IJI: ISLANDS OF THE DAWN

by Leonard Wibberley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 7, 1964

Athough we hear a great deal at present about Cyprus, Goa, Kashmir, and other places where people from two or more divergent backgrounds are struggling to further their various goals, the Islands of the Dawn -- where East Indians (whose ancestors were brought in as indentured laborers) outnumbered indigenous Fijians at the last census -- have not, so far at least, propelled themselves into the headlines. Possibilities there are, however, for an economic and political crisis in Fiji, and Wibberley has not failed to note the delicacy of the balance between the push of modernization and the pull of tradition. But this is not primarily a book about the complex problems of language, religion, and land ownership. The author is a traveler for whom every new vista is a stimulant, a sophisticate whose view of the present is tempered by his search into the past, and a commentator whose observations are predicated chiefly upon the facts he reports. Fiji -- with a history of cannibalism, copra, Christianization, corsairs, and chieftainship -- is so romantic, even yet, that it seems like a fable and not a place at all. Yet Wibberley was there, and (as with Yesterday's Land and Ventures into the Deep) he has brought back a book well worth the time it takes to read it. The Rob Wright photos are excellent both journalistically and artistically.

Pub Date: Oct. 7, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: ves Washburn

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION