2003-06-12 Lonely Planet Guide to Aborinial Australia

It covers aspects of Australia in much the same way to other guidebooks, divided into regions and outlining history, geography, tours, shops and sights to visit in that area. It features sacred sites, information tours, festivals and shops run by aboriginals selling genuine arts and crafts, rather than the gaudy mass produced digeridoos or boomerangs seen elsewhere.

There are colour sections explaining areas of special interest, including Uluru (Ayres rock), art, sport, bush medicine and Kakadu national park amongst others. As you would expect from a Lonely Planet, it has many clearly set out maps and is easy to use as a reference guide. There are detailed explanations of the Dreamtime ancient stories, the arrival of white men in Australia and recent aboriginal land trials which I found extremely informative and useful during my travels.

It is meant as a travel guide to accompany others, and also to give a voice to many aboriginal people who have a point of view to air. The authors have selected local people, who are often poorly educated due to the deprivations of their past, but who have an important insight into their culture and history often writing for the first time. They write vignettes to accompany the main text. In this respect the book slightly lets itself down: the tone can be "preachy" or condemnatory. No doubt it is relevant to the understanding of aboriginal Australia, but pointing out the failures of the past to those who buy the book is preaching to the converted and can make for difficult reading. Many of the authors make the same point as each other and there is a definite "central message" of triumph through adversity. Using local narrative in this way is a noble idea, but could do with a little editing!

However, in summary it is an excellent reference to a complicated subject, handled well and presented with style.