Tokelau is a group of three small coral atolls located in the South Pacific. The population of this tiny island nation is just under 1,500 and has been isolated from the rest of the world for centuries. The people of Tokelau have a unique Polynesian identity and are connected to the ocean through their traditional ways of life, including fishing and navigating the waters. Due to their remote location and small population, the people of Tokelau face challenges such as limited economic opportunities and a lack of access to resources and infrastructure. However, the government of Tokelau has been working to improve the lives of its citizens through sustainable development projects and partnerships with neighboring countries. Tokelau is also a leader in renewable energy, with plans to transition to 100% solar power. Despite its challenges, Tokelau remains a proud and vibrant community with a rich cultural heritage and close ties to the ocean.

1. Food from the land, the ocean shores and the tree canopy2. The lagoon3. The reef4. The open sea5. Omens, stars, singing and other valuable things.

Tokelau: A Historical Ethnography is the outcome of more than two decades of intensive and wide-ranging research in and about the three tiny Polynesian atolls known as Tokelau. The book is both a comparative ethnographic study of the islands of Tokelau and a narrative record of their past. The ethnographic study is set in the years around 1970, and local narratives and records complement foreign documents to tell the separate and combined stories of the atolls traditional, contact, and colonial pasts. Throughout, the differences and interrelationships between the three places are highlighted.

We know where he went, what he wrote, and even what he wore, but what in the world did Christopher Columbus eat? The Renaissance and the age of discovery introduced Europeans to exotic cultures, mores, manners, and ideas. Along with the cross-cultural exchange of Old and New World, East and West, came new foodstuffs, preparations, and flavors. That kitchen revolution led to the development of new utensils and table manners. Some of the impact is still felt—and tasted—today. Giovanni Rebora has crafted an elegant and accessible history filled with fascinating information and illustrations. He discusses the availability of resources, how people kept from starving in the winter, how they farmed, how tastes developed and changed, what the lower classes ate, and what the aristocracy enjoyed. The book is divided into brief chapters covering the history of bread, soups, stuffed pastas, the use of salt, cheese, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, the arrival of butter, the quest for sugar, new world foods, setting the table, and beverages, including wine and tea. A special appendix, "A Meal with Columbus," includes a mini-anthology of recipes from the countries where he lived: Italy, Portugal, Spain, and England. Entertaining and enlightening, Culture of the Fork will interest scholars of history and gastronomy—and everyone who eats.

Alphabetically arranged entries, ranging in length from a paragraph to several pages, describe the important people, food, native animals, politics, history, and culture of Polynesia, which is made up of more than a dozen countries, including American Samoa, French Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Tonga. The book includes a four-page list of acronyms, an extensive chronology, and appendices with the names of Polynesian islands and lists of political rulers of the various states through history. Author Craig (emeritus, history, Alaska Pacific U.) has created several other dictionaries on Oceania, Polynesian mythology, and Hawaii. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

An internationally recognized authority on Chinese history and a leading innovator in its telling, Cho-yun Hsu constructs an original portrait of Chinese culture. Unlike most historians, Hsu resists centering his narrative on China's political evolution, focusing instead on the country's cultural sphere and its encounters with successive waves of globalization. Beginning long before China's written history and extending through the twentieth century, Hsu follows the content and expansion of Chinese culture, describing the daily lives of commoners, their spiritual beliefs and practices, the changing character of their social and popular thought, and their advances in material culture and technology. In addition to listing the achievements of emperors, generals, ministers, and sages, Hsu builds detailed accounts of these events and their everyday implications. Dynastic change, the rise and fall of national ambitions, and the growth and decline of institutional systems take on new significance through Hsu's careful research, which captures the multiple strands that gave rise to China's pluralistic society. Paying particular attention to influential relationships occurring outside of Chinese cultural boundaries, he demonstrates the impact of foreign influences on Chinese culture and identity and identifies similarities between China's cultural developments and those of other nations.