The Samoa Islands: An Outline of a Monograph With Particular Consideration of German Samoa : Constitution, Pedigrees and Traditions With 3 Plates, 4 Maps and 44 illustra (Samoa Islands (Paperback))

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Summary: The most important book about Samoa for Samoans...
Review: I saw this book first time in Apia, the capitol city of Samoa. It was the hard copy edition presented in the show case of the Rainforest Restaurant, whose owners were two historians working passionately on the creation of a small museum of Samoan Art and Culture for Samoa. I was astonished about the amount of details in this book. The more astonished I was as I saw that well situated Samoans were visiting the Swiss/German couple to consult this book regarding their genealogy and heritage, which might be as well in the traditional Samoan ruling nobility or even... divine!

For a contemporary reader Krämer's book might be a difficult lecture though. Krämer puts together facts and legends. Parts of the text are written in Samoan and I could not find out any specific rule for the switching between the German and Samoan languages. The translator of the book, Dr. Verhaaren, remarks in his foreword that Krämer was somewhat inconsistent in his spelling of Samoan words. In my opinion Krämer created a great documentary, but he was not a good writer. The great amount of details, which Krämer often calls by himself just a hearsay, have probably a great value for scholars or lovers of Polynesian mystique, but they might only confuse casual reader. Nevertheless he seems to be very careful about differentiation between facts and rumors.

One of the interesting aspects of this book are the details about the travels, marriages and wars between Samoans, Tongans and even the Melanesian Fijians. Many contemporary families on Samoa know through these reports that their heritage reaches hundreds of miles apart from Samoa. There was a good reason that Samoa became the name "Navigator Islands" after being discovered by the Europeans. Unfortunately, the contemporary Islanders lost solely their ability to navigate on the open Ocean over such distances.

The book contains a large number of beautiful photographs of Samoan people and of the entire Samoa from the colonial period of time as the Great Britain, USA and Germany were all friendly nations "negotiating" their spheres of influence in the Pacific. As you might know, Samoa is still a divided country and the American sponsored government in Pago Pago tries to deepen the differences between the Samoans on the neighboring Islands to prevent a reunification. It is fascinating to see the Samoa as one entity through Krämer's witness document of the past time.

This book is a fascinating "must have" collectible for passionate off road traveler and everyone else looking for the island nostalgia. The publisher, Hawaii Press, made a great effort to provide a splendid quality of typesetting and of print. The price is right. Get this book!

Rating:
Summary: An interesting and comprehensive exposition.
Review: This is a comprehensive and interesting exposition on the history of Samoa.

It is a privilege that it is now available in English so that the information can be more widely read.