Development in Polynesian Ethnology assesses the current state of anthropological research in Polynesia by examining the debates and issues that shape the discipline today. What have anthropologists achieved? What concerns now dominate discussion? Where is Polynesian anthropology headed? In a series of provocative and original essays, leading scholars examine prehistory, social organization, socialization and character development, mana and tapu, chieftainship, art and aesthetics, and early contact. Together these essays show how history, anthropology, and archaeology have combined to give a broad understanding of Polynesian societies developing over time--how they represent a blend of modernity and tradition, continuity and change. This book is both an introduction to Polynesia for interested students and a thought-provoking synthesis for scholars charting new directions and posing possibilities for future research. Scholars outside Polynesian studies will find the perspectives it offers important and its comprehensive bibliography an invaluable resource.

"John Williams was not the first London Missionary Society missionary to Polynesia, but his passion to conquer the whole Pacific region, and resolute belief that he knew better than the Directors in London how this vision might be achieved marked him out as an ambitious and aggressive man. Samoa, the setting of thses journals, was the last island group where Williams' personally introduced the gospel before he was murdered at Eromanga... Of the several journals kept by Williams during his pan-Polynesian travels, the two relating to his visits to Samoa in 1830 and 1832 are the most comprehensive and illuminating. In the course of both journeys Williams also visited Tonga, and provided graphic eye-witness accounts of contemporary Tongan and European life..."--Book jacket.

Story of a young modern day explorer who, having lived in New Guinea, comes to Wiluna, where he is accepted into a local Aboriginal community, and experiences town and reserve life p. 229-368.

The author's experiences as a news reporter during the 1920's and early 1930's (2.29).

Provides an account of the last one hundred years illustrated through postcards collected from around the world, offering a glimpse of what daily life was like through the messages enscribed on each card.