Kirsty Brooks set out to write a book about hitchhiking. She got a car and headed out, looking for hikers to pick up.

She found less than a dozen.

So she went out and collected stories from all over the world of the strangest occurrences that have happened, from drink-driving mayors in France to hitchhiking in Japan, where the drivers will give you their umbrellas when you stop.

It's a great read, interlaced with some wonderful picture-postcards, making the whole book a very attractive package.

The Intelligence reports are really great content. Timely, packed with info, and affordable. I'll be spending my honeymoon on Fiji this year, and can do so with peace of mind after reading the report. This will tell you politcal climate, crime rates, etc. in much more detail than a traditional travel book would. I'll still buy the travel books, but this makes a great companion piece. Where ever you are going, pick one of these up... (and no shipping since it is Digital)

I found this book eminently readable. It shows that the author has a good grasp of the subject which she has analysed in an inteligent manner. Unlike the majority of books that try to put across a view that contradicts the prevelent thinking of the day, this book has convinced me to change many of my beliefs concerning the area of history covered.I would love to have the oppertunity to discuss the book further with the author.

Annette Weiner does an amazing job with this book. For anyone interested in social relationships and economics, this book is for you. She reinterprets age-old anthropological data (upon which most current anthropology is based) with an entirely new focus. Rather than reciprocity being the foundation of society, the paradox of "keeping-while-giving" is what defines our social and economic lives, our histories, and our ancestries. She's bold and amazingly intelligent -- good work Annette!

Rob Wilson and Vilsoni Hereniko are the editors of a book that provides probing insight to the politics of identity and creativity across the Pacific. Highly theoretical but more than worth it, the sometimes post-modernist essays elucidate the complex realm of contradictions which are the meat of Pacific consciousness and literature. With a chapter by Hawaiian soveriegnty leader Haunani-Kay Trask and an insightful interview with acclaimed author Albert Wendt (of Samoa), this book will open your mind to the depth and humanity of Pacific issues. Especially stimulating is the chapter on Gaugain's NuaNua, in which Gilbertese/African American poet Teresia Teaiwa critically analyzes the role of his work in "shaping...the Polynesian body." All of the contributors to this groundbreaking work offer a fresh re-thinking of even the most ingrained Pacific archetypes, while openly challenging the reader to engage new modes of analysis with respect to post-colonial (and in many cases, neo-colonial) art and literature. More penetratingly, the contributors look to the dynamic between this body of work and the Pacific "self"--how art and literature have shaped, and been shaped by indigenous and settler Pacific peoples' perceptions of themselves. This book, like the Field Symposia's "Poet's Reading", is an anthology of anthologies. A dense read with a lot of knowledge therein, and not for the faint of heart. Truly the "inside" story on the politics of identity in Pacific art and literature.

An outstanding travel guide to an area in the Pacific. I used this guide for my vacation to Guam. Everything was as the book says. Outstanding!

This book is thoroughly researched, and intelligent. It is simultaneously an account of the history of Hawai'i's integration into the world economy, a reminder of the complexity of social change in colonial contexts, and a rekindling of the beauty of structuralism

As the author of Tonga-Samoa Handbook, I've used James A. Bier's map of the Samoas many times to check dubious place name spellings or to verify geographical information. The detailed index makes finding places a breeze and the drawing is amazingly clear. I recommend this map highly.

I just received this book, and I think it is funny and the illustrations are cute! The author covers many different topics that are interesting and should be helpful. I really am enjoying reading through it and skipping around the different sections learning new things. My friends and I are having a blast!

Anyone who has ever sailed, or dreamt of a sailing adventure, has no choice but to read this book. Mark Darby has completed an awesome task, tantamount to a dare, by sailing a small boat through some large seas around a huge continent! His adventures have been well crafted with vivid word pictures and a descriptive action style which put me in the boat with him and Sue. I can still clearly see the beautiful Australian coastline, the memorable people they met and the first reading has left me with a sweet salt water taste in my mouth and wanting more.

This is, I believe, a unique sea saga which would encourage any would be adventurer, with personal challenges and emotions spilling out onto every page. Nine out of 10!