cover image Tuturani: A Political Journey in the Pacific Islands

Tuturani: A Political Journey in the Pacific Islands

Scott L. Malcomson. Poseidon Press, $21.45 (267pp) ISBN 978-0-671-69209-4

On a six-month odyssey in the South and Central Pacific, Village Voice editor Malcomson encountered a paradise partly spoiled by neocolonialism, ethnic and political rivalries, poverty and nuclear radiation. In Guam, the native Chamorro people fight discrimination and clash with American, Filipino, Japanese and Chinese newcomers. In the Marshall Islands, a hierarchical clan structure has blunted protests against U.S. nuclear missile testing. In Fiji he interviewed Brigadier Sitiveni Rabuka, who led two coups to restore the ``Fijian way of life'' and curb the influence of prosperous Indian merchants. Touring French Polynesia, he found vestiges of Paul Gauguin's lush eden, but also an increase in radiation-related cancers from nuclear testing, and an independence movement weakened as France's economic vise has tightened. Travel, adventure and politics blend in this involving, serendipitous journey. (Oct.)