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A composite of theoretically informed reconnaissance studies of industrialization trajectories. The range of contributions provide different "national" models of "corporate" structures and patterns and levels of "integration" into the global economy. ... Read more

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Each title looks at a different region of the world, covering topics such as climate, economic development, religious groups, education, health and political and social status of women. The series combines in-depth information in the form of maps, diagrams and statistics with case studies to make the books a source of geographical information and statistics. Each book: features a range of maps, including landform, political, climate and population, make this a useful resource for enhancing map reading skills; highlights major issues and challenges facing each region in the years ahead; and, includes tables and charts to support the learning of information retrieval skills. ... Read more

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Ian Neary looks in detail at the history of the introduction of human rights ideas into Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and examines how, and to what effect, state and society have incorporated the specific international standards on childrens'and patients' rights into legal systems and social practice.
This comprehensively researched, accessibly written book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of Asian studies, human rights, sociology and politics. ... Read more

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GLOBAL STUDIES is a unique series designed to provide comprehensive background information and selected world press articles on the regions and countries of the world. Each GLOBAL STUDIES volume includes an annotated listing of World Wide Web sites and is now supported by an online Instructor's Resource Guide. Visit our website for more information: www.mchls.com. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Review
Although required for my class, the book can be a very useful text for anyone who is interested in learning more about the diverse countries of Asia.

Great overview of the Pacific Rim
The Global Studies series is a great way to get a general overview about a region of the world and its quick history.Each country is divided up into a quick overview of demographics, trade, economics, population and other pertinent data similar to a scaled down CIA world fact book.There is then a general overview of each country and how it has played its part in the region with a particular focus on World War II to the present.Finally there are about 24 articles in this one that focus on all sorts of different aspects from the region.They address everything from gambling opportunities in Macau to population control in Japan.Overall this book does an excellent job of capturing the Pacific Rim and the countries that reside there. It is a great start to learning about the region and provides an overview that will give you a focus to direct further investigations.If you are just getting started on this area of the world as I am you will find it an invaluable resource.

Good buy for international business enthusiast
Book was new and just as described.Good information regarding Japan's history and economy as well as good information on countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. ... Read more

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Here Gananath Obeyesekere debunks one of the most enduring myths of imperialism, civilization, and conquest: the notion that the Western civilizer is a god to savages. Using shipboard journals and logs kept by Captain James Cook and his officers, Obeyesekere reveals the captain as both the self-conscious civilizer and as the person who, his mission gone awry, becomes a "savage" himself.

In this new edition of The Apotheosis of Captain Cook, the author addresses, in a lengthy afterword, Marshall Sahlins's 1994 book, How "Natives" Think, which was a direct response to this work.Amazon.com Review
According to many standard histories of the Pacific, when Captain James Cook landed on the island of Hawaii on January 17, 1779, he was received by the natives as an avatar of the god Lono and feted accordingly. In The Apotheosis of Captain Cook Sri Lankan scholar Gananath Obeyesekere questions this "fact" of history, arguing that it was the Europeans, and not the natives, who found a need to establish their colonization of new worlds on the notion of deities come home. Cook himself, Obeyesekere adds sympathetically, was a man caught between social classes, treated as an equal by Polynesian kings but shunned by members of the English nobility because of his lower-class background; he was a good man, but a god only in the imaginations of his compatriots. Obeyesekere devotes much of The Apotheosis of Captain Cook to arguing spiritedly with anthropologist Marshall Sahlins over matters of Hawaiian history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Interesting but amazingly wrongheaded
This book starts with a simple question and assertion.Most scholars claim Captain Cook was taken for a God when he arrived in Hawaii(much as Cortez in Mexico) but this book claims that this narrative is 'racist' and 'eurocentric' and a classic 'imperialistic myth'.The idea here is that the narrative assumed Cook was a god(not that he was mistakenly taken for one) because the racist Europeans of the 18th century beleived Europeans really were gods to the 'natives'.

But this argument falls apart when one realizing what it is based on.The book wants to be the new 'Orientalism' and the author claims that as a 'Sri Lankan' he is best placed to judge what Hawaaians a dozen generations ago thought of a European.How rediculous.THe difference between Sri Lanka in the 20th century and Hawaii in the 18th is as different as Captain Cook's culture in England in the 18th and the culture of the Hawaiians.The racist assertion that a Sri Lankan can better judge a Hawaiian than a European is unfounded, perhaps the best person to judge a Hawaiin is a Hawaiian but it doesnt logic that a Sri Lankan would be better than a British person.

Thus the idea presented her is simply wrong headed.It would have been better had this book re-examined how Polynesians and Hawaiians in particular viewed Cook, rather than claim that every piece of the Cook story is 'racist'.What was Cook supposed to do?Not sketch the people he encountered, not write about them, he was in fact being very forward thinking in bothering to learn about the cultures he visited.

Seth J. Frantzman

Was Cook mistaken for Lono or Not?
Was Captain Cook viewed by Hawaiian people as a diety, specifically the god Lono?The author says not.This book by Professor Gannath Obeyesekere at Princeton University was conceived as a counter-argument to a theory proposed by Marshall Sahlins (in his 1981 book "Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities: Structure in the Early History of the Sandwich Islands"), "who used the apotheosis of Cook to advance a certain vision of structural history"(p52).This book, then, is a counter to that book written by Marhsall Sahlins, who has since written a counter to Obeyesekere's counter.Without having read Sahlins's original work that prompted this reaction from Obeyesekere, and having not read Sahlin's subsequent counter to Obeyesekere's criticisms, it was difficult for me to come to any conclusions about this controversy.

To the uninitiated on the Captain Cook controversy, this volume was similar to wading through the House of Representatives' 1979 Report that concluded on the Lee Harvey Oswald controversy on whether he shot and killed President Kennedy that there were "other shooters" that day in Dallas.Like the 1979 Congressional Report, Obeyesekere's book was a difficult work to make sense of unless you were already familiar with what was already being said.

Having said that, that doesn't mean this book was not interesting - it was!It deals with the murder in 1779 of Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii.Sahlins has been saying that Hawaiians mistook Cook to be their god Lono because of the coincidental timing of his arrival at the time of their Makahiki festival. They believed Lono had returned in the flesh, in accordance with prophecy.Obeyesekere says that's all bunk! He says they knew he was a human - a chief of a sailing ship, and came to know him as a nasty, murderous servant of the British Empire, so they killed him to pretty much stop him.After he was dead, they gave him a burial fit for a king in accordance with custom.

Obeyesekere says the idea that Hawaiians believed Cook was Lono came from the European's own `we're better than you' mentality - they imagined themselves to be gods everywhere they were treated with South Pacific courtesy.The author chastises Sahlins for perpetuating the myth, saying "None of the new evidence substantiates Sahlins's thesis that the apotheosis of Cook is a Hawai'ian rather than a European phenonmenon; nor has he dealt adequately with the methodological criticisms that I made of his previous work, particulary those pertaining to source material" (p194).

Unfortunately, the reader can know no more of Sahlins and his theory from reading this book than what Obeyesekere is telling.That said, I did notice that the two authors could be talking cross-purposes to some extent.And on this point it may be helpful to think about Oswald and Kennedy again.Obeyesekere is stuck on the point of whether Cook was Lono or not.But Sahlins comes across as being more interested in structural cultural theory.By analogy again, probably Oswald did not shoot and kill JFK (it was likely a faction within the U.S. government that took him out - a faction that has evolved into the Bush Crime Community), but the fact that so many people continue to believe Oswald did it is a cultural phenomenon in itself.Likewise, the social construction of Cook's death on a Hawaiian level was the result of a " `structural crisis'" (p 182) in need of harmonious rendering to existing " `sociological category'" (p 183).Sahlins, as he is portrayed by the author, shows an interest in how culture and society clings to culturally-determined ideas such as my example of Oswald as JFK killer and his example of Cook as Lono because of structural determinism.This determinism is minimized and even partly dismissed by Obeyeskere when he appears to throw out the bath water with the tub.

In short, reading this book will require that you read two more by Sahlins.At times you may feel you were called to jury duty.But there is much more within these pages than the apotheosis of Captain Cook.There is also the lens of structural anthropology.

See Sahlins for Rebuttal
In addition to asking some very important theoretical questions relevant to the practice of history and anthropology, Obeyesekere takes aim at Marshall Sahlins in this book.Sahlins went on to write a blow by blow response in the book "How 'Natives' Think: About Captain Cook, For Example"which should probably be read along with Obeyesekere's.

While I have only read selections of both, my feeling is that Sahlins has probably defended his honor, revealed big flaws in his opponent's arguments, but done little to blunt the critique Obeyesekere launches against the structuralist approach to the apotheosis of captain Cook.Even if some of his specific claims are called into question, Obeyesekere's best contributions are 1) showing the importance of "myth models" not only for natives, but for modern Western cultures and 2) showing that cultural specificity does not rob the "natives" of their capacity to engage in a kind of "pragmatic rationality" and we must hold open the possibility that considerable irrationality can creep into the "civilized" characters such as Cook.

Sahlin and other reviewers of this book argue that Obeyesekere simply reverses things, making the natives "bourgeois rationalists" and the Westerners irrational savages.I find this totally unpersuasive.His conception of pragmatic reasoning is flawed, but doesn't ignore the importance of culture in configuring the parameters of possible action.

Very interesting
I bought this book because of a general interest in Hawaiian history and Captain Cook.I'm not a professional historian and don't have any comment on such matters as quality of footnotes.However, I thought this was an excellent, very readable book.Mr. Obeyesekere takes historical fragments - diaries, letters, and so forth, and re-constucts the last few days of Cook's life.It's done so cleverly, in such a readable style, that it reminds one of the end of a mystery novel, where Sherlock Holmes explainshis reasoning to Dr. Watson.However, there's the similar suspicion that it's being too clever, and that the author is taking evidence to fit the conclusion, rather than the other way around.

Also of interest was the repeated theme of cultural imperialism, explaining how modern historians project their own cultural predjudices (in this case, the simple savage, and a view of religion that is decidedly rational and rooted in monotheism) onto foreign cultures, and the misunderstandings that naturally arise.There's a number of similar cases I can think of, where the common knowledge is so influenced - best example is the view that Cortez conquered Mexico as an unimpeded God, when a simple reading of Bernal Diaz shows that's not the case.

I do have to complain, though, that a overly large portion of the book is given to the academic refutation of fellow scholar Mr. Sahlins.The author is challenging common thought, and I appreciate being able to read the debate with a prestigious scholar who represents the status quo.However, I thought it should have been made more distinct from the rest of the book - much interesting information is revealed in the argument, but it's comparatively dry reading.

Still, overall, this book makes for a very interesting read, and encourages one to re-examine their historical and cultural assumptions.I definitely think it's worth reading.

The Great "Cook" Book Debate
You have to give Obeyesekere credit for looking beyond the Makahiki festival, which dominates Marshall Sahlins' study of the apotheosis of James Cook.Obeyesekere sparked a minor maelstrom when he challenged the renown scholar's thesis that Cook was personified as a god by the Hawaiians.Obeyesekere looks beyond bicameral minds, and insists that the Hawaiians were fully conscious of their actions.

Cook was not the great god Lono, nor did he pretend to be.While his second arrival at the Sandwich Islands did coincide with the Makahiki festival, the Hawaiians did not deify him, but rather invited the Captain and his crew to take part in the ritual.Unfortunately for the Captain things seem to devolve afterward, and the Hawaiians killed him and several members of his crew.

Many have tried to piece together the tattered remnants of this story.Several of his crew kept journals and attempts were made after the fact to collect oral history from Hawaiians who were part of the cannibalistic ritual.Unfortunately, few of these accounts jive.Marshall Sahlins has done the most to try to piece together the events, but he seems to discount the Hawaiians ability for cognitive thinking, which tarnishes his work.

Obeyesekere attempted to draw Sahlins out, which he did with this book.Sahlins responded with the more scholarly but overbearing "How Natives Think," which he hoped would settle the issue once and for all.Unfortunately, Obeyeskere is not an anthropologist and his arguments tend to be a bit thin, but he does shoot plenty of holes into Sahlins' thesis. ... Read more

Product Description
This study provides insight to the history and culture of the people of Bali, from prehistoric times to the present. Bali is a small tropical island in the centre of the Indonesian archipelago, prone to earthquakes and devastating volcanic activity, renowned for its natural beauty. Bali has been called the island of the Gods. It is the only area of Indonesia that remains predominantly Hindu, retaining elements from a rich cultural tradition when Indian influences penetrated the island over a thousand years ago. At the same time the Balinese have shown remarkable ability to blend the old with the new.

After a description of the island's geography, the book describes the history of the Balinese people, from the earliest traces of human habitation, through the development of its ancient civilization, the influences of Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism, the subjugation of Bali by the Javanese empire, and the subsequent autonomy of the eight Balinese kingdoms for several centuries until the arrival of the Dutch during the first half of the nineteenth century. At this time the Balinese had a commercial and political power in south-east Asia out of all proportion to the size of their population.

Separate chapters are then devoted to describing the social order, economy, religion and rituals, myth and the performing arts, and the indigenous medical system with special reference to the cosmic power and magic that it simultaneously life-destroying and life-giving.

The book concludes with a history of Bali in the twentieth century, describing its enforced incorporation in the Dutch empire, its conquest by the Japanese, its liberation by the British and Australians, and in the post-war era its integration into the Indonesian nation-state. The authors show that transformation is continuing. Crucial factors inducing change are socio-economic processes of modernization. Even though members of the ritualised, communal society are progressively more directed by individual, profit-focused thinking, traditional Balinese society still places high value on communal achievement. At the beginning of the third millennium, visitors to Bali will find neither an exotic reservation nor a paradise. They will encounter a society that is continually seeking its own identity within changing frames of reference.

The book is illustrated with forty-four superb photographic illustrations and three maps - all specially prepared for this volume. It is unquestionably the most comprehensive and accessible account of Bali and its people currently available in any language. ... Read more

Product Description
This one-of-a-kind guide provides a readable and stimulating introduction to the economic and social geography of the West Pacific Rim (WPR), considered by many as the center of gravity of the world economy. It embraces Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Concise, well-written and up-to-date, it offers a view of the entire region as well as individual countries. Three sets of questions are addressed: how successful have the various economies been and what explains their success; what are the geopolitical and geostrategic implications in relation to the Americas, Australia and the Pacific Basin; and what lessons can be drawn for development elsewhere, especially in the Third World. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Debunks key myths about the oil industry: that the world is running out of oil; that the Caspian Basin is the new Gulf; that resource scarcity combined with military modernization, economic buoyancy, and nationalism will lead to military conflict; and that territorial disputes among Asian nations, such as those in the South China Sea, are fuelled by resource competition. This assessment of the energy challenges and strategies of Asian nations explores the geopolitics emerging out of their efforts to meet these challenges, the new possibilities for energy to serve as a vehicle for security co-operation, and the implications for American interests and policies in the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

How to think about energy in Asia
It is China's burgeoning energy demand which has nurtured an increased interest into the energy reality in Asia; and yet we still lack the conceptual lens through which to analyze the way that energy markets, and by extension geopolitics, are affected by the profound asymmetry between the demand for energy and the supply of resources in Asia (and East Asia in particular). It is this gap that Robert Manning bridges with the "Asian Energy Factor."

Mr. Manning's angle is captured in these words: "Whether they [Asia-Pacific nations] gravitate--as some have already begun to do--towards market-based solutions and realize the myriad commercial possibilities of foreign investment, regional integration and privatization, and deregulation or older dirigiste models may be the difference between increased conflict or increased cooperation in Asia." Alone, this sentence offers a useful conceptual take on the energy challenge which confronts us: how to push the world to geoeconomics rather than geopolitics in the scramble for energy. Exposing this broad dilemma is the book's prime contribution.

Mr. Manning is also useful in showing how one should approach the analysis of energy questions. Although some of his information is dated (the book came out in 2000), he demonstrates that energy is intricately linked to politics, economics, and geography; any analysis which fails to take so inclusive a view is bound to fail. (His section on Central Asia, in particular, is very good at this integrationist approach.) Mr. Manning's argument that Asia's energy situation can produce sufficient interdependence for cooperation is also very interesting.

To be honest, I diverge with Robert Manning on two counts: he confuses a country's domestic energy realities with its foreign policy. It is possible for a country to combine a commitment to markets with an aggressive foreign policy (there are various times when America and Britain would fit this profile). By referring to many countries' market friendliness he logically concludes that the prospects for conflict are diminished; but in assuming an identity between foreign and domestic policy, I believe that he errs.

(In a later article he exposes the dilemma in these terms: "It is unclear how Asian policy-makers will view the global politics of Asian energy markets. Will they view it through the lens of traditional geopolitics of real estate and sea-lane security? Or will they view it through the lens of geo-economics, where international investment, joint ventures and global cooperation rather than competition for resources and conflict is the prevalent means to satisfy energy security requirements?" But he resorts, again, to looking at domestic politics.)

My other disagreement is with Mr. Manning's unwillingness to explore the ways in which energy can lead to conflict; although I agree with his assessment that energy is often a mere manifestation of underlying geopolitical rivalry, it is still important to uncover the mechanics which can link energy to conflict. By choosing not to explore this idea in detail, I believe that is evades a very important subject.

These disagreements aside, the "Asian Energy Factor" is one of the most important contributions on the subject; by debunking some of the most important fallacies, Mr. Manning allows for the debate to focus on the significant topics. This is even more useful today than it was when the book was first published.

Paucities and Scarcities
An excellent work from one of our most important scholars on Asia. Riddled with numbers and graphs, the book is still readable for those just encountering energy politics. The referencing is also excellent, and allows one to delve further into the topic.

His initial chapters on environment/pollution and population growth/demand, and scarcity are important by themselves. Understanding the differences between a scarcity of resources and political limitations or economic bottlenecks on those resources is essential to being able to really forecast the strategic environment. Consequently, the time Manning spends belittling Paul Ehrlich and the Club of Rome is well spent. The country analyses are also very useful, and give one a sense not only of the economics of energy, but of the two way impact of energy and political relationships between countries. With our noble leaders beginning to evoke various fears about Asia, this is very important in understanding the nature and degree of "emerging threats."

Manning might be too bold in divorcing extending military interests with growing energy demands, but it is worth reading the book to develop an opinion on the subject.

I also recommend checking out the Energy Information Administrations's website, which Manning used heavily. It was of great use to me in a recent project: www.eia.doe.gov

Also useful is the cover piece of the January 2001 'Atlantic Monthly.' The piece, "The New Old Economy: Oil, Computers, and the Reinvention of the Earth," in helping advance perspectives of the oil industry. See: http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/01/rauch.htm

Energy Interdependence as an Integrative Force
Robert Manning covers a lot of ground in this book, from the Caspian, to India, to Northeast Asia, and challenges a lot of established notions, but two of the points he makes reallystand out:

First, he argues that energy interdependence is a potentialpositive force for Asian regional stability.While a number of analysts (from the serious scholar Kent Calder to the more shrill "Blue Team" types) have argued that China's entry onto the stage as a major oil importer will have serious negative consequences for regional stability, Manning argues that this is far from clear, and that it may actually have positive consequences.Other energy development issues looming in the future, such as the need for natural gas integration in Northeast Asia, can only be addressed by cooperation among regional governments and some degree of mutual interdependence.

Second, Manning points out in his preface how little contact and exchange there is between American analysts who focus on political and security issues, on the one hand, and those who focus on energy from an economic perspective.(As an example, he points out the differing views of the South China Sea between energy specialists and security policy analysts.)Energy issues involve tie-ins with a broad range of national security, economic, and environmental issues, and Manning argues that the policy community could benefit from more dialogue between these two separate sets of analysts.(I've long known this - since my own academic and professional background sort of straddles both groups.)

While the book does suffer a bit from poor editing in some spots, it is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in Asian security issues and/or the region's rapidly growing energy sector.

Intriguing Analysis of an Emerging Geopolitical Concern
Without a doubt, energy will be among one of the most important factors determining diplomatic behavior and relations in Asia in the coming decades. The Asian Energy Factor tackles this emerging geopolitical concern through an intriguing analysis of Asia's growing demand for energy and its global political, economic, and strategic consequences.Unique from other authors addressing this under-examined issue, Robert Manning sets the stage by exposing the myth that the world is quickly running out of oil.Technology and new methods of both collection and use of energy have made the impending energy crisis espoused by the doomsayers less of a concern.Manning proceeds to focus on the regional powers (China, India, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia) and where their individual energy abilities and needs puts them on the collective strategic map.He examines the commercial and political dynamic between the countries demanding increasing amounts of energy (China, Japan, and India) and those with the reserves (the Middle East and Southeast Asia).

As The Asian Energy Factor aptly points out, energy security is the crux upon which the economic, social, energy, and military policies of Asian nations converge; it is among the most critical issues in the coming decade.Manning delves deep into these economic and strategic complexities and continues to challenge the prevailing wisdom about Asian power structure and energy competition. ... Read more

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A reinterpretation of Sarawak history, "Power and Prowess" explores the network of power, economic and ritual relationships that developed on the northwest coast of Borneo in the mid-19th century, from which a coalition led by James Brooke established the state of Sarawak. Where many authors placed Brooke in the context of 19th-century British imperialism, this study perceives him in the context of Bornean cultures and political economies. Brooke emerges from the historical record as a "man of prowess", with the author identifying important ritual sources of Brooke's power among Malays, Bidayuh and Ibans, sources which derived from and expressed indigenous cultural traditions about fertility, health and status. Drawing on conceptual frameworks from political science, as well as recent southeast Asian historiography, the book offers a detailed political history of the period and new interpretations of Brooke's career. This study also retrieves from the historical sources previously concealed narratives which reflect the interests, priorities and activities of Sarawak people themselves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Important data papers on China's environment
This volume is a collection of papers from a conference in Kyoto in 2004; some are not well updated, but the volume is still indispensable for anyone interested in China's environmental situation.Aside from one excellent chapter by Robert Marks on earlier centuries, all chapters are studies of the contemporary scene, mostly in the far west or south.The situation in all areas is bleak.A couple of hopeful studies show a touching faith in official statistics, ignoring 60 years of experience with the massaging or downright falsification thereof (and, for that matter, 2500 previous years of the same).The other papers are based on actual on-the-ground research, and they are daunting.China's policies, and their rapid changes, have proved not only devastating to the environment but have often minimized the benefits of the damage.Deforestation for fuel (notably, early attempts at backyard iron and steel production) and for planting grain, in particular, has led to flooding, erosion, loss of biodiversity, and the need to import timber and other forest products.Yet very little iron and steel, and very little additional grain, resulted.China's food economy is now stressed by desertification, erosion, salting up of irrigated land, urbanization, and pollution of water, air, and soil.
The Chinese slogan "first rich, then clean" ignores the fact that some processes are hard to reverse. It takes five minutes to cut a tree and 50 years to grow its replacement.It takes one good rain to remove exposed topsoil that took a thousand years to form.The Chinese government claims that the United States followed this "rich then clean" policy, but such is not the case.The US environmental movements date from the 1890s, when US population was exceedingly sparse and its per capita income was comparable to China's today.
These studies tend to blame the problem on population growth, unregulated development, and specific policies.Other recent research, however, especially that by anthropologists, paints a very different picture.Many of the areas studied in this book had been supporting very large, dense, technologically advanced populations for centuries without dramatic environmental decline.What the Communists did was destroy local--and usually more or less successful--regimes of property ownership, land management, and resource conservation.They substituted a myth of state control, or a very real series of failed policies. In my opinion, this was the real fatal bullet, not population growth or technological development.
... Read more

Product Description
Barkan's analysis of contemporary Asian and Pacific Islander immigration to the United States offers an up-to-date synthesis of data about global migration today. It presents a series of principles regarding new double-step patterns in populations movements across a rimless world at the end of the 20th century. This unique study examines world migration theory, a fourth wave of immigration to the United States since the 1960s, factors that affect peoples' decisions to migrate, their adjustment to new communities and their impact on them, and their deliberations about returning to their original homelands. ... Read more

Product Description
Covering all Pacific islands involved in World War II military operations, this book is a detailed, single source of information on virtually every geo-military aspect of the Pacific Theater. Arranged regionally and, to the extent possible, chronologically according to when islands entered the war, entries provide complete background information. Along with island names, nicknames, Allied code names, location, and wartime time zones, such topics as the island's physical characteristics, weather, health hazards, historical background, native population, natural resources, and military value are included. 108 maps provide specific information. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A comprehensive work flawed by myriad errors
As the previous reviewers have stated, this is a wide-ranging review of the geography of the Pacific Islands of importance during World War II.It is very impressive in its scope and level of detail.Sadly, it is flawed by being riddled with basic errors.A few examples: the book states that the battle of the Coral Sea occurred in March, 1942 (not a mere typo; the battle is placed _before_ the Doolittle Raid on a time line of the Pacific War).The book seems to randomly confuse east and west when stating directions: it states that Wake Island is _west_ of Tokyo and that Midway is _east northeast_ of Oahu, among many many examples of east and west being reversed.A final example: the text description and the map of Johnston Island disagree in scale by a large factor, so it is impossible to tell from the book what the dimensions of the island were at the time of the war.Finally, the book suffers by lacking reference notes for the facts stated in the text.It does include a "selected" bibliography, but without reference notes in the text, it is effectively impossible for the reader to trace the statements in the text back to their primary sources.I consider this a crippling shortcoming in what aspires to become a standard reference work.

I believe that this book has great potential as reference, and a later edition, thoroughly edited and revised, and with references included in the text, would be much closer to fulfilling that potential than the present version.

Simply Excellent!
World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-Military Study is a detailed survey of the Pacific islands which served as battlegrounds during the war.The author, Gordon L. Rottman, a retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant and Vietnam veteran, served with elite units, such as the Airborne, Rangers, and Special Forces.Rottman is also the author of more than two dozen other books, including most recently: U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945 (Greenwood Press, 2001) and Korean War Order of Battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950-1953 (Praeger Press, 2002).

The 477 pages of the World War II Pacific Island Guide are divided into three parts.In Part I, "Geo-Military Aspects of the Pacific Theater", Rottman briefly discusses the Pacific Ocean, physical categories of islands, health hazards, island populations and political dynamics, distances and dimensions, times and dates, military organization, and military ranks.In Part II, he provides a chronology of World War II in the Pacific.In Part III, which occupies the vast majority of the book, Rottman discusses (in detail) the islands themselves and the battles fought on or near them.This last portion of the book is itself divided into six sections - Central and Southern Pacific U.S. Possessions, South Pacific Area, Southwest Pacific Area, Central Pacific Area, Western Pacific, and North Pacific Area.

I can think of absolutely nothing that has been omitted from the World War II Pacific Island Guide and the only criticism that I can make regarding this superb volume is its prohibitive cost.I certainly do not blame the author and I realize that this is a specialty book, but $104.95 is an utterly ridiculous price.Unfortunately, the price will probably prevent many people from purchasing this volume, which is regrettable, because I believe that it should be on the shelf of anyone seriously interested in the Pacific Theater during World War II.I highly recommend this book and I am convinced that it will be a generation or two (if ever) before it is supplanted.

Excellent Work of Military Geography
This is a superb work of research and a must have for those interested in the WWII Pacific Campaign and military geography.This is indeed one of the best works of military geography that I have seen in many years. Rottman's book provides a detailed summary of each island in the pacific that was either fought over or used as a military base. Along with a geographical and historical background of the islands are summaries of the battles and/or operations that took place on each one. This book is a perfect compliment to Rottman's recent WWII USMC OB book. ... Read more

Product Description
The outside world scarcely knew of northwestern North America in the year 1700. The Pacific coast, from southcentral Alaska to Oregon's Cape Blanco, was uncharted until the Spanish and English explorations of the 1770s. Yet, when tectonic plates suddenly shifted there in 1700, a train of ocean waves -- a tsunami -- sped across the Pacific Ocean. When the waves came ashore in Japan, they flooded fields and washed away houses. Samurai, merchants, and villagers recorded the mysterious event, but they observed no storm and felt no parent earthquake. In Japan, this tsunami was an orphan.

The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 tells this transpacific detective story by presenting its primary sources, Japanese documents and North American sediments and tree rings. They tell of a catastrophe a century before Lewis and Clark's expedition that now guides preparations for future earthquakes and tsunamis in the North Pacific.

A rich array of graphic detail and narrative explains the creation, action, and lasting effects of earthquakes and tsunamis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Understanding Cascadia Earthquake Potential
As a professional consulting geologist, I found this book to be the single best source to recommend to others (and sometimes give to clients) to explain the relevant details of the last great Cascadia subduction zone earthquake and, by extension, the potential for the next.The book contains magnificent diagrams and photographs, is highly readable, and is affordable.It is an easy book to skim through, an easy book to pick-up and put-down and pick-up again, and it is a wonderful book to re-read.I recommend it to anyone over about 13 who wants to know more about the Pacific Northwest's most recent great earthquake and its aftermath.

Fascinating detective work eccentrically presented
On January 26, 1700, a tsunami struck eastern Japan. Because they had experienced no preceding earthquake to explain the wave, contemporary Japanese writers recorded the event as an "orphan tsunami." Almost three centuries later, scientists in the western United States and Canada uncovered evidence of a massive earthquake (more or less a 9 on the modern scale) having occurred here at about that same time. This book presents the evidence for naming that quake the "parent" of the orphan tsunami, and also draws some conclusions about what an earthquake of that size might mean for 21st-century Cascadia.

There's an awful lot packed into this small book, and it's a fine example of how earth sciences, history, and other disciplines can work together to break new ground (so to speak) in our understanding of the past. But the way it's all presented in these pages? Oy. It kind of reminded me of the stereotypical mad scientist: you know he's a genius, but as he rushes around his lab, talking really quickly, pulling up charts and graphs and drawing on the chalkboard to prove his theories, all you can think is, "this guy is nuts."

In this case, the authors and their layout artists really went wild. From beginning to end, the book is a riot of old maps and new photos, illustrations, excerpts from Japanese and American diaries and records, line-by-line translations of Japanese reports, different-colored text blocks for sidebar articles, big two-paragraph-long photo captions, little illustrations of tectonic forces at work, screenshots from computer programs, and a lot more, all jumbled together. Although the information is interesting, I found sorting out the visual presentation tiring at times. Moreover, each two-page spread is like its own mini-chapter, with its own headline and point it's attempting to make. It is an innovative way to present scientific information (at least, I can't think of any book quite like it), but I'm not sure the method is quite perfected yet.

Still, I'm a non-scientist and I found it worth the effort to read this. And as someone living in the Cascadian earthquake region, it had more than a little personal relevance too.

A welcome addition to any collection
This depiction of an orphan tsunami that battered the eastern coast of Japan in 1700 combines colorful imagery with scientific research to infer an account of what happened three hundred years ago.Japanese and American diaries, oral traditions, and ancient maps are combined with more recent photographs, figures and statistical data to support geological evidence found both in North America and Japan.The conclusion reveals an earthquake in the Cascadia Range of North America (estimated magnitude= 8.7 - 9.2) that generated waves which destroyed homes and caused a shipwreck and flooding over 7,000 kilometers away.The book features a table of contents in English and Japanese, author biographies, references, an index, and interpretations of Japanese language and writings used during the research.The artistry of the publication compliments the contents, and anyone with a curiosity for the earth sciences, global history, or cross-cultural studies will be intrigued by this portrayal of a significant natural disaster. ... Read more

Product Description
In an era of market triumphalism, this book probes the social and environmental consequences of market-linked nature conservation schemes. Rather than supporting a new anti-market orthodoxy, Charles Zerner and colleagues assert that there is no universal entity, "the market." Analysis and remedies must be based on broader considerations of history, culture, and geography in order to establish meaningful and lasting changes in policy and practice.Original case studies from Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the South Pacific focus on topics as diverse as ecotourism, bioprospecting, oil extraction, cyanide fishing, timber extraction, and property rights. The cases position concerns about biodiversity conservation and resource management within social justice and legal perspectives, providing new insights for students, scholars, policy professionals and donor/foundations engaged in international conservation and social justice. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first book which examines Australia's external relations from a political-geographical perspective. It stresses above all the changing orientation of these relationships towards the Asia--Pacific region. It takes a realistic perspective, emphasising the internal relationships among environment, society, economy and politics in a spatial context.Audience: This volume is of particular interest to political geographers, specialists in foreign affairs and international relations, but it is also aimed at business people, diplomats and general readers. ... Read more