Popular Oceanian Biography Books
Find biography books written by authors from Oceania for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (22)
11.
Growing Up Queer in Australia by Benjamin Law EN
AustraliaDescription:
'No amount of YouTube videos and queer think pieces prepared me for this moment.' 'The mantle of "queer migrant" compelled me to keep going - to go further.' 'I never "came out" to my parents. I felt I owed them no explanation.' 'All I heard from the pulpit were grim hints.' 'I became acutely aware of the parts of myself that were unpalatable to queers who grew up in the city.' 'My queerness was born in a hot dry land that was never ceded.' 'Even now, I sometimes think that I don't know my own desire.' Compiled by celebrated author and journalist Benjamin Law, Growing Up Queer in Australiaasse... continue
12.
How We Love : Notes on a Life by Clementine Ford EN
Description:
Clementine Ford is a person who has loved deeply, strangely and with curiosity. She is fascinated by love and the multiple ways it makes its home in our hearts and believes that the way we continue to surrender ourselves to love is an act of great faith and bravery. This tender and lyrical memoir explores love in its many forms through Clementine's own experiences. With clear eyes and an open heart, she writes about losing her adored mother far too young, about the pain and confusion of first love - both platonic and romantic - and the joy and heartache of adult love. She writes movingly about... continue
13.
Island of the Lost : An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett EN
Country: Oceania / 
New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
“Riveting.” —The New York Times Book Review Hundreds of miles from civilization, two ships wreck on opposite ends of the same deserted island in this true story of human nature at its best—and at its worst. It is 1864, and Captain Thomas Musgrave’s schooner, the Grafton, has just wrecked on Auckland Island, a forbidding piece of land 285 miles south of New Zealand. Battered by year-round freezing rain and constant winds, it is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. To be shipwrecked there means almost certain death. Incredibly, at the same time on the opposite end of the island, another... continue
14.
Journeys in a Small Canoe : The Life and Times of a Solomon Islander by Lloyd Maepeza Gina EN
Country: Oceania / 
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Description:
Although the life story of prominent Solomon Islander Sir Lloyd Maepeza Gina has a unique value for Solomon Islanders, it also has universal aspects. This book provides vivid insights into the richness of his family and spiritual life and how this gave meaning to his strivings, as well as support in his disappointments.
15.
Papua New Guinea16.
Letters and Journals by Katherine Mansfield EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
'Here then is a little summary of what I need - power, wealth and freedom. It is the hopelessly insipid doctrine that love is the only thing in the world... which hampers us so cruelly. We must get rid of that bogey - and then, then comes the opportunity of happiness and freedom.' So wrote one of our most gifted, but tragically short-lived, writers whose relatively small output has, nevertheless, exercised a powerful influence on modern fiction - indeed, Virginia Woolf confessed that hers was the only writing she was jealous of. Although these letters and extracts from Katherine Mansfield's jo... continue
17.
Life Without Limits : Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vujicic EN
Description:
ECPA BESTSELLER—Over one million copies sold! • What Would Your Life be Like if Anything Were Possible? Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich, fulfilling, and “ridiculously good” life while serving as a role model for anyone seeking true happiness. Now an internationally successful motivational speaker, Nick eagerly spreads his message: the most important goal is to find your life’s purpose and to never give up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in your way. Nick tells the story of his physical disabilities... continue
18.
Marching Powder : A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail by Rusty Young, Thomas McFadden EN
Description:
An account of life inside one of the strangest and most notorious prisons in the world, San Pedro in Bolivia.
19.
Missing, Presumed Dead : The Double Murder Case That Shocked Australia by Mark Tedeschi EN
Description:
It was the double murder case that gripped Australia, and former Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC is finally able to share all the shocking details. Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan were both happy, healthy, affluent, middle-class women from conservative, loving families. Such women are hardly ever among the ranks of the missing. They were not hitchhikers, or associates of drug dealers, or unhappy with their family relationships, or suffering from mental health issues. Dorothy Davis and Kerry Whelan came from different parts of Sydney, mixed in quite different circles, and led completely differ... continue
20.
Small Bodies of Water by Nina Mingya Powles EN
Country: Oceania / New Zealand
New Zealand
Description:
In lyrical, powerful prose, Small Bodies of Water weaves together memories, dreams and nature writing. Exploring everything from migration, food, family, earthquakes and the ancient lunisolar calendar, Nina reflects on a girlhood spent growing up between two cultures, and what it means to belong.