Overall, I would say the book does well in presenting historical issues of colonial administration and the problems and issue they face in trying to introduce western concepts of development into the indeginous peoples. I am currently doing some research into this countries history and I would like some more detail and or maps of the time between 1868 and 1927 if possible could be added with any further publication from this author - or any other especially for the City and Village of Lae. Morobe Province. Papua New Guinea. ....

An investigation into the lives of the Sambia people of Papua New Guinea, an isolated and "primative" tribe who believe that boys must ingest semen in order to reach full adulthood.

The flutes are magic phallic objects which the men of the tribe use in initiation cermonies to introduce the boys to the ritualized sexual contacts.

This 584-page book deals with some 269 species covering 55 genera. These are fully described with accompanying line drawings and over 130 of them are illustrated in colour.

The introductory chapters deal with the geography, climate and vegetation of Papua New Guinea as well as the conservation and classification of New Guinean orchids. This book, a massive undertaking in itself, is a bold start in making known to the orchid world the unusual and spectacular orchid flora of Papua New Guinea.

The island of New Guinea boast more than ten percent of all known orchid species. Although the author limited himself to species found only in the lowlands this book is a most valueable addition.

The Making of Great Men presents an enlightened look at the different cultures and symbolic forms used by natives in remotely distant parts of the world. The encounters with alterity are supplemented with countless first-hand and experience-near observations. At the same time, Maurice manages to entice the reader with snippets of research information and engaging records of conversations with the natives. At first glance, the different portions of the book appear disparate, but more in-depth reading leads one to appreciate the intense level of research put in by Maurice and a coherent picture of the cultural tapestry of the world we live in is presented throughout the book. It is intriguing to discover that natives living in distant parts of the world, both geographically and linguistically, manage to develop their own symbolic forms and share many common behavioural traits. Gradually, one is led in an affirmation of the uniqueness of human life and a stronger identification with cultural identity. The Making of Great Men serves not only as an insight into foreign cultural norms but a lucid introduction to the field of Anthropology. Highly recommended reading.

John Emigh in his book, Masked Performance, has himself created something of a one-man masked performance like the Balinese masked drama, topeng pajegan, he describes. This book is revealing, beguiling, and pleasantly bewildering for the multitude of voices, roles, and masks that he presents. Emigh writes as an actor, anthropologist, director, dramaturge, and Asian theatre scholar and while each one of these roles illuminates a realm of masking and playing, at the same time, they obscure some other realm. The result does not produce a grand universal scheme of masking in performance (à la Gordon Craig) rather a richly complex yet accessible smorgasbord of ideas that are intended to inspire a sense of wonder about the human occupation with masking and performing. The book is a joy to read because it is not beholden to any single genre of academic writing but is part scholarly record, part personal memoir, part philosophical treatise. By departing from a purely descriptive analysis Emigh attempts to probe the function and purpose of masking in performance. The fundamental premise that he explores is that masking represents on many levels an encounter between the self (the performer) and the other (the character). What comes of this encounter is a performance that lingers somewhere between the ontological idea of me and not-me. Unlike most modern dramatic performances based on a script, a masked performance often implies the relationship between the mask and the performer is unstable and may even lead to a loss of self. In a candid and refreshing way Emigh does not assume that masking is in and of itself a valid subject for research, but rather, he actually attempts to explore questions concerning the necessity for masks in performance: what value do masks have for our own society that is so enthralled by realism and escapism? By revealing what brought himself to this exploration is as much an aesthetic interest as an academic one, Emigh opens up the subject of masking to problems with artistic responses in multi-cultural performance. For those who are already familiar with Emigh's previous articles on the Orisa Prahlada Nataka, Balinese topeng pajegan and the Rajasthani Hajari Bhand, this material has been greatly expanded and revised according to his larger theme of masking in performance. All in all the arguments are stronger, developed in greater detail, and accompanied with fine illustrations and photographs. There has also been included a useful appendix of basic questions concerning performance that I was grateful to have with me when I was doing my fieldwork a few years ago. Theatre students will find this book a good introduction to Asian performance practices, but also Asian theatre scholars will find this is good introduction to post-modern theory, and anthropologists will find this is a good introduction to how dramatic theory might apply to cultural performance. It has been a long time since a book on Asian theatre has had aspirations to conduct an analysis beyond an encyclopedic description of performance detail. Such a search for aesthetic meaning tends to enter a subjective territory, which lies very near the end of our own ability to formulate coherent scientific principles. As Emigh reveals in this book, masking also lies in such a region between the known and unknown and does not have a wholly rational meaning. Masking is a mode of experience and feeling that approaches the boundaries of our capacity to know ourselves and our consciousness.

This book is rich with many picts of Dendrobium species, and followed by short information on each of the species, appearance of flowers, growth habit and distribution. I always use this book with Dendrobium and Its Relatives by P. S. Lavarack to identify some orchids from eastern part of Indonesia(mostly Dendrobium family)

In interesting read. The Sambia are a people of a unique and intregueing culture and the insight this book provides is inmatched.

The book is an interesting read. I finished it within 2 hours. Although the topic is heroic (and sometimes sad), i especially found the antics of one Japanese pilot in particular, Masajiro Kawato, funny. The author seems to share this same view, and never hesitates to aim barbs at (and debunk) Mr. Kawato's outlandish claims. I think the word "mentally unstable" was used numerous times to describe Mr. Kawato.

I especailly liked the voluminous photos that accompanied the book. Each page has on average 2 photos, and that helped tremendously to tie human faces to the characters the author is relating. The interviews that the author conducted with the survivors was especailly interesting. It is clear that Mr. Sakaida is a fan of Japanese aviation.

I would have given the book 5 stars except for the fact that the book did not have an index. This made it extremely difficult to refer back to the book and catch references to various persons. But given the brevity of the book, I suppose it would not be difficult to flip back and find the references I wanted.

While reading Schieffelin's account of the reciprocity system of the Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea, I was struck by how much of interaction between humans is a product of cultural ideology and aesthetics. The Kaluli's performance of gisaro may seem overwhelmingly brutal to a western sensibility (indeed, the burning of the dancers was soon banned by a missionary influenced government.) Yet Schieffelin, a highly respected anthropologist, presents this cultural practice with insight and understanding. While at times, especially in his concluding chapter, Shieffelin's theories of the cultural structure of reciprocity may dwarf the individuals living within that construct, the book remains an incredible glimpse into another culture. This book is an invaluable read for anyone interested in theoretical anthropology. Further reading on the Kaluli can be found in Schieffelin's student Steven Feld's ethnomusicological papers. Bruce Chatwin's Songlines is another fascinating, albeit less focused, theoretical look at performance practice in Aboriginal Australia. After that, the bibliographies will keep you busy until you die.

Annette Weiner has really captured the essence of the people of the Trobriand Islands in this ethnography. She was following in the footsteps of Malinowski a well known person in her field. She was not afraid to question his findings or contradict his beliefs. In the course of this ethnography, readers will come to know the culture of the Trobriand Islands. You will understand the importance of yams in their every day life. The rituals that you know see has odd will be proven to be spiritual and have more purpose that you could have ever imagined. You will learn in detail what the death of a Trobriander means to the entire community. Reading this book will leave you in awe of these people. You will learn of a culutre that is of matrilineal descent and what that means to them. This novel will open your eyes to a whole new world. A world of traditions and spiritual beliefs. The people of the Trobriand Islands will amaze you and you will walk away from this book with more knowledge and more respect for this people than you could have ever imagined.