RETURN TO THE ISLANDS

This sequel to his earlier We Chose The Islands (1952) has a note at its beginning that gives a glimpse into the author's life in England and the decision to return to a government administrative post back in the Gilbert Islands of the Pacific, in 1921, that makes a bridge to the story of his later life. Here a collection of essays and sketches gives a wonderful picture of the people and life of the Islands and an enlarged insight into the modest perceptive and sensitive man who was more than just the servant of the United Kingdom in this outlying colony. His years of service into the '30s covered the period when the early autocratic rule gradually became a democratic one, and his observations at the end are a distillation of his experience, tell a great deal -- in a little space -- and are a joy to read. Just as delightful and charming as his previous book, and readers of that will want to know about this.