Synopsis
"It is not so long ago that Micronesia was a black hole in Pacific historiography. Francis Hezel has probably done more than anyone else to make it visible. This book continues the tale he began in 1983 with his well-received The First Taint of Civilization: A History of the Caroline and Marshall Islands in Pre-Colonial Days, 1521-1885.... Hezel manages to handle the complexity and diversity over time and place not by a simplification of the issues and events but by a deceptively uncomplicated and clear presentation of their context.... Hezel's two volumes, and especially this second one, are major contributions not only to Micronesian and Pacific historiography but also the broader understanding of colonial rule and its consequences." - ISLA: A Journal of Micronesian Studies
