Best Papua New Guinea History

Fans of Hampton Sides’ Ghost Soldiers , Marcus Luttrell’s Lone Survivor , and David Grann’s The Lost Cityof Z will be captivated by Zuckoff’s masterfullyrecounted, all-true story of danger, daring, determination, and discovery injungle-clad New Guinea during the final days of WWII. Amazon Best Books of the Month, May 2011 : Near the end of World War II, a plane carrying 24 members of the United States military, including nine Women’s Army Corps (WAC) members, crashed into the New Guinea jungle during a sightseeing excursion. The three survivors--a beautiful WAC, a young lieutenant who lost his twin brother in the crash, and a severely injured sergeant--were stranded deep in a jungle valley notorious for its cannibalistic tribes. Faced with the potential brutality of the Dani tribe, known throughout the valley for its violence, the trio’s lives were dependent on an unprecedented rescue mission--a dedicated group of paratroopers jumped into the jungle to provide aid and medical care, consequently leaving the survivors and paratroopers alike trapped on the jungle floor. A perilous rescue by plane became their only possible route to freedom. Hampton Sides is the editor-at-large for Outside magazine and the author of the international bestseller Ghost Soldiers , which won the 2002 PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes & Noble, and also served as the basis for the 2005 Miramax film The Great Raid . They’re puzzled and fascinated by the layers of “removable skin” in which these alien visitors are wrapped; the natives, who smear their bodies in pig grease and cover their genitals with gourds, have never seen clothes before. But when armed American airmen arrive via parachute to rescue the survivors, relations become more tense.

One American soldier called it “a green hell on earth.” Monsoon-soaked wilderness, debilitating heat, impassable mountains, torrential rivers, and disease-infested swamps—New Guinea was a battleground far more deadly than the most fanatical of enemy troops. In this gripping narrative, historian James P. Duffy chronicles the most ruthless combat of the Pacific War, a fight complicated by rampant tropical disease, violent rainstorms, and unforgiving terrain that punished both Axis and Allied forces alike. “Historians will both admire and envy James P. Duffy’s War at the End of the World , for he has done what so few of us can do: He has provided a dramatic and informative narrative history of an otherwise unknown but essential part of our history. “In War at the End of the World , James P. Duffy has restored to the nation’s memory a forgotten chapter of World War II, the four-year struggle for the world’s largest island, New Guinea. An entertaining and well-researched war history that will satisfy intrigued novices and devoted students alike.” — Kirkus “Duffy makes a strong case that MacArthur’s generalship is a major reason for the campaign’s success.” — Publishers Weekly “Duffy tells the story of this pivotal part of the war in clear prose and in great detail.” —. The American Spectator.

Focusing on Huli “passenger women,” (women who accept money for sex) Wayward Women explores the socio-economic factors that push women into the practice of transactional sex, and asks how these transactions might be an expression of resistance, or even revenge. At its core is a carefully rendered account of the way Huli 'passenger women' understand their motivations in relation to local bridewealth and kinship systems. Wayward Women is one of the finest accounts we have of women's experiences of marriage exchange systems anywhere in the world, and it is by far the most detailed and best-rendered account we have from modern Papua New Guinea.

Fans of Hampton Sides’ Ghost Soldiers , Marcus Luttrell’s Lone Survivor , and David Grann’s The Lost Cityof Z will be captivated by Zuckoff’s masterfullyrecounted, all-true story of danger, daring, determination, and discovery injungle-clad New Guinea during the final days of WWII. Amazon Best Books of the Month, May 2011 : Near the end of World War II, a plane carrying 24 members of the United States military, including nine Women’s Army Corps (WAC) members, crashed into the New Guinea jungle during a sightseeing excursion. The three survivors--a beautiful WAC, a young lieutenant who lost his twin brother in the crash, and a severely injured sergeant--were stranded deep in a jungle valley notorious for its cannibalistic tribes. Faced with the potential brutality of the Dani tribe, known throughout the valley for its violence, the trio’s lives were dependent on an unprecedented rescue mission--a dedicated group of paratroopers jumped into the jungle to provide aid and medical care, consequently leaving the survivors and paratroopers alike trapped on the jungle floor. A perilous rescue by plane became their only possible route to freedom. Hampton Sides is the editor-at-large for Outside magazine and the author of the international bestseller Ghost Soldiers , which won the 2002 PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes & Noble, and also served as the basis for the 2005 Miramax film The Great Raid . They’re puzzled and fascinated by the layers of “removable skin” in which these alien visitors are wrapped; the natives, who smear their bodies in pig grease and cover their genitals with gourds, have never seen clothes before. But when armed American airmen arrive via parachute to rescue the survivors, relations become more tense.

Recounting his service with the 1st Marine Division and the brutal action on Guadalcanal, New Britain, and Peleliu, Leckie spares no detail of the horrors and sacrifices of war, painting an unvarnished portrait of how real warriors are made, fight, and often die in the defense of their country. Helmet for My Pillow (Random House, 1957) was his first book; it received the Marine Corps. Combat Correspondents Association award upon publication.

Paddy Ryan’s text is packed with fascinating biological facts and features, as well as many engaging anecdotes detailing encounters with his subjects including the grey reef shark, the crested and the banded iguana, the fiddler crab (which signals frantically to potential mates with its enlarged chela or claw), the frigate bird (an aerial pirate), and Fiji’s national flower, the tagimaucia. Superb comprehensive guide anyone with curiosity is constantly seeking, and rarely finds, that will be constantly consulted and treasured.

This case study describes the role an applied anthropologist takes to help Marshallese communities understand the impact of radiation exposure on the environment and themselves, and addresses problems stemming from the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program conducted in the Marshall Islands from 1946-1958. Holly M. Barker began her work with the Marshallese when she served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1988 to 1990 on Mili Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).