A History of the Pacific Islands [Hardcover]

Steven Roger Fischer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0333949757 | ISBN-13: 978-0333949757 | Publication Date: October 4, 2002

A History of the Pacific Islands traces the human history of nearly one-third of the globe over a 50,000 year span. This is history on a grand scale, taking the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia from prehistoric culture to the present day through a skillful interpretation of scholarship in the field. Fischer's familiarity with work in archaeology and anthropology as well as in history enriches the text, making this a book with wide appeal for students and general readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A magnificent achievement – richly informative and engagingly written." --Harvey Whitehouse, Queen’s University of Belfast

"It has a discernibly individual style that I find appealing and which will make it very useful in a range of undergraduate courses." --Hugh Laracy, University of Auckland

About the Author

Steven Roger Fischer is at the Institute of Polynesian Languages and Literatures.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (October 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0333949757
• ISBN-13: 978-0333949757
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,593,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introductory Book on South Pacific Histoty, June 19, 2008

By 

Jose Truda Palazzo Jr. "JTPalazzo" (Brazil) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of the Pacific Islands (Hardcover)

This is a very well-written introduction to South Pacific history, with the additional bonus of the author rejecting the 'politically correct' bias of more recent works which tend to demonize Europeans and sanctify the 'natives'. A must-read for anyone interested in the Pacific beyond the beaches and resorts.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Pacific History, April 21, 2010

By 

Ronald Mayo "Fishguy" (Lopez Island, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of the Pacific Islands (Paperback)

I've lived and worked all over the Pacific starting as a 10 YO on Guam in 1946 and ending a few years ago in New Zealand. My home library has about 600 "Pacific" titles. I'm pleased to add this book. Hey, I may even buy a hardback edition.

Here the author compares and contrast the histories of Islands (and major groups) all over the Pacific and does it very well. The coverage, Micronesian, Polynesian and Melanesian in one place is something seldom seen. He quantifies things seldom mentioned; mining, foreign aid, commercial fishing in reasonable detail. And it has a great reading list.

And best of all, Balanced.

I think the best person to read this would be a Pacific Islander, especially of college age. What a way to find their way in their world.

(Edit: Page 86, Chuuk is not in the Mariana Islands. I'll give him one.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, but look elsewhere too, November 7, 2011

By 

Shaun Yip (Kavieng, PNG) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A History of the Pacific Islands (Paperback)

Fischer's account of the Pacific is commendable for taking on Dumont d'Urville's potentially unwieldy designations - Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia - and producing a broad narrative which is accessible to the non-specialist. The fact that he grounds his narrative deep in the Pleistocene and from there charts the colonization of the Pacific is a promising sign. Of greatest interest is the final chapter which delves into issues such as women, sports and identity; topics which are dear to the hearts of many Pacific islanders. This is a good introduction for the uninitiated, and for those with prior interest it still has something to offer.

I have only two complaints. Firstly, there are a surprising number of spelling mistakes which have somehow eluded the proof-reader(s). Believe it or not, one can get quite distracted/annoyed by a single 'typo', of which this book has too many. Secondly, I appreciate the author's attempt to encapsulate Pacific lifeways, attitudes and regions, which he does by way of generalizations. But for Melanesia (of which I am most familiar), some of these generalizations are not accurate, to say the least. I refer specifically to the role of women and patrilineal societies. The author used the example of New Guinea to infer that Melanesia is thoroughly patrilineal and that women are not as valued as elsewhere. Quite clearly New Guinea is not all of Melanesia and this generalization ignores reality: there are in fact many Melanesian societies which are matrilineal and even elevate women above men. One need only look next door to the Bismarck Archipelago! For me, this glaring oversight is symptomatic of a book which only deals in such broad generalizations and therefore misses the real underlying diversity.