Aphrodite's Island: The European Discovery of Tahiti [Hardcover]

Anne Salmond (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520261143 | ISBN-13: 978-0520261143 | Publication Date: January 12, 2010 | Edition: 1

Aphrodite's Island is a bold new account of the European discovery of Tahiti, the Pacific island of mythic status that has figured so powerfully in European imaginings about sexuality, the exotic, and the nobility or bestiality of "savages." In this groundbreaking book, Anne Salmond takes readers to the center of the shared history to furnish rich insights into Tahitian perceptions of the visitors while illuminating the full extent of European fascination with Tahiti. As she discerns the impact and meaning of the European effect on the islands, she demonstrates how, during the early contact period, the mythologies of Europe and Tahiti intersected and became entwined. Drawing on Tahitian oral histories, European manuscripts and artworks, collections of Tahitian artifacts, and illustrated with contemporary sketches, paintings, and engravings from the voyages, Aphrodite's Island provides a vivid account of the Europeans' Tahitian adventures. At the same time, the book's compelling insights into Tahitian life significantly change the way we view the history of this small island during a period when it became a crossroads for Europe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A spellbinding, richly descriptive, and deeply thought-provoking account of late 18th-century Tahitian life and cultural conflict." STARRED REVIEW--Library Journal

"A gripping multidisciplinary history . . . Salmond has mined an immense archive to create a brilliant picture of Tahiti, and also the Europe it fascinated."--Foreword

"There is awe to be had in reading this blockbuster of a book. Salmond offers us the satisfying, readerly pleasure of realising a particular place and time." --Times Higher Education

"An absorbing history of the European engagement with Tahiti."--Scotsman

"The story is one that has been told many times, but Salmond's book offers new insights."--Times Literary Supplement (Tls)

From the Inside Flap

"This book offers a fresh history of early Tahiti, considerably richer than any published before, imaginative in its speculations around local cosmology and local meanings, but also precise in its reconstruction of the political relationships that evolved with the early visits of the British, French, and Spanish. Important and revelatory." --Nicholas Thomas, author of Cook: The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook

"The interpretive skills Salmond has brought to this project are truly remarkable, and she tells a complex and consequential story with clarity, élan, and insight." --Don Brenneis, author of Law and Empire in the Pacific: Fiji and Hawai'i

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (January 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520261143
• ISBN-13: 978-0520261143
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.9 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #280,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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