Worlds Apart: A History of the Pacific Islands

by I.C. Campbell

Spanning the social, political, and economic history of the Pacific Islands—which include Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia—this book provides an overview of this complex and changing area. It has been updated to detail the first settlement of the islands by raft and canoe voyagers, presenting a new theory. It then covers the centuries of Western contact, cultural influence, colonialism, and the coming of independence. Including key political changes that have occurred in the first decade of the new millennium, this new edition brings into focus the rich past of this diverse region.

392 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Ian C. Campbell is a former history professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji as well as a former visiting professor at Kagoshima University in Japan. He is the author of "Gone Native" in Polynesia: Captivity Narratives and Experiences from the South Pacific and Island Kingdom: Tonga Ancient and Modern.