A Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands

by John H. Chambers

A Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands gives the curious tourist not only a modern-day portrait of New Zealand and the far-flung islands, their political systems, and economic diversity, but also looks at the early settling of this massive area which covers about a fifth of the surface of the earth. When European navigators first sailed into this region, they were astonished at the exotic shared culture and language of the natives, separated in some cases by terrifying stretches of open ocean. The story of the peopling of the South Pacific Islands and New Zealand is one of the world's great sagas. The book covers the whole scope of New Zealand's past and present history and allows the reader to make sense of what they see in a way that no other guidebook can.

Genres: Travel, History, Nonfiction, Historical

393 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2003

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov]

In the final chapters and finding some real gaps in what I knew about those South Pacific Islands and islanders. Chambers digs into almost every corner of the South Pacific to bring us a very fair and balanced view of what has taken place over the past few centuries. It opened my eyes and gave me a better sense of this region so far from my home.

Perhaps this isn't the definitive work on this topic, but it is more than most travelers would want or need. I am not aware of another single compact volume that does as well.

[Maureen]

Reminds me of those last three paragraphs in each history book chapter, the ones where they tell you about women and blacks. They were people who did important things, but not quite as important as the things that everyone else in the book did.

[Crystal]

Kind of dry, but an interesting history.