This travel book on Samoa is full of information to help one maximize a trip to Somoa. It has some great descriptions of Samoan history and places of interest. I am worried though. I am worried that if ever go to Samoa I will not know how to properly act. The author of this travelogue time and time again warns the reader about Samoan cultural mores which should be followed. But I am afraid I will forget some of them and be a shameful traveler.

This book has everything you need to know when travelling to Samoa. Nothing is missed and you should be able to plan a long or short stay in Samoa. Everything is as described in the book and nothing is really out of date. The only problem is that some of the maps lack detail to be useful, however quality maps are available in Apia.

This book is PACKED with information! It is also a really great size (smallish) to tuck in my travel bag and take along to be sure not to miss anything on my first trip to Samoa. :o)

I found the guide to be "to the point" informative without overburdening the reader with useless commentary. The clear and precise photos are well chosen to show samples of what to expect in each park. The "National Geographic" maps are simple and easy to read showing park highlights along with well-defined topography, but again, without overburdening the reader with too much detail. These guides are especially good for travel planning when time is of the utmost and there is only a short window with which to enjoy the park(s).

Few Americans know that the United States still owns a relic from the Age of Colonialism below the Equator, and that this "possession" is not faring so well after 101 years of benign neglect. Congressman Faleomavaega is a gifted writer. Few people could cram quite so much information into 142 pages and still have the result highly readable. But it's not a happy story when for 51 years the proud people of American Samoa had their Governor appointed by the US Navy, and then for another 26 years their Governor was always a personal friend of the Secretary of the Interior. Yet the author is basically an optimistic person, and he continually cites the many accomplishments of Asian and Pacific Island Americans, and the success of local initiatives in agricultural development, commercial policy, and educational achievement.

I was really surprised that a Member of Congress could endorse the pagan and gruesome Ritual of the Tatau. The current medical literature suggests that severe physical punishments during initiation rites can be life threatening. And then after such a persuasive plea for Americans to take Pacific policy seriously, the Congressman asks for only half a loaf. After 101 years of being required to be Americans, the people of American Samoa deserve Commonwealth or Statehood status. If their price for joining the Union is permanent protection of the Samoan tradition of communal property ownership, it is doubtful that very many Americans would object.

An amateurish diatribe, poorly written and poorly argued. Highly subjective and controversial. Published by an "on-demand" publisher, akin to self-publishing. The premise is interesting: the "refutation," by a member of the community, of findings in an anthropological study of that community, published more than 50 years ago. I was hoping for something objective and well-reasoned; however, the author simply engages in polemics. The author extends the idea of intellectual property rights to members of a culture, with the culture being the "intellectual property." Surely that is a dubious proposition? Last I heard, a culture cannot be legally copyrighted... When the author rails against anthropologists, he is picking the wrong target. Anthropologists are generally the most sympathetic, the least racist, and the least likely to say bad things about another culture, of all professions in the world. I think the author is also reacting to old attitudes and old habits of speech that were perhaps more common and more accepted in the U.S. 80 years ago, when Mead wrote her paper, but no longer are today. I am going to reread Mead's book this weekend, very carefully; I haven't read it for a long time.

It's all about culture. What she fails to do though is to discuss what creates culture that we are socially constructed therefrom. Her key subject of youthful sexual relations is in great question and one should read Freeman to see a different view of the romantic tribe that Mead tried to capture in words by visiting only 5 months in which her informants lied about sexual relations that she based her ethnology on. Freeman is a more objective view if that is possible. And more importantly listen to the Samoa themselves above all so-called intellectuals. It is their culture and history afterall - not Freeman's or Mead's interpretation of it. With regard to Mead, she has her conclusion set even before she has started her study and this taints her work, but worth reading nevertheless for historical purpose - but not necessarily for facts.

This book sure proves one thing--Margaret didn't have a clue about Samoan dignity! Here we are, 75 years after her field trip, and STILL Samoans are mad as hell about her making them out to be 'animals'. The Chief really sticks to the anthropology professor for letting Mead's trashy story pass unchallenged. When Derek Freeman tried to set the record straight, they got real mad because he was giving the profession a bad name! Anyway, the Chief proves that Margaret got just about everything wrong. It's a nice sidelight that the Chief says that just about all the Samoan words and phrases in her book are the kind that children use. What a fraud that woman was!

Although this book is about a 10 year old Samoan girl the subjects the author explores are adult. The book is dark and deals with sexual issues and family violence. I'm not saying the book is without merit. It would surely have a place when studying modern polynesian cultures as an adult, but I think buyers should know that it is inappropriate for children.

Short writings that tell the experiences of a Samoan girls,that Pacifc life isn't all what it seems. read where we once belonged next.