My Highland Kellas Cats

Book Description

Following the route taken by British explorer Ivan Champion in 1927, and amid breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, Salak traveled across this remote Pacific island-often called the last frontier of adventure travel-by dugout canoe and on foot. Along the way, she stayed in a village where cannibals m was still practiced behind the backs of the missionaries, met the leader of the OPM-the separatist guerrilla movement opposing the Indonesian occupation of Western New Guinea-and undertook an epic trek through the jungle. The New York Times said "Kira Salak is tough, a real-life Lara Croft." And Edward Marriott, proclaimed Four Corners to be "A travel book that transcends the genre�It is, like all the best travel narratives, a resonant interior journey, and offers wisdom for our times."

Customer Reviews:

Fine travel journal.......2007-05-31

The book is full of personel feelings. I read travel journals and that is what I am looking for. If I want a guide I buy a guide. I admire writers who leave the reader with an understanding of who they are as well as where they are. Ms. Salek does a fine job doing just that.

Heart Pounding!!.......2007-02-18

WOW! This book blew me away, and like the title of my review states, there were several times throughout where my heart was literally pounding. Any writer who can transport a reader like that knows how to write. This book is definitely among my "Top 5" favorite travel narratives.

Some reviewers suggest that there was too much inner reflection on the part of the author regarding why she was in PNG and what she was trying to reveal about herself. While this was definitely a thread running through this book, I do not believe that it takes away from the overall "picture" in any way. Any traveler who embarks on a similar trip and who doesn't reflect on why they're doing it has simply been on vacation. Those that do choose to reflect have been on a journey.

If you are a seasoned traveler to PNG, like one reviewer annoyingly overstates, why would you want to read a travel narrative by someone else about the same place? Being there is always better and I make it a point to not read books about places that I have already visited extensively. What would be the point? So, if you've spent a good deal of time in PNG you probably will not get much from this book. If not, then I highly recommend it! * Side-note: Just because you've been to a place does not neccessarily make you qualified to review a book that takes place there.

While I agree that some of the situations that Ms. Salak gets herself into do seem very dangerous she herself is honest about the immensity of these situations and does not try to down-play them in any way. Lucky for readers because this makes the book that much better. The suggestion by one reviewer that Ms. Salak in not respectful of PNG and the people that she meets there is unfounded and I do not recall anything in the book indicating that this was the case. This book is not a "PNG how-to" and the suggestion that the author's journey is irresponsible (and even unbelievable) is ridiculous, she is simply telling her story and it is fabulous! If you are looking for something to help you travel in PNG then pick up the Lonely Planet guide. If you're looking for a great adventure story that takes place in PNG then this is the book for you.

I have resisted reading Ms. Salak's second book, "The Cruelest Journey" for some time now because I will then have nothing of hers left to read and that's a depressing thought! I eagerly await more work from this author!!

BEST travel adventure book I've ever read!.......2006-11-10

This is by far the BEST travel adventure book I've ever read. The first chapter is so intense I guarantee you won't be able to put the book down! Without giving away anything from the book (you can read the description on Amazon yourself), I'll tell you this book is exciting from the first page all the way to the last. Does this woman have a death wish traveling alone through Papau New Guinea? I've read her other book, "The Cruelest Journey" and that was also incredible. I can't wait until she writes another book!

YOU MUST READ THIS BEFORE YOU THINK OF READING THIS BOOK !.......2006-07-14

I was very disappointed in this book. Although well written, its focus is not just on PNG. The author begins her first chapter writing about a life threatening experience she had while traveling in rather unsafe places in Africa. It is hard to believe that her story is true, as it makes her seem very stupid because of the truly foolish risks she takes and "always" manages to survive these horrendous situations with flying colors. Don't get me wrong as I am no wimpy traveller myself but I travel with respect for the people I visit. I am a "guest" in "their" country. I have visited many off the beaten path countries and lived with the local people traveling with only a backpack on my back. I have no problems riding in dusty local transportation vehicles with a chicken or two in the seat next to me. I have even hiked in places Borneo (Kalimantan), where you did not see one person all day. I have been to PNG many, many times and am the lucky recipient of a large Papuan family in Port Morsby that were so kind as to "adopt" me. I love and am addicted to what you could call "adventure travel", but I am a "Traveller and not a Tourist". There is a vast difference between the two. Although I really don't consider the author a tourist in her travels in the book, but she does make, what I would call, inappropriate demands on the indigenous people. Some of her behaviour makes me think of her a bit like "the ugly American" traveller of the 1950's. At times her behaviour seems rude to the indigenous people she has contact with and I got the impression that she made the trip, and possible others, focusing only on finding her self and not on any negative impact she might be making on the peoples in the rural villages she encountered. What REALLY upset and angered me reading the book, is the many foolish and dangerous risks she puts herself in. I feel she may give the impression to male readers that many women travelers are like this.
She gave me the impression that she willingly puts herself in life threatening situations seemingly without thinking it over realistically first. The book starts out interesting but chapter after chapter the situations she falls in become wilder and wilder to the point of being unbelievable. This makes you begin to wonder if her story is real or a dramatized fiction piece. After finishing the book, I ended up feeling angry at her foolishness. I am a well-travelled person, an experienced writer of creative non-fiction and have a very large collection of non-fiction books regarding Melanesian history and its peoples. I have a degree in Socio-Anthropology, but this woman's story really makes me wonder about her rational mind. I would not be surprised that one day she winds up dead somewhere that is if she has really put herself in the kind of situations she presents in the book. Read it only to learn what NOT to do when while visiting indigenous people in developing countries and only if you can get a copy very cheap. I have been a volunteer in quite rural villages, in PNG, that were located beyond the Highlands and I was the only white woman/person there, but if I behaved like this woman did I would not be writing this review now. I am sorry that this is so very long, but in all my extensive readings and studies, regarding PNG this book is very unbelievable. MaryAnn

E-mail me should you want to know of excellent and true books regarding PNG and Melanesia.

Harangue in disguise.......2006-06-12

Being keen on New Guinea biota, I have been working to collect all the literature I can on the area. Most resources one finds are by missionaries, anthropologists, or military stories of World War II. Fairly useless for learning of the flora and fauna. Thus, seeing a book of a peregrination along hundreds of miles of lowland territory was intriguing.

Now, I'll concede there are no rules for writing a book about exotic adventures. However, I *did* have some preconceived expectations of travel writing about such an exotic destination.

I did not expect her to spend 1/10th of the book talking about how dangerous Africa is. I did not expect her to mention how dangerous PNG is on nearly every page, and manage to elaborate on it over and over with each mention. If she wants to cross PNG, sure, admit it can be a little dangerous. However, it gets old reading it page after page after page.

I really feel as though she could have packed twice as much information into the pages as she did. I felt as though I got to know few of the characters, and there was scant mention of the background settings. It was all about her, her thoughts, and how she is growing as a person. Now, this is all fine and dandy for some people, but I really wanted to read more about the characters she encountered, adventures she took. It was her book and she is allowed to write as she pleases. It just was NOT what I expected.

I especially find it incredible how she was able to cross the main landmass, and write so little about the flora and fauna she encountered. New Guinea is a mecca for wildlife, and you could write entire books on the subjects you find in 1 metre square. There is almost no mention of any plants or animals.

Despite my criticism, Ms. Salak indeed has a gift for writing and journeyed through one of the Earths most amazing regions. My review offers a poor rating because the book really wasn't about New Guinea, it was about a confused young woman trying to "find" herself.

Four Corners: Into the Heart of New Guinea-One Woman's Solo Journey

Average customer rating:

Natnats, hot sun, and dangerous men.
moving and insightful
Great read!
Wonderful Book
A harrowing journey of self-discovery

Four Corners: Into the Heart of New Guinea-One Woman's Solo Journey
Kira Salak
Manufacturer: Counterpoint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1582431655
Release Date: 2001-10-23

Book Description

A story of extraordinary danger and adventure as a very young woman attempts, alone, a trip across Papua New Guinea.

After her first taste of the freedom found in travel at age nineteen, Kira Salak spent the next several years of her youth as a constant, impulsive traveler. Barely old enough to drink, she leaves her life behind-graduate school, a job, a boyfriend who loves her-to attempt the impossible, her dream of following in the footsteps of British explorer Ivan Champion, the first person to successfully cross the island of Papua New Guinea in 1927. She is motivated by something much deeper than simply wanting to be the first woman to make such a crossing, and as she composes this memoir she still searches for answers. Why would a lone traveler, a very young woman at that, want to embark on such a dangerous and mysterious trip? Where was her fear? Or was this all an attempt to court and indulge her fear for some larger purpose? No one, on the road or at home, could quite understand.

Kira Salak matches her adventures in these vivid landscapes with prose that is quite simply thrilling. More than a travel book or adventure story, Four Corners is a work of self-discovery in extreme, of being at great risk in places that are on the edge and being, most of the time, their equal.

Customer Reviews:

Natnats, hot sun, and dangerous men........2006-01-02

Four corners is a tale of a 24 year old woman's journey across Papua New Guinea. Her experience makes for a wonderful read, but she overworks the "finding herself" bit. Despite the self obsessive and all too frequent maudlin tangents, Salak writes in tight prose that grips the reader early in the book and doesn't let go until the second to last chapter (the last chapter is so sappy it brought the entire book from a solid 5 stars to a 4. It nearly morphed the read from high adventure to a "chick" book).

Despite the nearly manic determination it took to make the journey, Salak is quick to acknowledge the help she got from others. There is very little chest thumping and unlike so many other adventure writers, she never claims to have "conquered" the island. Much of the writing is about the nature of the people she comes in contact with and I finished the book feeling like I had been personally touched by the peoples of PNG. I am grateful for her story and ordered a hard bound version to last another reading before passing it on to my daughter.

moving and insightful.......2005-03-26

(Memoir) Salak decides to travel across Papula
New Guinea solo and has some amazing and
some frightening adventures. She gives some
good insights into Papua New Guinea, and she
also has some exciting internal discoveries that I
found moving and insightful. She's a great
storyteller: a great and thought-provoking read.

Potentially offensive material: Some language, references to sex

Great read!.......2003-06-25

I am leaving for my second trip to Papua New Guinea in little under a week. I found Salak's book to be a great read! I agree with another reviewer that her introspective thoughts became a bit redundant but all in all the book flowed well and was very interesting
I would definately-- and have already-- recommended this to friends.

Wonderful Book.......2002-08-13

I found Kira Salaks Four Corners a very good book. I have hardly been able to put it down.The only thing I found disappointing was that there were no pictures except for the cover. It would have been so nice to see these places where she went. I do hope we see another book from Miss Salak soon.

A harrowing journey of self-discovery.......2002-05-20

A compulsive traveler to remote and dangerous places, Kira Salak is on a journey of self-discovery. The trouble is, she keeps making the same mistakes. Intent on proving that she, a young, single woman, can go anywhere she pleases, she keeps setting the bar higher.

In Africa, 1992, age 20, she decides to cross war-torn Mozambique on the lawless, mine-riddled road known as the Bone Yard Stretch. Natives and tourists alike point out the dangers, but Salak convinces a reluctant trucker to take her. A former runner with Olympic aspirations, when the inevitable happens Salak manages to escape her captors. "No one knows where I am....If I died here no one would ever know." Guilt stricken, she realizes that her "self-indulgent, foolish trip" has probably cost the lives of the men whose need for money induced them to risk bringing her.

Several years later, Salak is bound for Papua New Guinea with a vague plan to "get from the south to the north of the country via the major rivers." Or, as she explains to a fellow traveler, "Actually, I have no idea what I'm going to be doing. I'm just going to wing it as I go." Again, no one knows where she is and all advice falls on deaf ears. "The only rule I try to follow religiously in life is not to listen to most people." And I suspect the "most" was an editing afterthought.

But Salak grows on you. The child of Ayn Rand fanatics, she struggles to overcome a loveless childhood through self reliance and searches for epiphany through ordeal. And she gets plenty of that, from guides who take her money and strand her in the jungle to hordes of mosquitoes, armies of roaches and plagues of leeches. She nearly repeats her Mozambique experience on a trek to a camp of refugees from Irian Jaya (invaded by Indonesia), suffers serious sunstroke after a harrowing jungle trek, gets lost on land and water and meets an amazing variety of kind and vicious people, native and foreign.

This is a colorful odyssey by a quirky narrator who both exasperates and inspires.

Average customer rating:
FOUR CORNERS: ONE WOMAN'S SOLO JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Kira Salak
Manufacturer: Counterpoint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J3NZ7S

Average customer rating:
Four Corners - Journey Into The Heart Of Papua New Guinea
Kira Salak
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NCM7F6

Average customer rating:
FOUR CORNERS. One Woman's Solo Journey Into the Heart of Papua New Guinea.
Kira: Salak
Manufacturer: Pan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QAUZ1I

Customer Reviews:

Good book to teach citizenship.......2001-08-17

Nice, clear concise book with lots of photographs and activities to supplement the information contained inside. Covers many areas including: communities across the United States and Mexico, Geography, viewpoints ( eg: zoos, voting ), information on North and South America-including Maps, Native Americans ( Anasazi, Mesa Verde), Jamestown, Spanish Mission in San Antonio, The birth of our new country ( Ben Franklin, USA Flags, George Washington, Capitols, Citizens making communities work, Government, The Oregon Trail, Immigration, Transportation maps, Work and money, producing goods, and a large reference section with maps, dictionary of terms, gazetteer, biographical dctionary, glossary, and index. Done with National Geographic, very easy to read, lots of suggestions for activities, further reading, chapter reviews. This is nice to use to promote pride in citizenship and communities.

Communities Adventures in Time and Place Teacher's Edition

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Communities Adventures in Time and Place Teacher's Edition

Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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Communities (Adventures in Time and Place, Assessment Book)

ASIN: 0021488614

ADVENTURES IN TIME AND PLACE COMMUNITIES ANTHOLOGY (P)

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ADVENTURES IN TIME AND PLACE COMMUNITIES ANTHOLOGY (P)
a
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0021466653

Communities (Adventures in Time and Place, Assessment Book)

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Communities (Adventures in Time and Place, Assessment Book)

Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill School Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0021475857

Communities Adventure Book Set (Adventures in Time and Place)

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Communities Adventure Book Set (Adventures in Time and Place)

Manufacturer: Macmillan/Mcgraw-Hill School
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0021483264

Communities Adventures in Time and Place

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Communities Adventures in Time and Place

Manufacturer: MACMILLAN/MCGRAW-HILL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0021467447

Product Description

6 AUDIO CASSETTES

COMMUNITIES ADVENTURES IN TIME and PLACE (TEACHERS EDITION BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)

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COMMUNITIES ADVENTURES IN TIME and PLACE (TEACHERS EDITION BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)

Manufacturer: McGRAW-HILL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound
ASIN: 0021475741

Product Description

THIS IS THE TEACHERS MULTIMEDIA EDITION WITHOUT THE CDROM. IT IS A THOROUGH LARGE SPIRAL BOUND TEACHERS EDITION.

Communities adventures in time and place student edition on tape (Adventures in time and place)

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Communities adventures in time and place student edition on tape (Adventures in time and place)

Manufacturer: mcgrawhill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 0021475733

Product Description

These are the student tapes. There are 7 tapes in all.

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box 'o cards

Great cards! Lousy box! Who cares about the box!

An eclectic mix...from art to text

Amazing value!

creative, intriguing postcards

100 Maverick Postcards: Pictures, Images & Thoughts for Each Conceivable Occasion
Alan Fletcher
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Cards

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ASIN: 0714844438

Customer Reviews:

box 'o cards.......2007-10-11

I had the box side half break away upon taking the cellowrap off, but the postcards were very good quality. Other reviewers mentioned text/graphics. True! I was looking for witty cards to send out and so far this is the best mix I have found on Amazon. My favorite was the man working sign, and text that I love work, I can sit and watch it for hours. Something like that. If you need postcards that will be noticed and kept, buy these. Or frame a few that you really like. Pssst! it's a nice set, even with the flimsy box.

Great cards! Lousy box! Who cares about the box!.......2006-09-19

These cards are GREAT. I had wondered why they were so expensive, but I hadn't realized that they're HUGE: the size of large greeting cards, not the standard postcard size. They're glossy and beautiful and arty, and they come with a sheet that shows thumbnails of all the cards so you don't have to go through every single one when you're trying to think of what you want to send.

The box they came in broke apart as I was taking off the plastic wrapper. It's very cheap, lightweight, rough wood. After one end broke off, the rest of it started falling apart as I was carrying it gently to another room.

But I didn't care about the box, or need it, so I'm still giving five stars: it was the postcards I wanted, and they're great.

An eclectic mix...from art to text.......2006-07-11

I'm a postcard collector/swapper who regularly sends and receives cards from all corners of the world. This collection of 100 Maverick Postcards is truly a great bargain! It has a great mix of what I consider art cards and cards with text only. I confess that I don't really "get" all of them, but they're still fun to read and send :) Highly recommended!

Amazing value!.......2006-03-24

I can't recommend this box of postcards more highly. They are large postcards (not the index-card sized ones often found in postcards sets/bokos. The paper is good quality and feels nice to hold. There is truly a card for every occasion. Best of all, the value is astonishing, considering the exceptional overall quality--only 20 cents per card! You could easily pay over a dllar for one of these cards in a museum shop. I can't wait to start mailing these!

creative, intriguing postcards.......2005-06-07

This collection is an incredible set of postcards. Each card is different, but all of them are visually interesting and range from funny to thoughtful to just plain cool. (My personal favorite: one that is almost completely blank, with a tiny, tiny "PSSST!" printed in the middle.) The cards themselves are oversize and made of high quality paper stock, and there is very little pre-printed on the back, just the title of the work and a small Phaidon Press logo, so there's plenty of room to write.

Finally, the price cannot be beat, considering that you can pay the same amount for 20 standard-sized postcards you have to tear out of a perforated book. Here you get 100, and they come in a sturdy plywood storage box. It really is a lovely collection, and I was having so much trouble parting with any of them that I bought another set to keep for myself!

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