I read this book years ago when it first came out. I keep going back and reading it again. I don't generally enjoy travel writing, but this book is simply one of the best I've ever read. Not just interesting, but witty and interesting, which is something much better.

The kind of book that you regret having read the first time because you'll never get to read it again for the first time!

This is a difficult book not to like. I was worried at first that Clarke's tour of the equator might be a sort of weak gimmick, but he sticks to his plan only in so far as it helps bring to life the people and the cultures that he visits along the way. This is a very human book, with many stories of lives along the equator that are at once quite finely drawn but still pointing to the larger issues of environmental degradation overpopulation and disease. I think it is this very humanness that prevents it from seeming overly depressing or

Intelligent, insightful, and not at all patronizing of the cultures he visits. He did manage to hit some of the world's hell-holes along the way. The sections on French Guyana and the South Pacific were particularly interesting.

Clarke makes it clear that he does not like California. He doesn't see why anyone would like California. He goes into great detail critcizing California and the people in California. The problem is, he NEVER suggests anything better; he never presents anything about anywhere that he *does* like. This makes for dreary, and at times infuriating, reading.

Then again, I'm from California.

....could so sharp-eyed an author collect such a crazy quilt of legends, stories, hard data, speculation, and eccentric responses to the oft-denied relationship between the San Andreas Fault he paces from north to south and the folks who live atop it. He has a reporter's knack for getting at the subtext of whatever details catch his attention--and the subtext is often deeply poignant, coming as it does from the shadow side of a given community.

My one complaint is that the book spends too much time northward. One reads 3/4 of it and gets no farther south than Hollister. I hope future editions will include more about Southern California. Highly recommended.

The author takes a trip down the San Andreas fault from the North Coast to the Salton Sea, and talks about the communities (villages, San Francisco, Palm Springs) along the way. These California towns are facing the same problems with developers wanting to make a quick buck and local governments desparate for tax money to build prisons. The author's geology is lacking, but his sense of the people he's met makes up for it.

"Pearl Harbor Ghosts", by Thurston Clarke, sub-titled: "The Legacy Of December 7, 1941." Ballantine Books, New York, 1999 & 2001.
The extensive research by the author, Thurston Clarke, is marred, in my opinion, by a tendency towards sensationalism. Clarke's agenda is not really clear, but when a choice can be made, his writing tended towards the more popular and more sensational. For example, on page 22, Clarke writes that the Japanese spy, Ensign Yoshikawa, was not on either list of suspects to be detained in case of war. The implication, of course, being that the FBI and military intelligence were sort of incompetent in pre-war Hawaii. A very casual check on my part found in John Toland's book, " Infamy. Pearl Harbor And Its Aftermath", that secret agent Takeo Yoshikawa was burning code books during the Pearl Harbor attack, but within ten minutes of the bombs beginning to fall, "...someone shouted, 'Open the door!' The door caved in and Lieutant Yoshio Hasegawa of the Honolulu police burst in with several men. They began stamping on the smoldering code books". It would seem that Yoshikawa was on someone's list, and to imply otherwise is tending towards sensationalism.

On pages 133-134, the author, T. Clarke, presents a case for calling the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the A-bomb drop on Hiroshima as "sneak attacks". The sneak attack on Pearl Harbor is obvious, but making the use of a nuclear weapon on Hiroshima "sneaky" is illogical and sensational.

Clarke let his book follow the popular movie plots, so that he tells you, on page 192, that the name of the black mess attendant (recall the movie) on the "West Virginia" was Doris Miller and that he earned the Navy Cross. For some reason, however, he does not mention that fifteen (15) Medals of Honor were awarded for the action at Pearl Harbor. For example, when the "Oklahoma" turned turtle and capsized, Ensign Francis Flaherty pushed the last sailor out of the turret, thereby trapping himself in the sinking battle ship. I wonder if Clarke missed a grand opportunity to develop more "ghosts" by interviewing the sailors who had been saved by this officer's bravery. What did those men accomplish in the remainder of the war? Did they survive? Where are they now?

Take a look at the picture of the USS Arizona's band at Bloch Arena (following page 204). On page 84, Mr. Clarke comments and sees them as ghosts already, "...sitting ... in dress whites and already a ghostly presence". Unfortunately for Mr. Clarke's comments, in the late 1930s, the U. S. Navy did away with "dress white" uniforms for enlisted men. The picture in his book clearly shows the Arizona's band in undress whites with neckerchiefs.

Finally, the group that called the Opana Radar Site as an "electrical engineering milestone" (page 99) was NOT the Institute of Electrical Engineers, which is British, but rather was the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), an American organization, which at 300,000 member engineers is usually considered the world's largest professional group.
Sincerely, John Peter Rooney, Senior Member IEEE.

This book is not like other books about Pearl Harbor. Most of the others deal mainly with the events leading up to the attack and the attack itself. Mr. Clarke has chosen a different path with Pearl Harbor Ghosts. He has concentrated on the evolution of Hawaii and Honolulu from the time of the attack to the present day and inserted lessons that may be learned from the attack. Before December 7, 1941, Honolulu and the Hawaiian islands were nothing like they are today. Life consisted of working shortened days so that one could go to the docks to see an ocean liner off. Lazy sugarcane fields and pineapple plantations covered the soil. Life was much simpler. But December 7 changed Hawaii from a tropical paradise into a modernized military outpost. Gone were the lazy drives up winding roads to the beach. The rule of the day now was working long hours to repair the damage done by the Japanese. Americans and Hawaiians, as explained by the author, had developed a sense of arrogance. No one in their right mind thought that a bunch of inferior people could attack the United States by surprise. We were, unfortunately, proven wrong. One partiular aspect of this book which I especially enjoyed was the discussion of the Japanese islanders and thier treatment after the attack. Many of the Japanese were rounded up and put in internment camps on the mainland. Large numbers of the nisei (second generation Japanese) had joined the American armed forces, and now faced the horrible task of fighting an enemy that looked just like themselves. Others simply left the islands altogether. Some of the nisei were simply discharged from their units after the attack and given no explanations. After time, a full nisei Regiment was developed, fought in the European theater, and became the most decorated group in the war. Still, even 60 years after that disasterous day, many American survivors still harbor ill feelings toward the Japanese. Will these feelings ever go away for these men? That is a difficult question to ask. Meanwhile, Honolulu has developed like most other American cities. Gone are many of the plantations and palm trees, having been replaced by shopping malls and skyscraper office buildings. The dirt roads have been mostly replaced by interstates. And the Pearl Harbor ghosts still linger for some of the survivors. Will they ever be completely forgotten?

This book is a great in-depth look at Pearl Harbor and its impact from 1941 to today.

It gives the best sense of what it was like to be on Oahu from the days leading to the attack to the days following the attack, and then it compares them to the present day.

I had a better sense of what Pearl harbor was like after reading this book than after all the other Pearl Harbor books I've read (and it's been quite a few) combined.

If you're at all interested in Pearl Harbor, read this book.

This book was interesting and I couldn't put it down. Of course, this was written by Jules Verne and was filled with exciting moments. Philleas Fogg, an Englishman, bets 20,000 pounds that he can travel around the world in 80 days with his companion and sevant named Jean Passepartout. After betting this money at the reform club, he departs soon from London and travels all the way around the world. After arriving in many different countries by many different means of transportation, he lands in India and runs into a enchanting young princess who is about to be killed. Fogg and Passepartout come to the rescue and keep moving right along. And soon, they fell in love. But this whole time, there was trouble right behind him. Detective Fix thinks Fogg was a bank robber and this detective is following him everywhere so he can arrest him in London. Passepartout ends up thinking this man is a member of the reform club, and thinks he's trying to stop them from getting there. After many close calls through transportation and an arrest, Fogg arrives. But you'll have to read it yourself to find out what happens. It's a wonderful book and if you haven't read it, it's a good book to read.

This is Verne's classic story of the trip of Phileas Fogg (who is obsessed with time), Passeportout, Aouda, and Detective Fix around the world on a wager. The book is filled with beautiful time and space imagery throughout (I would bet that one could write an entire thesis on all the time and space references in the novel). Thirty-three years after its publication, the world first learns of the space/time continuum (although I'm certain Verne was not anticipating Einstein). Fogg bets his fellow club members that he can circumnavigate the globe in a mere eighty days. He leaves immediately with his valet Passeportout and is pursued by Detective Fix, who thinks he is a bank robber. Through many adventures, including the rescue of Aouda from immolation, they all return to London. Interestingly, a few years later, after a number of improvements had been made in railways and roads, a U.S. journalist named Nellie Bly (the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cochrane) decided to attempt to break Fogg's "record." Leaving New York on November 14, 1889, she was able to circumnavigate the globe in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds. But, she didn't rescue a Hindu princess! It should be noted, however, that one has to be very careful concerning the translations of this novel. There are some terrible ones being sold. Perhaps that's the reason for the few poor comments by earlier reviewers. There is an excellent translation by William Butcher that appeared in 1995.

Before there was any kind of high-speed travel an English gentleman named Phileas Fogg betted 20,000 pounds that he can travel around the world in 80 or less days. He starts his journey in London. On his way he meets a beautiful Indian Princess. Fogg also gets mistaken for a criminal. During his whole journey he has a detective following him trying to arrest him when the warrant arrives. In the book you follow Fogg's adventures through four continents when he is racing against time. The book is fast-paced, action-packed adventure with both romance and danger.

The characters in the story were introduced very well, especially Phileas Fogg. In the beginning of the book you get to know that Fogg is a very private gentleman. He never goes to any social places except the Reform Club. A remarkable thing about Fogg is that his life is centered around the clock. He is very precise and always on time. Every day he follows the exact same schedule. Phileas Fogg does not have a wife or any kids.

The setting of the book was very jumpy. Since Fogg travels through many continents and countries the setting changes all the time. You still feel you know a little bit about every place that he comes to, even if he only stays there for a couple of hours.

When I started reading the book I thought it would be a really good book and it really did meet my standards. I would recommend it to any one who likes adventure and action. Since it is written in so many different versions a person almost any age can read it.

California Fault is an excellent and endearing book. Thurston Clark combines elements of geology, sociology, history with a wealth of insight to create the story of the San Andreas fault and the Californians who live above and along it. The author provides an excellent and detailed narrative, and, despite following many entertaining digressions, keeps it all together and focussed by the creative use of different themes - the trail of an ancestor who led men across the Oregon trail, his personal search for an earthquake to experience and someone to forecast it for him, and of course, the pursuit of the California dream. In particular those who like eccentrics will find a selection of the best California has to offer - their stories tied together by the author's skillfully highlighted ironies and ambiguities which are themself such a big part of any true California story.

One might think that Thurston Clarke is compiling his travel books by geographical feature, first a book on the equator and now one on islands. We might expect his next to be about the Tropic of Cancer or salt marshes. Whatever it is, I suspect it will be a worthy and fascinating concoction.

While he writes this book from the perspective of what he calls a "islomane", one who fascinated with islands, it makes compelling reading for someone who lacks this particular fascination. As a prairie boy I am more fascinated by mountains than islands, but because Clarke weaves so much collateral information into his text, you will never be anything less than fully engaged. He visits all kinds of islands from tourist meccas to summer cottages to northern coal mines. These journeys seem terribly difficult, but Clarke never lets the encumbrances of modern travel get in the way of his examination of both the fascination he has with islands in general and the particulars of what makes any given island worth visiting. He comes to many surprisingly interesting generalizations about the nature of islands and islanders (that for example changes on islands are usually more permanent than elsewhere).

As a traveler he reminds me of Paul Theroux, and certainly his writing is on that level, though without the annoying flashes of ego that often make Theroux painful. It is interesting to compare Clarke's island jaunts with Theroux's Happy Isle of Oceania. Both authors distinctly render the sense of desperation that emerges from these isolated places, but Clarke appears to have a greater sense of the humanity of the people who inhabit them. Perhaps it takes an islomane to truly empathize with those likewise afflicted.

Much as I enjoyed this book, I would also recommend Clarke's book on his travels around the equator. I found these places more interesting, and the quality of the writing is just as high.

I had to chuckle as I browsed the book. In the area of the Pacific with which I am familiar, I found Mr. Thurston's writings were pure fantasy. Not to say he was devious or untruthful. He was just repeating the old myths that have been going around for years. I'm sure his personal experience with the islanders was pleasant. But having lived there, I can assure you the truth is a bit different.

The biggest myth the islanders propogate is their relationship with the Japanese during WWII. I had the pleasure of dining with the senior enlisted Japanese soldier who was stationed there during the war. He was on very friendly terms with one of the elected officials who had been his house boy. They spoke together in Japanese and reminisced all during the meal. At the end of hostilities, there was never any order to massacre the inslanders. Even if there were, the Japanese were near starvation and could never have executed such an order. I was told that in Japan there are veterans groups who visit these islands regularly, although I don't know that for a fact.

There is absolutely no industry whatsoever on these islands. The locals live off of what they can scavange from the jungle or catch from the ocean. I've seen families fight over who has rights to certain fruit and coconut trees. They are extremely friendly toward outsiders since to live permenently in the United States they need a sponsor. They also understand how paternity law suits work and the women are more than willing to claim their next born as yours.

It's very nice to read these stories about how quiet and peaceful these island settings can be. And how friendly and accomodating the inhabitants are. But these are just myths propogated to enhance tourism. I would encourage everyone interested to read the book and then visit just one island to compare. It will advance your understanding of these places immensely.

The author presents and enjoyable book about different islands from the standpoint that many of them have a personality of their own. I have often thought it would be nice to live on an island...that is a remote island. Maybe that's a bit of a pipedream...but this author sure got me thinking again how that might just be the thing to do to renew the spirit and rejuvenate the soul. This book is not for everyone...but it may be just right for readers with an inquisitive interest in an 'island attitude'.

I like to lie on the beach and disappear----this book took me to another time and place. I shall be reading it again lying on the sands of the Grand Cayman----I say, read it feel the sun on your pale skin....take the one you love.

Crusoe- the romance is in us all. Even if u lie in your own backyard this summer--read, feel Father sun on your pale flesh longing for freedom. Adventure is there, close your eyes.......