaxing of Margaret Mead, A Historical Analysis of Her Samoan Research  •  Derek Freeman NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 279 PAGES Freeman continues the de-construction of Margaret Mead in this painstaking follow-up to his controversial biography of the anthropological icon. Apart from the fun of shaking up long held myths and views, Freeman exposes in detail the flaws, misconceptions and tall tales in Mead's 1925-1926 fieldwork supervised by Franz Boas. Freeman, who met Mead in 1964, has worked in Samoa for decades. He thinks she was taken in by tricksters -- and that he training by Boas set up to be fooled by mischievous informants. Read it alongside Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa. (PAC103, $17.00)
Fiji Map  •  HEMA Maps MAP A map of Fiji shown at a scale of 1:625,000. (PAC74, $8.95)
The First Team, Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway  •  John Lundstrom HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 547 PAGES (WAR116, $32.95)
Flags of Our Fathers  •  James Bradley HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A compelling portrait of the young men who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, five marines and a navy corpsman. The author, whose father was one of the six, tells the story of the brave men in the bloody battle and their subsequent, sometimes tragic fate. Bradley's father died in 1994. (PAC77, $14.00)
Footprint Diving the World, A Guide to the World's Coral Seas  •  Beth Tierney  •  Shaun Tierney GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 350 PAGES An inviting, beautifully illustrated guide to 220 dive sites in 19 countries with chapters on Australia and the Pacific, Mexico and Honduras, Egypt, East Africa and the Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Micronesia. Featuring the diving couple's favorite destinations, the book includes a planning guide, practical tips, and listing of dive centers, hotels, restaurants and live-aboards. (OCE102, $29.95)
France and the South Pacific since 1940  •  Robert Aldrich HISTORY •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 440 PAGES A history of the South Pacific from World War II to the present, focusing on economic, political and social connections to France. Aldrich looks beyond the idyllic tropical setting to examine thwarted attempts to gain independence from France, as well as their role in nuclear weapons testing and political violence. (PAC89, $25.00)
French Polynesia Map  •  IGN MAP Published by the French Geographic Institute, this glossy map covers French Polynesia at a scale of 1:2,500,000. Without much detail on individual islands, it would be a good choice to keep track of a cruise through the islands. We also carry a detailed map of Tahiti and the Society Islands. (PAC32, $16.95)
From Pearl Harbor to V-J Day, the American Armed Forces in World War II  •  D. Clayton James HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 227 PAGES A clear and concise introduction to the strategy, personalities and campaigns of World War II. (WAR51, $10.95)
From Primitive to Postcolonial in Melanesia and Anthropology  •  Bruce M. Knauft CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1999 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A wide-ranging reassessment of Melanesian anthropology, including chapters on modern Melanesia's place in the global world. (PAC189, $25.95)
Frommer's South Pacific  •  Bill Goodwin GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 468 PAGES A practical travel guide featuring annotated listings of what to do and where to eat and sleep. With one-color maps and suggested excursions. (PAC188, $22.99)
Gauguin  •  Robert Goldwater ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES A nice series of 116 reproductions of Gauguin's major works, nearly half of which are in color. Paintings, woodcuts and letters by the artist are all represented. (FRN281, $19.95)
Gauguin Tahiti  •  Francoise Cachin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 372 PAGES This illustrated catalog features gorgeous reproductions and authoritative essays on Gauguin and his time in Tahiti. With 260 color and 80 black-and-white illustrations of paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints and sculptures. (PAC92, $65.00)
Gauguin's Skirt  •  Stephen F. Eisenman HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES A fascinating (if rather academic) look at colonialism, sex and death in colonial and present-day Tahiti, the seat of so many European fantasies. With 110 reproductions (seven in color) of Gauguin's works and of photos circa 1900. (PAC95, $24.95)
Gauguin, The Quest for Paradise  •  Francoise Colchin BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1993 •  PAPER  • 195 PAGES Concise and beautifully illustrated, this overview of the artist, his work and life features a significant section on his time in Tahiti. The book includes many paintings as well as excerpts from his journals and other writings. Part of the acclaimed "Discoveries" series. (PAC27, $12.95)
Graveyards of the Pacific, From Pearl Harbor to Bikini Atoll  •  Robert D. Ballard  •  Michael Hamilton Morgan  •  Stephen Ambrose HISTORY •  2001 •  HARD COVER  • 255 PAGES An exploration of Pacific battle and nuclear testing sites, focusing on the sunken ships and downed airplanes scattered across the surrounding ocean floor. Robert D. Ballard (made famous for his discovery of the Titanic wreckage) combines his years of research with photographs depicting the battles and their archaeological legacy, the eerie, submerged remnants of once mighty war machines. (PAC111, $45.00)
Guadalcanal, The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle  •  Richard Frank HISTORY •  1992 •  PAPER  • 816 PAGES A comprehensive account of the battle, using a variety of primary sources to flesh out the story of one of the most important battles on the Pacific front during WWII. (PAC61, $22.00)
Hidden Tahiti & French Polynesia  •  Robert F. Kay GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 520 PAGES An excellent, comprehensive guide to Tahiti and French Polynesia, geared for nature-oriented travelers. With chapters on Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine, Raitea and Tahaa, Maupiti, the Tuomotos, Marquesas, Australs and Gambier Islands. It includes a survey of culture, history and activities, extensive travel information. Fifth Edition. (PAC22, $18.95)
Houses Far from Home, British Colonial Space in the New Hebrides  •  Margaret Critchlow Rodman ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2001 •  PAPER  • 264 PAGES Former British and French colonial officers in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) tell stories of their time in the islands in this oral history. The illustrations are all black-and-white photographs of colonial dwellings, and the book is prefaced by Margaret Rodman's academic thesis on colonial architecture. (PAC123, $18.00)
How Natives Think, About Captain Cook, for Example  •  Marshall Sahlins HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 328 PAGES A scholarly debunking of the myth of Captain James Cook and the alleged adoration shed upon him by so-called "natives." (PAC155, $22.50)
How They Won the War in the Pacific  •  Edwin P. Hoyt HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 554 PAGES (PAC163, $24.95)
I Married Adventure, The Lives of Osa and Martin Johnson  •  Osa Johnson BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1997 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES Sweetly told, homespun and engrossing, Johnson's 1940 memoir chronicles her marriage to explorer and wildlife cinematographer Martin Johnson -- their life on a houseboat in Borneo, their encounters with cannibals, their exploits with wild animals in Kenya and their filming expeditions in the Congo. (PAC110, $19.95)
In Search of Robinson Crusoe  •  Tim Severin TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A quest to find the real seafarer that inspired Defoe's fictional hero is the motivation behind this unusual travelogue. As he follows in the wake of 17th-century pirates and adventures, Severin proves that the travels that Defoe modeled his tale after were in the Caribbean, not the Pacific. He also challenges the long held assumption that Alexander Selkirk was Crusoe's real-life counterpart. A master of retracing old journeys, Severin is also the author of The Brendan Voyage (ARC77) and The Spice Islands (INS82). (PAC130, $16.95)
In the Ring of Fire, A Pacific Basin Journey  •  James Houston CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1997 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES A lyrical narrative of the author's journeys through Japan, Indonesia, Micronesia, Hawaii and California. From contemplating the Kilauea crater to watching a Ryukyuan dance at an Okinawa community center, Houston reveals the pan-Pacific identity that has emerged from the mixing of Eastern and Western cultures. From the author of "Farewell to Manzanar." (PAC45, $14.95)
In the South Seas  •  Robert Louis Stevenson TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 283 PAGES A set of personal sketches describing a year (1888-1889) of travels in the Marquesas, Paumotus and the Gilberts, first written as magazine articles and then reworked to incorporate detail on local peoples and history, published posthumously. Stevenson was entranced by his experiences in the Pacific, and decided never to leave. He died in Samoa in 1894. (PAC147, $15.00)
Into the Rising Sun: In Their Own Words, World War II's Pacific Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat  •  Patrick K. O'Donnell HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 314 PAGES A visceral portrait of the Pacific campaigns of World War II, drawn from the oral accounts of veterans. These detailed, and often startling, testimonies offer a glimpse into the memories of soldiers fighting on the front lines of Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal and other island battles. (PAC143, $15.00)
The Island of the Colorblind  •  Oliver Sacks TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES At large on Pingelap in the remote Pacific, Oliver Sacks sets up a clinic to look into an unusually high incidence of colorblindness. Sacks is a brilliant, witty writer on neurological conditions (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat) but these essays also show him to be keen on botany -- and a good travel writer. His chapter on cycads is terrific. (PAC44, $14.95)
The Last Navigator: A Young Man, an Ancient Mariner, the Secrets of the Sea  •  Steve Thomas TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES • COMING IN In this travelogue, Thomas (best known as the host of This Old House), sailed by the stars throughout Micronesia with a master "palau" from the Caroline island of Satawal. (PAC39, $15.95)
The Last Voyage of Captain Cook: The Collected Writings of John Ledyard  •  James Zug BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2005 •  PAPER  • 266 PAGES This volume, edited by Ledyard-biographer James Zug, gathers his single travel book along with the best of his journals and letters. Ledyard sailed with Captain Cook, formed a fur-trading company with John Paul Jones, and planned a walking trip across America with Thomas Jefferson decades before Lewis and Clark. (RUS354, $16.00)
Leaves of the Banyan Tree  •  Albert Wendt LITERATURE •  1994 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A sprawling multi-generation epic, rich in character and life in Western Samoa. (PAC105, $18.95)
The Life and Strange, Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe  •  Daniel Defoe LITERATURE •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 500 PAGES This edition of the classic story features reproductions of the original wood-cut illustrations and an introduction to the life and times of Defoe. Based on the story of Alexander Selkirk, who was abandoned on the island now named after him. (PAC29, $14.99)
The Life of Captain James Cook  •  John C. Beaglehole BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1974 •  PAPER  • 760 PAGES Cook, considered perhaps the greatest of the European explorers, sailed to Hawaii and the South Pacific in the mid-1700s. This book is the definitive biography of his extraordinary life and adventures, written by perhaps the most distinguished scholar of Pacific exploration. Weighing in at over 3 pounds, its a massive book, but very accessible to the general reader. Illustrated. (PAC01, $36.95)
Lonely Planet Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 264 PAGES A practical guide to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands featuring region-by-region descriptions, a good overview of the culture, and excellent advice on travel. (NGA06, $29.99)
Lonely Planet Rarotonga & the Cook Islands  •  Tony Wheeler GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 168 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide with background information on history, culture and attractions. (PAC129, $17.99)
Lonely Planet Tahiti and French Polynesia  •  Tony Wheeler  •  Jean-Bernard Carillet GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A practical guide to Tahiti and French Polynesia in the Lonely Planet series, featuring 29 maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, dive sites and Tahitian and French language. With color photographs and excellent travel information, this guide includes all the archipelagos, as well as the outer islands. (PAC86, $22.99)
Lure of the Southern Seas  •  Susan Hunt EXPLORATION •  2008 •  PAPER  • 141 PAGES • COMING IN SEPTEMBER Published in conjucntiuon with an exhibition of the same name, stunning watercolors and archival documents bring to life the career of Dumont d'Urville, French explorer of the Pacific and Antarctic. (PAC210, $49.95)
MacOnockie's Gentlemen, The Story of Norfolk Island & the Roots of Modern Prison Reform  •  Norval Morris HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 224 PAGES Norfolk Island, a small patch of land off the coast of Australia, uninhabited until discovered by Captain Cook, was once the site of a notorious prison. Using four fictionalized voices, law professor Norval Morris describes the techniques and experiments of superintendent Alexander Maconochie, who transformed it from a chaotic colony of murderers and thieves into an efficient and uncommonly humane place of penal reform. For the rare traveler to Norfolk Island (and for those who loved Hughes's "The Fatal Shore") this is a fascinating narrative history. (PAC119, $19.95)
The Marquesan Journal of Edward Robarts, 1797-1824  •  Edward Robarts JOURNAL •  1974 •   • 360 PAGES • COMING IN The remarkable journal of a British sailor who jumped ship in the Marquesas at the end of the 18th century. (PAC181, $)
The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest, Travel Tales of the South Pacific  •  Graeme Lay TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 260 PAGES This marvelous collection of travel stories from the South Pacific reveals Paul Gauguin's shocking Tahitian secrets, retraces the last tragic days of Robert Louis Stevenson, and recounts the author's own haunting by Herman Melville, as well as his attempts to seduce the Slovenian Olympic ski team in the Cook Islands. (PAC175, $19.95)
Moon and Sixpence  •  Somerset Maugham LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 204 PAGES Maugham's well regarded 1919 novel, inspired by the life of Gauguin. It's the powerful story of a man who relinquishes his family to pursue his dream of becoming a painter, eventually moving to the South Pacific. Like Gauguin, his sensual paintings are never appreciated in his lifetime. (PAC16, $12.00)
Moon Handbook Fiji  •  David Stanley GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 321 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide to Fiji in the Moon series with drawings, black-and-white photos and 42 maps. (PAC73, $19.95)
Moon Handbook Micronesia  •  Neil Levy GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A thorough introduction to the land, history, and culture of Micronesia, including Guam and Palau. It includes good practical detail on getting around, where to go, and where to stay. With maps and a few black-and-white drawings and photographs. (PAC40, $17.95)
Moon Handbook Tahiti  •  David Stanley GUIDEBOOK •  2003 •  PAPER  • 435 PAGES A practical guide to Tahiti and French Polynesia. It's a no-nonsense book, jam-packed with information on history, culture and tourist necessities. With photographs, maps and charts. (PAC87, $17.95)
Mr. Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the "Bounty"  •  Greg Dening HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 445 PAGES It may have already inspired several movies and any number of books, but the story of Captain Bligh and his mutiny is still fertile ground for scholarship and debate. This book is an insightful, provocative review of events. (PAC42, $43.00)
Mutiny and Romance in the South Seas, A Companion to the Bounty Adventure  •  Sven Wahlroos  •  Rolf Du Rietz HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 639 PAGES • COMING IN A chronicle and gazetteer of the voyage of the Bounty, originally published in 1989. A print-on-demand edition (hence the hefty price). The book includes Bligh's second expedition (PAC109, $36.95)
Native Cultures of the Pacific Islands  •  Douglas L. Oliver CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1989 •  PAPER  • 172 PAGES A digest of the author's scholarly work on the cultures of the Pacific before contact with Europeans. It's a brief and illuminating overview of native cultures, featuring good descriptions of family life, food, travel, and social relations. With line drawings and maps. (PAC08, $20.00)
Nest in the Wind, Adventures in Anthropology on a Tropical Island  •  Martha C. Ward CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  PAPER  • 178 PAGES A memoir of anthropological research among the peoples of Ponhpei in Micronesia in the 1970s -- an island where people do (or at least did) eat dogs, grow giant yams in secret, share potent bowls of kava, and have a decidedly relaxed attitude about relations between the sexes. It's a witty account, enlivened by the author's good cheer and insight. With illustrations by Nancy Zoder Dawes. (PAC37, $14.95)
New Caledonia Map  •  IGN MAP A clear, nicely detailed map of New Caledonia, at a scale of 1:500,000 published by the IGN in France. (PAC117, $16.95)
Noa Noa, The Tahiti Journal  •  Paul Gauguin  •  John Miller CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 168 PAGES Gauguin's journals from Tahiti, originally published by the author in 1919. His French publishers thought the material was too racy. With gorgeous reproductions of watercolors and etchings alongside the artist's impressions of two years in French Polynesia. (PAC13, $19.95)
The Norton Book of the Sea  •  J.O. Coote ANTHOLOGY •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 406 PAGES A well chosen selection of stories about the sea. (GEN76, $22.50)
Okinawa, The Last Battle of World War II  •  Ross Leckie HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES A fast-paced history of the battle as witnessed by participants on both sides. (PAC60, $15.00)
Omoo  •  Herman Melville LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES Taking up where Melville's "Typee" left off, this novel, partly based on the author's travels in the South Pacific, tells the story of an unsuccessful mutiny, which lands the protagonist in a Tahitian jail. Further adventures ensue on and around the island of Tahiti. The entire trilogy is also available in a single hard cover edition, (PAC62). (PAC93, $14.00)
The Pacific Islands  •  Douglas L. Oliver HISTORY •  1989 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES Douglas Oliver's seminal overview of the history and culture of the Pacific islands, first published in 1951, geared for university students. Third edition. (PAC153, $20.00)
Pacific Legacy, Image and Memory from World War II in the Pacific  •  Rex Alan Smith HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 312 PAGES A treasure trove of archival and modern photographs, this oversize book explores the battle sites of World War II in the Pacific, pairing images with essays, many taken directly from eyewitness accounts. (PAC144, $65.00)
Pacific Places, Pacific Histories  •  Brij V. Lal ANTHOLOGY •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 345 PAGES In this collection of essays in honor of Robert C. Kiste, 17 leading scholars of the Pacific reflect on their travels, places they have lived, and the meaning of place. The contributors, who write of islands widely scatted across the Pacific, include historians, anthropologists and a geographer. (PAC154, $57.00)
The Pacific War, 1941-1945  •  John Costello HISTORY •  1982 •  PAPER  • 742 PAGES (WAR114, $21.95)
Papua New Guinea Map  •  HEMA Maps MAP A clear color map of Papua New Guinea at a scale of 1:2,000,000, featuring city plans on reverse side. (NGA05, $9.95)
Paul Gauguin ,1848-1903: The Primitive Sophisticate  •  Ingo F. Walther ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 95 PAGES In this short, illustrated introduction to Gauguin and his paintings, color reproductions are paired with commentary on the works. (FRN280, $9.99)
Pioneers of the Pacific, Voyages of Exploration, 1787-1810  •  Nigel Rigby EXPLORATION •  2005 •  HARD COVER  • 144 PAGES (PAC166, $26.95)
Pouliuli  •  Albert Wendt LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 147 PAGES A celebrated novel of village life and power and myth by the noted Samoan writer, a novelist, poet and short story writer from Western Samoa. (PAC19, $10.00)
Robinson Crusoe  •  Daniel Defoe LITERATURE •  2003 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES Inspired by the real-life mariner Alexander Selkirk, it's worth revisiting this classic before exploring the island named after him. Not just an adventure story, it reveals much about the life and times of Defoe. (PAC30, $8.00)
Sailing in the Wake of the Ancestors: Reviving Polynesian Voyaging  •  Ben R. Finney EXPLORATION •  2003 •  PAPER  • 176 PAGES In 1995 Hawaiiloa and five other double canoes, reconstructions of ancient Polynesian craft, set sail from the rugged Marquesas archipelago and headed north across the equator to Hawai`i. Their Hawaiian and Polynesian crews were sailing to commemorate the original discovery of Hawaii some fifteen centuries ago and to celebrate the revival of long-distance voyaging that had begun during the 1960s. In learning how to sail and navigate in the old way they had rediscovered their own identity as worthy heirs to a great seafaring tradition. In "Sailing in the Wake of the Ancestors," anthropologist Ben Finney, who helped start the revival, tells the story of how Hawaiians and other Polynesians have struggled to become deep-sea voyagers again, and how their experiences are helping them to face contemporary problems with renewed pride and courage. (PAC178, $19.95)
Samoa Map  •  HEMA Maps 1999 •  MAP An attractive traveler's map of Samoa at a scale of 1:200,000. (PAC108, $10.95)
Sea of Glory, America's Voyage of Discovery: The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842  •  Nathaniel Philbrick EXPLORATION •  2004 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES In this accomplished, finely detailed history, Philbrook captures the bravado, adventure and politics of what was, in its day, the largest expedition ever mounted -- six vessels and 346 men on an around-the-world expedition for the United States. The zoological specimens and other booty formed the basis of the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. With excellent chapters on charting the Pacific Northwest, South Pacific and (most memorably) the Antarctic. Philbrook doesn't neglect either the enormous ego (and incompetence) of commander Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. This was the expedition that established the United States as a maritime power. (PAC140, $16.00)
Serpent in Paradise  •  Dea Birkett CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1998 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES Intrigued by legends and romance, journalist Dea Birkett gets herself to three-square-mile Pitcairn Island for a sojourn among the descendents of Captain Bligh's mutinous crew. Interweaving history and observation, Birkett has written a fascinating account of the island and its isolated population (who didn't like her much or appeciate a journalist in their midst). (PAC28, $12.95)
Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies  •  Margaret Mead CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2001 •  PAPER  • 335 PAGES A classic, still controversial book originally published in 1935. Mead looks at development -- and especially the roles of men and women -- in three societies in New Guinea. She conducted field work along the Sepik River from 1931-1933 among people who she describes as the "gentle mountain-dwelling Arapesh, the fierce cannibalistic Mungumor, and the graceful head-hunters of Tchambuli." Whatever you think of her conclusions and fieldwork, the book is a classic. (NGA12, $15.00)
The Shark God, Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in the South Pacific  •  Charles Montgomery BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  HARD COVER (PAC205, $24.95)
The Ship, Retracing Captain Cook's Endeavor Voyage  •  Simon Baker EXPLORATION •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 224 PAGES An illustrated companion to a BBC televison documentary, this book follows Simon Baker and his ambitious 21st-century expedition in the wake of Captain Cook's Endeavor. The film features a reconstruction of the Endeavor, manned with shiphands, historians, scientists and artists, each instructed to live and work on the ship just as Cook's 18th-century crew would have. (PAC150, $27.50)
Solomon Islands Map  •  HEMA Maps MAP A folded, colorful map of the Solomon Islands at a scale of 1:1,200,000. (PAC148, $9.95)
South Sea Islands, A Natural History  •  Alison Balance  •  Rod Morris NATURAL HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 150 PAGES It's the 150 color photographs that capture the imagination in this handsome survey of the Pacific. The author-photographer duo, both Kiwi filmmakers, cast their lens widely, presenting 13 major island groups, from Fiji, New Guinea and Tasmania to Madagascar, Hawaii and Easter Island. (PAC139, $35.00)
South Sea Tales  •  Robert Louis Stevenson LITERATURE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 289 PAGES Towards the end of his life in the late 19th century, Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Samoa and traveled widely around the South Pacific. These entertaining tales, set among both real and mythical islands, show Stevenson's keen observations of island life. They stand out among other early western fiction on the area because their heroes are islanders, not westerners, and they extend a critical eye to European influence in the islands. Moreover, they're a lot of fun. (PAC15, $14.95)
Southern Cross, A Novel of the South Seas  •  Laurence Hyde HISTORY •  2007 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES A stunning, wordless novel told in 118 wood engravings about the United States' atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific following World War II. (PAC185, $24.95)
Stevenson Under the Palm Trees  •  Alberto Manguel LITERATURE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 112 PAGES Manguel (A History of Reading) evokes Robert Louis Stevenson and his years in the South Seas in this meditative story. Stevenson becomes introspective -- and a little homesick-- when he meets a man on Samoa from his home town of Edinburgh, and his quiet life takes a disturbing turn when the Samoan woman he loves is raped and murdered. (PAC158, $18.00)
Tagalog (Pilipino), Start Speaking Today  •  Language/30 LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2002 •  AUDIO CD A 90-minute crash course in Tagalog, featured on compact disc with a phrasebook. (PLP28, $21.95)
Tahiti and Society Islands Map  •  IGN MAP A handsome French-produced map of Tahiti and the Society Islands, at a scale of 1:100,000. The map shows the topography of the rugged islands in full-color shaded relief, surrounding coral reefs, raods, towns and points of interest. With an inset road map of Papeete. (PAC65, $16.95)
Tahitians, Mind and Experience in the Society Islands  •  Robert I. Levy  •  Pierre Heyman CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1991 •  PAPER  • 576 PAGES With a focus on cultural anthropology, this scholarly book explores the peoples of Tahiti, their culture, traditions, and history. (PAC84, $43.00)
Tales from the Medicine Trail, Tracking Down the Health Secrets of Shamans, Herbalists, Mystics, Yogis, and Other Healers  •  Christopher Kilham TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 291 PAGES • COMING IN An account of journeys on the trail of medical herbs and botanicals with chapters on the author's travels in Amazonia, Peru and the Andes (maca), India (Ayurveda) and the Pacific (Kava). With notes and recipes for each herbal remedy. (GEN246, $19.95)
Tattooing in the Marquesas  •  Willowdean C. Handy CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2008 •  PAPER (PAC193, $6.95)
The Thin Red Line  •  James Jones LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 528 PAGES Philosophical, lyrical and brutal in its depiction of war, James's celebrated novel of the boys from C-Company and the battle for Guadalcanal is a triumph of narrative voice and one of the most celebrated novels about World War II and its consequences on the hearts and minds of soldiers. (PAC145, $13.00)
Throwim Way Leg  •  Tim F. Flannery EXPLORATION •  2000 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES Subtitled "Tree-Kangaroos, Possums and Penis Gourds, On the Track of Unknown Mammals in Wildest New Guinea," this witty account of a scientific expedition to New Guinea combines natural history, adventure and insightful commentary on local communities. A wonderful writer and top-notch scientist, Flannery returned from the expedition with 20 new species of mammals -- including a tree kangaroo and bat thought extinct since the Pleistocene. With sketch maps and photographs (including shots of the handsome ground-living tree kangaroo that Flannery discovered in the high mountains of Irian Jaya in 1994). "Throwim way leg" in the local idiom means to go on a journey. (NGA18, $14.00)
Tides of History, The Pacific Islands in the Twentieth Century  •  K.R. Howe HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 500 PAGES A collection of scholarly review articles. (PAC133, $28.00)
A Tortoise for the Queen of Tonga  •  Julia Whitty LITERATURE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 183 PAGES A documentary filmmaker for National Geographic, PBS and others, Whitty draws on her travels and experiences in wild places in this collection of short stories in which Charles Darwin, Captain Cook and the titular Queen of Tonga all make an appearance. (OCE110, $15.95)
Treasure Island  •  Robert Louis Stevenson LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 298 PAGES The famous and fabulous adventure story of a boy who finds himself among pirates while searching for buried treasure. Inspired by the Isla de Coco. (PAC25, $8.95)
The Trial of the Cannibal Dog, The Remarkable Story of Captain Cook's Encounters in the South Seas  •  Anne Salmond HISTORY •  2003 •  HARD COVER  • 536 PAGES An intriguing history of the voyages of Captain Cook with a focus on the relationship between the Pacific islanders and seafaring Englishmen. Salmond describes how mutual curiosity turned into animosity, culminating in the death of Captain Cook in Hawaii. (PAC138, $30.00)
The Truelove  •  Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE •  1992 •  HARD COVER  • 256 PAGES More terrific Aubrey & Maturin, set in the Pacific. (PAC53, $24.00)
The Truelove  •  Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE •  1993 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Another fine installment, the 15th, in the Aubrey-Maturin series. This one finds Captain Aubrey and Stephen Maturin is deep trouble in the South Pacific, where they are sent to charm a Polynesian Queen. (PAC142, $13.95)
Typee, Omoo, Mardi  •  Herman Melville LITERATURE •  1982 •  HARD COVER  • 1333 PAGES One of this trilogy, "Typee," was the most popular of Melville's books during his lifetime. It's a partly autobiographical work first published in 1846 which tells the story of Tommo, a Yankee sailor who jumps ship and enters the flawed Pacific paradise of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. Controversial when first published because of its criticism of missionaries and its erotic content, the book holds up today both as a fine example of Melville's glorious prose, and as early quasi-anthropology in the Pacific Islands. (PAC62, $40.00)
Vanuatu Map  •  HEMA Maps MAP At a scale of 1:1,200,000, this folded road map covers the whole island group, with more detailed insets of Espiritu Santo, Efate and Tanna. (PAC121, $9.95)
War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War  •  John W. Dower HISTORY •  1987 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES (PAC149, $16.95)
Where to Watch Birds in Australasia and Oceania  •  Nadia Wheatley REFERENCE •  1998 •  HARD COVER  • 464 PAGES A guide to 200 destinations throughout Australasia including checklists and descriptions of the avifauna. (PAC54, $60.00)
The Wine-Dark Sea  •  Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE •  1993 •  HARD COVER  • 261 PAGES Further adventures of Captain Aubrey and his friend Maturin, set in the Pacific. (PAC56, $24.00)