A highly authentic account of a life growing up in rural Timor, followed by a move to the capital Dili, thence to Portugal. This book offers some unique insights which, to the best of my knowledge, are not available anywhere else. It is a privilege to be writing this review on the first day of Timor's birth as an independent nation, after being subject to domination by invading forces for the last 450 years.

I have found that Culture Shock: Mauritius is a great resource for those visitors to Mauritius who are actually living in the country, rather than just visiting the touristy sites. There are very important local customs and traditions to be aware of that are discussed in detail in this book that are only skimmed over in the common tourist guides. While the other guidebooks help you find your way to the beach and which hotels to stay in, Culture Shock goes a great deal further in dealing with people. Mauritians have a great deal to offer in their multiculturalism, but without a book like Culture Shock, it may be difficult to understand how the cultures come together. The book gives advice for numerous social and business situations, as well as advice for living and getting around the country. In general the book has been fairly easy to read -- enjoyable and interesting before arriving to Mauritius, and helpful as a reference and to re-read after settling on the island.

I have felt that there are a few things the book is a bit in lacking -- it could include a bit more of the touristy options and in some parts seems a few years outdated, but in general the advice has proved very helpful, in very different situations. Roselin Lum has done a good job of balancing the different ethnic groups, and explaining their places within the country. Her book, though best for people who plan to stay significant time periods in Mauritius, would also be extremely useful for a short-term visitor who wants to understand more about the people they will meet. For a country known for its beaches, Mauritius has a lot to offer due to its multicultural composition. Lum's book lays a significant groundwork for making lasting contacts while in Mauritius.

This book provides some interesting information on the culture, especially musical traditions, of the Portuguese settlement in Malaysia. This is a good book, but this definitely college language so it can be somewhat hard to read for some people. Besides cultural aspects, an historical background is also provided.

I first visited Indonesia in 1984 and fell in love with Bali. I have since returned each year to the "Island of the Gods" from where I have been exploring the rest of the Indonesian Archipelago, and since 1991, I share my time equally between Bali and Winchester, Massachusetts. Of course, I am always eager to know more about all aspects of Balinese life. Although there is a plethora of books about Bali dealing with its wonderful culture and its arts, it is not the case about its particular history. After a while, it became obvious to me that this important missing part of the puzzle was essential to further my understanding of the complex character of the Balinese. The history of Bali is clouded in the mist of time, and reliable informations on the subject tend to be scarce and are not easily available. Historical documents, written in old Balinese language are obviously not accessible to a non-specialist Westerner such I myself. Because of the special relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia, there exist numerous documents written in Dutch, covering the last few centuries. However, as with most people, the Dutch language is not my forte.

Therefore, it was a "revelation" to come across Robinson's book, "The Dark Side of Bali". The book covers in details the historical and political events in Bali, from the end of 19th Century until the aftermath of the 1965 coup d'etat. It relates the Balinese experience under the Dutch colonial domination, during the National Revolution, 1945 - 1949, the Sukarno era, 1950 - 1965, and the military coup of 1965 and its aftermath. It reveals another face of Bali, the hidden face of Paradise. It is a scholarly book based on Dutch and Indonesian sources. It reads well, and contains an impressive number of references. Geoffrey Robinson, Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles, is obviously an expert on the subject, as demonstrated by this in-depth analysis of the social and economic roots of the deep divisions that have, since colonial times, penetrated and defined the Balinese society. Robinson shows how in the 1920's, the Dutch restored and in some cases created a "traditional" Bali to counter a perceived nationalistic threat. This was achieved by resurrecting and maintaining the old ruling royal families as guarantors of these traditions. The Japanese occupation during WWII, relying mostly on the sudras (lower cast) upset the exiting social order, and explained the social problems which existed until the Sukarto period, and eventually led to the horrific massacred of 1965, and the ascend of General Suharto to power. Robinson presents a picture of Bali quite unlike the idyllic, peaceful island promoted by the tourist industry, but a society influenced by the World's politics and driven by class and ideological conflicts. This book surely belongs in the library of anyone interested in Indonesia in general and Bali in particular.

This book is both a scholar's and an arm-chair traveller's delight as you travel through Thailand (and Burma) through the eyes of travellers from different times and places. I found the differing views of daily life very interesting. There is also much to read about in the areas of wats/bots (temples) and asian art. It's not an easy read, though, and I found the print too small for prolonged sampling.

Michael Leifer's Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia is one of those reference books treasured by those with a broad professional interest in the subject. It's concise, accurate, nicely cross-referenced and has a useful further reading list.

All of which make it an even greater disappointment that Leifer and his publisher have not seen fit to publish a revised edition to encompass developments post-July 1997

A delightful book about Corn's travels around Indonesia. If you plan of visiting the country, even for a trip to Bali--this is a nice book to read. He visits such exotoc islands as Sumatra, Java, Timor (now part independent) Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Banda Islands, Seram, and Irian Jaya. His desciptions are visions of a country with problems, but whose people meet these with a zest for life. However, Corn does not describe some of the trouble that has just recently resulted in Christians and Chinese being killed. Also lacking in the content is some of the history that would put events in perspective.

This is a very comprehensive study of Anglo-Cherokee relations from the late 17th cent'y to the end of the American Revolution. The most valuable aspect is how Hatley draws or teases the Cherokee perspective out of the available source material. In this, Dividing Paths is a model for seeing BOTH sides of conflict in colonial America, not just the English settlers' side. Although the initial chapter or two seem to be a little too heavily laden with academic jargon, the author hits his stride soon thereafter in what is a very readable book. My biggest criticism is that he fails to take in to account North Carolina's role in Cherokee relations, in which NC & SC were competitors. This is a significant oversight, but the book is "strong" nonetheless.

E-mail links, contacts, maps and description of each site plus how to get there and when to go all very helpful

This New York Times reporter has won a Pulitzer Prize award for his reports on the boat people in the late seventies. The present book is a good review of postwar Vietnam from the reeducation camps, the differences between Saigon and Hanoi, the arrogance of the communists to the hope for a better future under the "doi moi" policy.

His interviews with Can Giao, a nationalist who has been imprisoned 21 times by all the different regimes, Duong Thu Huong (Paradise of the Blind), and Bao Ninh (The sorrow of war) are enlightening. All these people who are either former communists or sympathizers are presently not very happy with the communist regime. The author also believes that the 1975 diaspora represents the "severest judgment the Vietnamese had expressed about the communist regime".