Few can resist the lure of pristine beaches, endless coral reefs, and blazing tropical suns. The South Pacific is still largely unspoiled for travelers willing to stray a little off the beaten path. This reference gives readers a bird's-eye view of the many island groups that make up the area.

Whether it's the legends about breadfruit trees or ghosts inhabiting inland Tahiti, the endangered delicacies to avoid or the gift-giving protocol when invited to a local's home, how to tour a vanilla plantation on Raiatea or when to find the Nouméa flame trees "catch fire" in hues of red and orange, South Pacific Handbook covers everything about this region of boundless ocean and scarce land. Drawing on two decades of editions and incorporating the comments of countless previous readers, this user-friendly guide extends beyond the hot spots and steers readers off the beaten path throughout Polynesia and Melanesia.

Following the successful The Sound of Music Companion, comes The South Pacific Companion, the essential guide and history for the discerning musical lover and SP fanatic. 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of this wonderful film. This fascinating book covers the history of the stage show and its historical context. World War II was fresh in the world's minds when this show first opened on Broadway - only 4 years after the end of the war - and this gave the film an immensely poignant immediacy. Deservedly, both the novel and the musical of South Pacific won the Pulitzer Prize. South Pacific returns to the UK stage in summer 2007 with a 10 month tour, starring Helena Blackman (from How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria) and Dave Willetts. In 2008 the musical's first ever Broadway revival is to open at the Lincoln Center in April. With extensive images from the film, plus many never seen before photographs from the original stage show, this is a beautiful and indispensable guide to South Pacific. Wordcount: 35,000 words Other Companion titles: Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Phantom of the Opera Companion 9781862057630 The Sound of Music Companion 9781862057500 The Sound of Music Companion Collection with CD 9781862057777 !-- bullets -- 2008 sees the first US revival on Broadway 50th anniversary of the much loved film Places the story in the wider context of a world at war Many great images from the ever popular film

Travel guide, with brief general studies, for Pacific - covers history under colonialism, traditional culture, entry requirements, leisure and transport facilities, tourist attractions, etc. Bibliography, glossary, illustrations, maps.

A comprehensive guide to the 16 territories of Polynesia and Melanesia, not just the popular spots. This is a guide for the budget traveller to the whole of the South Pacific.

In the 400 years from Magellan's entrance into Pacific waters to 1920, the lives of the people of the South Pacific were utterly transformed. Exotic diseases from Europe and America, particularly the worldwide influenza pandemic, were deadly for islanders. Ardent missionaries changed the belief systems and lives of nearly all Polynesians, Aborigines, and those Papuans and Melanesians living in areas accessible to westerners. By 1920 every island and atoll in the South Seas had been claimed as a colony or protectorate of a power such as Britain, France or the United States. Factors aiding this imperial sweep included European outposts such as Sydney, advances in maritime technology, the work of missionaries, a desire to profit from the area's relatively sparse resources, and international rivalry that led to the scramble for colonies. The coming of westerners, as this book points out, was not entirely negative, as head-hunting, cannibalism, chronic warfare, human sacrifice, and other practices were diminished--but whole cultures were irreversibly changed or even eradicated.

Provides historical and travel information for visitors to Polynesia, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga Islands, Fiji Islands, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Micronesia