Journal Entry 1 by RikkiDD from Dresden, Sachsen Germany on Monday, February 20, 2006

From Publishers Weekly
Despite the euphoric title, Oceania as Theroux ( Riding the Iron Rooster ) experienced it was only occasionally a carefree paradise. In the Trobriand Islands, celebrated by anthropologists for their supposed sexual freedom, the novelist and travel writer found prostitution and fear of rape. Samoa struck him as noisy, vandalized, with American-style conspicuous consumption. The intrepid Theroux discussed world politics with the king of Tonga, encountered class consciousness in Honolulu, mingled with street gangs in Auckland, and lived in a bamboo hut in Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides), where he investigated a cargo cult and rumors of cannibalism. In Australia he braved the Woop Woop (remote outback) to camp with Aborigines. This exhilarating epic ranks with Theroux's best travel books. It is full of disarming observations, high adventure and memorable characters rendered with keen irony. First serial to New York Times Magazine; BOMC featured alternate; QPB alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
The best-selling author of My Secret History ( LJ 4/1/89) and Riding the Iron Rooster ( LJ 6/15/88) spent 18 months in a one-man collapsible kayak exploring such exotic Pacific islands as New Zealand, Australia, the Soloman and Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Easter Island, and Hawaii. Never a kind-hearted chronicler of place, he sets out on this voyage in an especially dour mood, leaving behind a failed marriage and expecting to be diagnosed with cancer at any moment. Soon after he escapes the crowded towns of Australia, however, he starts to lose some of his harsh edge and enjoy his travels, which ultimately heal him. A brilliant storyteller with an eye for the absurd, Theroux takes the reader to little-known places where time seems to have stood still and people lead simple lives totally unrelated to 20th-century America. Highly recommended for all libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/92.
- Lisa J. Cochenet, Rhinelander Dist. Lib., Wis.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
 

Journal Entry 2 by RikkiDD from Dresden, Sachsen Germany on Wednesday, March 15, 2006

This book is always said to be a travel book. I'm not really sure if this meets the content.
Paul Theroux writes a kind of diary about paddling around different isles in Oceania. It is sometime a bit hard to read and sometmes I can'T follow his oinions about certain people. Especially the caracteristic of Australians are completely strang to me. Theroux sometimes tends to be to general.
But who likes to read about nature and people this can be a book for you. 

Journal Entry 3 by RikkiDD at mailed to a fellow bookcrosser in N/A, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Released 6 yrs ago (3/16/2006 UTC) at mailed to a fellow bookcrosser in N/A, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

The book goes to a close friend. 

Journal Entry 4 by AnonymousFinder on Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Got this book from a close friend a few months ago.
Found the read very interesting, will see what I do with the book.