A poignant memoir—and #1 Irish bestseller—about a wayward son's return home to his family's farm, and how he found a new beginning in an age-old world.Farming has been in John Connell's family for generations, but he never intended to follow in his father's footsteps. Until, one winter, after more than a decade away, he finds himself back on the farm.Connell records the hypnotic rhythm of the farming day—cleaning the barns, caring for the herd, tending to s...

Where do thousands of people in wigs, jumpsuits and fake Priscilla eyelashes go each January to swelter in 42-degree heat as they celebrate The King? Parkes, of course – 365 kilometres west of Sydney – for the annual Parkes Elvis Festival. But how, and why, did this sleepy town get all shook up by Elvis? Written by two long-time fans of the festival, Outback Elvis introduces the local characters, the lookalikes, the impersonators and the tribute artists – and the town that made th...

This book examines the key development challenges facing the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean and the Pacific, focusing on livelihoods and state security and stability in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides a comprehensive overview by exploring six broad and interrelated themes: state capacity to provide basic services (such as health, water, education, electrification); migration, remittances and aid; climate change adaptation, biodiv...

Originally published in 1989, this book analyses France’s distinctive role in international affairs and examines the characteristics of French foreign policy in the Fifth Republic. The introduction provides an overview of France’s role in international relations, then specific chapters look at topics such as French military strategy and relations with the superpowers of the late 20th Century; France and the European Community; immigrant workers and their impact on France’s international pr...

A hymn to the rituals of farming life from the bestselling Irish author of The Farmer's Son.For John Connell, the lambing season on his County Longford farm begins in the autumn. In the sheep shed, he surveys the dozen females in his care and contemplates the work ahead as the season slowly turns to winter, then spring.The twelve sheep have come into his life at just the right moment. After years of hard work, John felt a deep tiredness creeping up...

This book investigates all facets of Chinese tourism in a single destination, and its fascinating rise and evolution. It provides an overview of the first two decades of twenty-first century Chinese tourism in Australia, covering the early days, when Chinese tourism was mainly guided package tours with tourists visiting standard iconic sites, and its evolution into more individualistic tourism, with younger tourists seeking out sites of particular interest. Many of these ‘new sites’ are pl...

This book provides the first wide-ranging account of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in two contrasting island regions - the Caribbean and the Pacific - and in several islands and island states. It traces the complexity of effects and responses, at different scales, through the first critical year. Written by a range of scholars and practitioners working in the region the book focuses on six key themes: public health; the economies (notably the collapse of tourism, the revival of local...

First published in 1978, The End of Tradition is the history of four Surrey villages, the Horsleys and Clandons, close to London but isolated and protected from it by the Green Belt. Towards the end of the last century, a period of rapid change began in rural England as a new way of life centred on the nearby towns and cities replaced a traditional rural village life. Estates were broken up, agricultural life declined, village schools and parish councils were set up, and the perva...

This is the first book to examine the contemporary seasonal migration of Pacific islanders to Australia through the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP). It reflects on this new age of guestwork from a broad social, economic, political and cultural perspective in both source countries and destinations. In so doing, it offers a critical perspective on different phases of managed labour migration from nineteenth century practices of ‘blackbirding’ to the present day. This book examines why and ho...

This book provides a contemporary overview of the social-ecological and economic vulnerabilities that produce food and nutrition insecurity in various small island contexts, including both high islands and atolls, from the Pacific to the Caribbean. It examines the historical and contemporary circumstances that have accompanied the shift from subsistence production to the consumption of imported, processed foods and drinks, and the impact of this transition on nutrition and the rise of non-...

Thousands of studies have been conducted by social scientists in the villages and islands, and increasingly in the towns, of the Pacific. Despite this, there are few longitudinal studies of any great depth and sophistication in the region.The contributors to this book have all conducted long-term research in the islands of the Pacific. During their visits and revisits they have witnessed first-hand the many changes that have occurred in their fieldsites as well as observing element...

This book critically and succinctly examines recent changes in land ownership, mobility and livelihoods in various Pacific island states, from East Timor to the Solomon Islands, where climate change, environmental change (including hazards of various origins), population growth and urbanization have contributed to new tensions and discords and resulted in complex structures of migration and resettlement. This has brought new and varied experiences of income and livelihood generation, and c...