Over the course of World War II, two million American military personnel occupied bases throughout the South Pacific, leaving behind a human legacy of at least 4,000 children born to indigenous mothers. Based on interviews conducted with many of these American-indigenous children and several of the surviving mothers, Mothers’ Darlings of the South Pacific explores the intimate relationships that existed between untold numbers of U.S. servicemen and indigenous women during the war and considers the fate of their mixed-race children. These relationships developed in the major U.S. bases of the South Pacific Command, from Bora Bora in the east across to Solomon Islands in the west, and from the Gilbert Islands in the north to New Zealand, in the southernmost region of the Pacific. The American military command carefully managed interpersonal encounters between the sexes, applying race-based U.S. immigration law on Pacific peoples to prevent marriage “across the color line.” For indigenous women and their American servicemen sweethearts, legal marriage was impossible; giving rise to a generation of fatherless children, most of whom grew up wanting to know more about their American lineage. Mothers’ Darlings of the South Pacific traces these children’s stories of loss, emotion, longing, and identity—and of lives lived in the shadow of global war. Each chapter discusses the context of the particular island societies and shows how this often determined the ways intimate relationships developed and were accommodated during the war years and beyond. Oral histories reveal what the records of colonial governments and the military have largely ignored, providing a perspective on the effects of the U.S. occupation that until now has been disregarded by Pacific war historians. The richness of this book will appeal to those interested the Pacific, World War II, as well as intimacy, family, race relations, colonialism, identity, and the legal structures of U.S. immigration.

"The evolution of this fascinating encounter between European and Polynesian culture also focuses on the larger development of art in the Pacific in the era following its first European contact. Twelve insightful and original essays about Paul Gauguin and Polynesia, written by eminent scholars in the field of art history and ethnology, present the development of Polynesian art before and after Gauguin's stay in Polynesia at the end of the 19th century. The book presents over 60 works by Paul Gauguin, fully revealing the extent of the influence of Polynesian art and culture on his work, while also highlighting more than 60 works from the Pacific that exemplify the dynamic exchanges of Pacific Island peoples with Europeans throughout the 19th century."--Publisher's website.

Considers H.J. Res. 475, to authorize funds for U.S. membership and participation in the South Pacific Commission.

James A. Michener, the master of historical fiction, revisits the scenes of his first great work, Tales of the South Pacific, the Pulitzer Prize winner that brought him international acclaim. In this sequel collection, Michener once again evokes the magic of the extraordinary isles in the Pacific—from Fiji and Gaudalcanal to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea—through stories that burst with adventure, charm, and local color. For Michener’s many fans around the globe, Return to Paradise is a precious second look at a land of enchantment by one of the most gifted storytellers of the twentieth century. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for Return to Paradise “A brilliant book and a worthy successor to Tales of the South Pacific.”—The Atlanta Constitution “This is a book that should be read by everyone. . . . All who have seen the South Pacific will find on every page the odors of frangipani, copra, blood, and beer.”—The New York Times “There’s drama and pathos and adventure and humanity . . . and a very high degree of excellence. Michener can write.”—Kirkus Reviews

"[Book title] ranges over the broad expanse of Oceania to reconstruct the history of "blackbirding" (slave trading) in the region. It examines the role of U.S. citizens (many of them ex-slaveholders and ex-confederates) in the trade and its roots in Civil War dislocations. What unfolds is a dramatic tale of unfree labor, conflicts between formal and informal empire, white supremacy, threats to sovereignty in Hawaii, the origins of a White Australian policy, and the rise of Japan as a Pacific power and putative protector."--Back cover.

Commerce has become an area of central importance to the South Pacific region. Although the countries are small it is widely acknowledged that their need to promote and develop commercial enterprise is crucial for their future sustainability. This new textbook is the first to examine the main areas of commercial law in the common law jurisdictions of the South Pacific region. These jurisdictions include the Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Niue, Nauru, (Western) Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The text is divided into six parts each with its own introduction to aid the reader through each particular area. Utilising both a structural and transactional approach it examines: the establishment and termination of commercial organizations the internal and external relations within and between organizations the legal principles applicable to various kinds of commercial dealings eg. insurance, sale of goods, bills of exchange aspects of foreign trade and international commerce relevant to the region. Knowledge of the legal principles that regulate commercial activity within the South Pacific Region is essential for the communities themselves and for those from outside interested in doing business in the area. Students studying commercial law in the region will find this textbook essential reading as will those involved, or seeking to become involved, in commercial activity there

From the bestselling author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals, the laugh-out-loud true story of his years on the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji, among cannibals, volcanoes . . . and the world’s best narcotics. With The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Maarten Troost established himself as one of the most engaging and original travel writers around. Getting Stoned with Savages again reveals his wry wit and infectious joy of discovery in a side-splittingly funny account of life in the farthest reaches of the world. After two grueling years on the island of Tarawa, battling feral dogs, machete-wielding neighbors, and a lack of beer on a daily basis, Maarten Troost was in no hurry to return to the South Pacific. But as time went on, he realized he felt remarkably out of place among the trappings of twenty-first-century America. When he found himself holding down a job—one that might possibly lead to a career—he knew it was time for he and his wife, Sylvia, to repack their bags and set off for parts unknown. Getting Stoned with Savages tells the hilarious story of Troost’s time on Vanuatu—a rugged cluster of islands where the natives gorge themselves on kava and are still known to “eat the man.” Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles against typhoons, earthquakes, and giant centipedes and soon finds himself swept up in the laid-back, clothing-optional lifestyle of the islanders. When Sylvia gets pregnant, they decamp for slightly-more-civilized Fiji, a fallen paradise where the local chiefs can be found watching rugby in the house next door. And as they contend with new parenthood in a country rife with prostitutes and government coups, their son begins to take quite naturally to island living—in complete contrast to his dad.

Collection of photographs by Hugo Bernatzik, taken on his travels through the Solomons and New Guinea with an introductory essay about the photographer, his journey, and his work.