Suffering through strength: The men who made Christmas Island by John Hunt © 2011
If I could only buy one book about Christmas Island this would be the one. It is not a dry boring 279 page tome about phosphate mining. Instead it is a fascinating account of the human story spanning the first 50 years of the island’s mining operations. And what a story! As John says in his preface “The book is a narrative of courage, endurance and willpower, a triumph of the human spirit in an isolated island. Mistreatment, death, murder, prostitution and betrayal all played their part, especially in the earliest days before World War 1. The themes of exploitation, human weakness, culture and class kept recurring throughout the story.”
This story has been brought to life beautifully by John’s meticulous research over a 40 year period and his talent for being able to disseminate his findings into an interesting and informative read leaving the reader with that feeling of wanting to know even more. The book, on nice glossy type paper has good quality historic photos, hand drawn maps and additional stories scattered throughout titled “Legends and Mysteries”. All the content is a tour de force and I can highly recommend it. The book can be bought online from the Christmas Island Tourism shop.
Golden Leaves: An introduction to the Chinese Cemeteries of Christmas Island by Helene Bartleson © 2008
Coming soon.
We were the Christmas Islanders 1906 – 1980 by Marg Neale © 1988
Coming soon.
