On a long stretch of green coast in the South Pacific; hundreds of enormous; impassive stone heads stand guard against the ravages of time; war; and disease that have attempted over the centuries to conquer Easter Island. Steven Roger Fischer offers the first English-language history of Easter Island in Island at the End of the World; a fascinating chronicle of adversity; triumph; and the enduring monumentality of the island's stone guards.A small canoe with Polynesians brought the first humans to Easter Island in 700 CE; and when boat travel in the South Pacific drastically decreased around 1500; the Easter Islanders were forced to adapt in order to survive their isolation. Adaptation; Fischer asserts; was a continuous thread in the life of Easter Island: the first European visitors; who viewed the awe-inspiring monolithic busts in 1722; set off hundreds of years of violent warfare; trade; and disease—from the smallpox; wars; and Great Death that decimated the island to the late nineteenth-century Catholic missionaries who tried to "save" it to a despotic Frenchman who declared sole claim of the island and was soon killed by the remaining 111 islanders. The rituals; leaders; and religions of the Easter Islanders evolved with all of these events; and Fischer is just as attentive to the island's cultural developments as he is to its foreign invasions.Bringing his history into the modern era; Fischer examines the colonization and annexation of Easter Island by Chile; including the Rapanui people's push for civil rights in 1964 and 1965; by which they gained full citizenship and freedom of movement on the island. As travel to and interest in the island rapidly expand; Island at the End of the World is an essential history of this mysterious site.
#2745881 in Books Midland Publishing Ltd. 2005-05-13Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 11.00 x .69 x 8.50l; 2.37 #File Name: 1857801881208 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Resource on a Neglected TopicBy Paul PerryMust give credit where it's due; Yefim Gordon has put together another very good book; this time dealing with the much neglected subject of Soviet/Russian air launched weapons.You can find dozens of books on modern Russian aircraft; but until now; an English language publication dealing with the weapons themselves has been sparse.The book has a very nice layout; and is easy to navigate. Weapons are listed by type (these are Air to Air missiles; Air to Ground missiles; Rockets and Bombs); and then further broken down by subtype (Short Range AAM's; Long Range AAM's; etc.); then by design bureau.The book is very comprehensive; with each missile/rocket/bomb type receiving a detailed development overview; BW photos; and detailed line drawings. The end of the book has several pages of color photos for further reference.For anyone interested in the subject; this is a gem of a book to add to your reference library; and I highly recommend it; not only for covering this neglected subject; but covering it in detail.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. An intermediate level resourceBy Kazuaki ShimazakiThis book is; in my opinion; most suitable towards intermediate (learn most of what's commonly available online; already has a few other references on his shelf and starting to develop a general position based on what has been learned) level military enthusiasts. It provides an overview of a wide variety of Russian weapons with some details.Definitely not suited for beginners (this is definitely not to be your first desk reference) due to the occasional errors pointed out by other reviewers. Don't worry; the errors are quite obvious and a more experienced reader will filter them out automatically; but a beginner will ingest some funny stuff indeed.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great but could use some additions.By WillAn amazing book on the subject with plenty of post-Cold War information. My only issues are the lack of anything (chart; table; etc) giving the NATO names for the various weapons and the complete lack of coverage on aircraft guns and cannon.
