Better half a century late than never. The children's book my Grandpa wrote in the early 1970s and firmly intended to publish, but for various reasons never did. Having brought out my own first book this year (which is of course far simpler and easier than it would have been back then), it seemed fitting to bring his work to completion. With the help of a hand-typed anotated final draft, and two specially comissioned illustrations, the story needed very little extra work. It's all about a ...

Guam is a special place for a number of reasons. At 212 square miles, it's the largest island in Micronesia, and its status as a territory of the U.S. makes it our most westerly possession. It is 6,000 miles west of San Francisco, and is truly where America's day begins. The geology of this apostrophe-shaped island, which is 30 miles long and four to twelve miles wide, is volcanic. Much of the north ern part has cliffs along the coast that drop sharply to the sea, as well as a few mountain...

Each time I see a new place I privately play the game of, "Would I be happy living here permanently?" My reactions for Fiji, mostly happy ones, aren't based entirely on Fiji's miles of white beaches, her rattling palms, the variety of her villages, or the dramatic hill country. I can find these things in dozens of Pacific destinations and, as much as I love most of them, none are choices for my declining years. Fiji has the required qualities among them, space and lots of it. Viti Levu, the ...

Tourism, while still small, will surely be a big thing in this kingdom by the sea. It has many attractions the king himself, his palace, the beaches, lagoons, flying foxes, blowholes, ruins, exquisite outer islands, and convenient transport. There's good food, perhaps the best in the Pacific, and the weather is cooler than many other Pacific islands. Tonga has good things to bring home: tapa cloth, wood carvings, beautiful baskets, mats and, best of all, prices for everything are low. Tong...

These fascinating and stunningly beautiful Pacific islands lie midway between Hawaii and the Philippines. Seen from the air, Kosrae is a mountainous green craggy island with curious pointed peaks thick with jungle, fringed with white sandy beaches and a system of close-in mangrove-covered reef islands. The beauty of this high island can only be described as magnificent. Coming from the low atoll islands of the Marshalls I got the feeling that here was a mini-continent, a fragment of land, ...

The Marshall Islands, named after a British sea captain who explored the group in 1788, are scattered like flung necklaces over about 750,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean. Positioned 2,200 miles southwest of Hawaii, they occupy an area between four and 20 degrees north of the equator. The islands are aligned in two groups. Those to the west are the Ralik Chain; to the east they're in the Ratak Chain. Altogether they total 34 islands and 850 sea-washed reefs. All the islands are coral, but...

Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the second-largest island in the world, includes a cluster of islands off its northeast coast New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, Manus, the Trobriands, and scores of smaller islands. The other half of the island, the western part Indonesian Irian Jaya is another story and, other than brief remarks about it, this chapter is confined to Papua New Guinea. However, when you put both halves of the island together, notice how in profile it resembles a h...

Vanuatu, a cluster of 13 large islands and 80 small ones in the southwest Pacific, 1,300 miles east of Australia, has had a kaleidoscopic past. Formerly known as the New Hebrides, it was administered as a British-French Condominium, referred to as "pandemonium" and the events surrounding independence in 1980 had Gilbert and Sullivan qualities. Then there are the languages they speak: French, English, 105 indigenous tongues, and the wonderful common language, Bislama. The islands of Vanuatu, f...

Our illustrated travel guide will take you to the beautiful island of Fiji.Fiji is a Melanesian country in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand and consists of an archipelago that includes 332 islands, a handful of which make up most of the land area, and approximately 110 of which are inhabited.Nadi (pronounced "Nandi") is on the western side of the island of Viti Levu, the main and largest island in Fiji.Suva (the...

Getting to Know Phucket Thailand’s top tropical island in the Andaman Sea has been voted Best in the World as a holiday destination over many years and in many magazines. The beaches have drawn awards after awards from the travelling public who see Phuket as the ideal place to enjoy a holiday of sand, sea and clear blue waters. Mix that with an interior which still has some pristine rainforest, and the beautiful islands of Phi Phi a boat ride away, and ...

Based on the classic, Best Dives of the Caribbean, this guide zeroes in on the best dives of Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda. It includes the latest and best dive and snorkel sites, each rated for visual excellence and marine life. The author's knowledge of the Caribbean sites is unparalleled. From sunken planes and snorkel trails to blue holes, the best destinations beneath the waves are covered. Also included are places to stay and eat, activities and practical information for visitors. "I h...

Jeanette Foster, author of this best-seller, is undoubtedly among the most prolific and heavily-read of Hawaiian travel writers, the author of dozens of appraisals of America's most popular tropical destination. She lives in Maui, works full-time on all five islands at keeping both recommendations and warnings of Hawaiian lodgings, restaurants and attractions up-to-date, and her advice is eagerly sought by countless followers. This is her newest guide, sold for only $10.95.