White Shadows in the South Seas [Paperback]

Frederick O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Dixon Price Publishing; 1st Dixon-Price Pub. ed edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929516193
• ISBN-13: 978-1929516193
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,794,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Purple Prose Majesty, January 29, 2005

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: White Shadows in the South Seas (Resnick Library of Worldwide Adventure) (Hardcover)

Was there ever a more romantic title than "White Shadows in the South Seas?" The book sold like hotcakes in the early 1920s and a movie of it won an Oscar in 1928. I suspect, however, that a lot of the popularity of the book was due to photographs of undraped Polynesian women and hints of sexual delights. One of the female characters is named "Vanquished Often." This is pretty racy for 1921, the stuff that escapist dreams were made of after the horrors of World War I.

Well, unfortunately, "White Shadows" while not a bad book is not a very good book either. It's about a visit the author made to the remote Marquesas Islands of the South Pacific. He meets a lot of bizarre characters and tells us of them at length -- and I have a feeling he told a few "stretchers" as Huck Finn would say. There's plenty of colorful descriptions of scenery that is in truth spectacular, and stories of some of the people who have visited the Marquesas, including Herman Melville and Paul Gauguin. O'Brien gives the reader a good dose of history and folklore.

I've had "White Shadows" and its companion volume "Mystic Isles of the South Seas" on my bookshelf for about 40 years. The titles are too evocative and the books too romantic to throw away. The photographs are pretty decent too, although not as revealing as some of Marquesan women in "The National Geographic" of the same epoch. So, buy the books and look at the pictures, read a bit of the purple prose, and dream of an Island maid named Vanquished Often.

Smallchief