Product Description
The Periplus Adventure guides do precisely what a great travel book should do- make you want to get up and go!Periplus adventure guides show you how to get there, and then help make the absolute most out of a stay, leaving no stone, no beach, no fine restaurant or mountain trail untried. With detailed, up-to-date maps, photographs-both new and archival- personal recommendations and inside tips from expert authors, the guides go well beyond the usual travel fare and offer an extraordinary value for the money.

This fall, Periplus proudly offers nine additions to the Adventure Guide list, exploring some of the most breathtaking, historically important and lesser known regions of Indonesia and Malaysia and Singapore. These include an updated guide to the exotic volcanic island of Bali; the flora and fauna-rich rainforests of East Malaysia and Brunei; the little known islands of Nusa Tenggara that lie East of Bali from Lombok to Timor; the center of the Indonesian archipelago, Java, rich in Buddhist tradition; the primitive and wildlife-filled province of Kalimanatan: Indonesian Borneo, home to the fascinating Dyak culture; Maluku: Indonesian Spice Islands, a sun-drenched string of pearl like islands in the tropical sea of Eastern Indonesia; the truly wild, mountainous island of Sulawesi-for which this is the only guidebook available; Sumatra, home of mighty rivers, sparkling highland lakes and lush tropical rain forests; and the most comprehensive guide to West Malaysia and Singapore ever produced. ... Read more

Product Description
This book includes a glossary, bibliography, maps, tables, and illustrations. ... Read more

Product Description
2007 Kiriyama Prize "Notable Book".

The island of Borneo is a place of great natural beauty and rich biodiversity. From the peaks of the majestic Mount Kinabalu to the enchanting coral-fringed islands that lie offshore, with vast tracts of lush rainforest in between, Borneo's landscape is as varied as it is magnificent. In Wild Borneo, author Nick Garbutt embarks upon a fascinating investigation into the wonders of this island, exploring every aspect of Borneo's terrain, from its rainforest-covered lowland areas to its mountain ranges, highland areas, and winding rivers. He shows us the profusion of flora and fauna living within these habitats, including the enormous Rafflesia flower, the carnivorous Pitcher plants, snakes, frogs and lizards that fly, fish that walk on mud, and rich and varied bird life. The island is home to a diversity of mammal species, some of which are highly unusual, including the outrageous-looking Proboscis Monkey, the remarkably tolerant Bornean Pygmy Elephant, the diminutive and shaggy Sumatran Rhinoceros, the native Bornean Orang-utan, and the doe-eyed, endearing Slow Loris.

Published in association with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Wild Borneo also examines the ongoing attempts to preserve the island's natural resources in the face of commercial logging and large-scale land clearing. Illustrated with more than 200 stunning photographs, this book offers a vivid celebration of Borneo's many natural wonders. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Pictures and Information
This book provides an excellent overview of what to expect in going to Borneo.The explantions are not lengthly where one gets tired of reading and the facts are written in a lively narative.Great for one who wants to see what this interesting island offers in all aspects of it's wildlife. Because of the size you probably won't have it in your luggage when you go, but great for researching before the trip and taking notes.Glad I have it!!!

an excellent addition to an excellent series
Nick Garbutt's "Wild Borneo:the Wildlife and Scenery of Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan" is a wonderful addition to an existing seies for the lay reader and expert alike.This series, started by New Holland Press and continued by MIT, has volumes on "Wild ....." including Indonesia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Thailand.All were done a half dozen years ago or so.Thus this well-written and beautifully photographed book is most welcome. It is also reasonably priced for its intrinsic value. To underscore its importance, one need look no further than the name of the author of its preface, Sir David Attenborough.It covers Borneo's habitats, wildlife, people, The Heart of Borneo, fabled Mt. Kinabalu and ecotourism and conservation.Garbutt is also the author of the excellent and comprehensive "The Mammals of Madagascar." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent synopsis... perhaps due for another edition?
As with the previous reviewers comments, this is a great synopsis of the broadcasting world in Malaysia. It would benefit from a revised edition, particularly to reflect the efforts of RTM to expand to the new media formats (Internet broadcasting, etc.)

Excellent history, but requires updating.
The book provides excellent background knowledge which is useful to anyone in the region's broadcast history, or anyone interested in regional broadcast network developement.The research is in depth, and explores all governmental and cultural influences which steered the path of broadcast in the Malaysian-Indonesian archipelago.However, the information requires updating for Malaysia at least, as the addition of two new private terrestrial stations (Metrovision and NTV in Kuala Lumpur) and the two competing Pay TV services (Mega TV [cable] and Astro [satellite]), and the planned privatization of RTM2.For history, Broadcasting in the Malay World is a valuable reference, but hopefully Drew McDaniel will be authoring an updated version in the near future to reflect the current state of the industry in the archipelago. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the true story behind the legend of the Brunei Darussalam National Football Team, almost but not quite, the worst international team in the world. Stanley Park, the alter ego of a desperate and disillusioned sporting romantic abroad, needs the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team of world soccer to bring him financial and moral salvation. Set in the alien cultural maelstrom of a near-bankrupt and comically corrupt Islamic despotism, Stanley's travails as the teams media manager illuminate football for what it truly is: a spherical, hand-stitched universe of heaven and hell. Kick or be kicked is football's moral imperative. A true Scouser, armed only with a yellow anorak and a war cry of "Giblets," Stanley Park's fight for justice in Brunei is a veritable sporting Jihad.

"Better than Fever Pitch: more balls, more laughs, more giblets. The universal truths of football as uniquely revealed by Stanley Park." --Brian Reade, U.K.’s #1 sports columnist, The Daily Mirror ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Stan's Yer Man!
I can wholeheartedly endorse this book as real footy fan's novel. As stated by Dun, parallels with Nick Hornby's 'Fever Pitch' will be made but 'Our Stanley' is much more the anti-hero, which makes this Scouse Ras-Skal-nickoff more my cup of Tetley's tea than some Cambridge Perignon Don faking it. With Panglossian panache, our man hurtles from near-miss to catastrophic last minute sitter all in the hope of penalty shoot-out redemption... sport as the metaphor of life, with bitter-sweet laughs puntuating every chapter. The denouement is both touching and rather tragic: the loser becomes the winner, but was the cost to self and family worth the romantic punt on Fifa's worst national team?
With some really intriguing asides revealing the reality of expat life in Asia, Stanley Park succeeded in getting me onside with his personal crusade as well as cheering on his no-hope team of Bruneian kampongers. Look out for the lump in the throat at the end after all the belly-laughter: totally unexpected, as is this veritable sporting treasure hidden within the tiny anachronistic sultanate, Brunei Darussalam. To quote Stan: "Smashin'!"

Left Outside if you're not In the Squad
Nick Hornby Lite? How about Hornby model light railway....perfect working scale model...but much smaller and less powerful than the original. Been to Brunei? Worked for "The Charity"? Know "Chuck"? Know anything about Malaysian football? You need to answer Yes to most of these questions..otherwise the joke is not so funny. A typical Mat Salleh ex-pat book...Stanley Park fluffs his Malay ...Talag is not divorce, Talak (or Talaq) is....Saya Isteri means "I am a wife" not "my wife"..."jangan" means do not", not "forbidden (di larang)....mind you, Stan did work for the Charity as a language teacher so he couldn't have been much of a linguist. Stan's not too hot on geography either. Negeri Sembilan's state capital is unilaterally changed by Stanto Paroi (it is in fact, Seremban)...bit like a foreigner visiting London to watch a football match and later insisting that the capital city of the UK is called Upton Park! Recent events and history are also not Stan's forte...Mahathir Mohammed the former egomanical prime minister of Malaysia is promoted by Stan to President of Malaysia - in one fell swoop Stan turns Malaysia from a monarchy to a republic obviously! "Could do better Stan, must try harder!" The Malaysia Cup and Malaysian soccer was so dreadfully corrupt during the era this book is set in...but Stan alludes only in passing to his bookie and passes off crap refereeing as motivated by Malaysian chauvanism against plucky little Brunei. Perhaps the surprising triumph of the Bruneians in the Piala Malaysia would provoke too many questions if the corruption angle was pushed?
Some nice vignettes though. The early days of the Chelsea renaissance under Dreadlocked Dutchman are recounted as the Blues visit the sleepy Borneo outpost. Denis Wise is portrayed as a complete ignoramus psycho...Ruud isn't flattered much either. An interesting raffle that Stan tried to rig to pay off his debts. Stan also has his way with stereotypical SE Asian luscious fantasy girl, saving him lots of trips to Thailand, yet still manages to save his family abandoned by him early in the piece. Never quite got the "revenge" rationale for the strange leave wife and kids in UK strand of the story...and I know it's a dish best eaten cold...but Stan's revenge left me cold and rather perplexed actually.
A mid-life crisis book for ex ex pats from Brunei. Quite funny and about a 100 pages too long.

Amusing
The Brunei football team and their coaches deserved more credit than what Mr Park wrote in FIFA 192. The people of Brunei showed him hospitality unparalleled anywhere in the world. Amusing read anyhow...

THE BOOK as antidote to World Cup Hype; true soul of football.
Bought my copy at Kinokuniya on Orchard Rd, S'pore... recommended by a fellow football nut. The overkill surrounding Premier League soccer (and I'm English) does my head in and unfortunately S'pore is rocking to the strains of 'Inger-lund', 'Inger-lund' as I write. Stanley Park debunks the 'beauty' of the world game and gets down to brass tacks with the Brunei National Team... it's the best football book I've read and Tiger Beer have just adopted Fifa 192 as their official book for this WC & the EPL 2006-07.
Hope to see Brunei get the same exposure as Brazil one day... their players deserve it!

Truly Stanley's "Magnum Opus"
Read and learn. This is Football's answer to Anthony Burgess' "Devil ofState - also banned in Brunei.

Passion, corruption, hypocracy they are all here in capital letters.

Anyone who has ever lived in South East Asia will love it!
So will anyone who has never lived in South East Asia and who has a sense for truth being stranger (and funnier) than fiction. ... Read more

Product Description
Various philosophers have claimed: "people will only protect what they love". But how can you love or even just care for something you don't even know?This book is not simply an identification guide. It does include many stunning pictures that will also help the novice with their identification efforts, but really the objective is to introduce the reader to the birdlife in Northern Borneo as a whole.After introductory chapters on the various habitats found in Brunei and on birds in general, the core of this book consists of short thematic chapters about different species, their habitat and their behaviour. Written in an accessible, non-scientific, manner and larded with accompanying pictures the reader is for a moment drawn into the life of the described birds. Not unlikely you will look in a different way at birds after reading this book, even at the common species around you every day.The book concludes with an overview of some of the bird watching "hot-spots" in Brunei, Sabah & Sarawak, where you can put your new way of looking at these creatures--and at nature in general--into practice. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! TheRoyal Brunei Armed Forces is the military of thenation of Brunei. In addition to the Royal BruneiArmed Forces, Brunei also hosts bases for theBritish Army and the Singapore Armed Forces. Themilitary of the nation of Brunei is known as theRoyal Brunei Armed Forces or Angkatan BersenjataDiRaja Brunei in Malay, often abbreviated ABDB. Itcomprises the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Navy,Support Services and the Training Institute. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a compact bird identification guide for any birdwatcher visiting Borneo. In features regional distribution maps showing the best bird localities, up-to-date tips on bird-watching and information on bird biology and behaviour. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Average photo guide; helpful as an introduction
Basics: 1996, softcover, 144 pages, color photos of 252 species, no range maps

Like others of its kind, this compact guide provides color photos for 252 species found on the island of Borneo.This represents about 40% of the nearly 580 birds found here.A fair sampling of the various families is given.

These photos are pretty good for 90% of the birds, despite all of them being somewhat small as necessitated by the size of the book.Just one photo is given for each bird.For the other 10% of the birds, these photos show a pose from behind or below that is not helpful or, a pose that does not show the necessary field marks well enough.Some of the photos are too dark or too distant.A couple of birds are slightly obscured by foliage.

The text is a brief paragraph that focuses primarily on the description of the bird to aid in identification.This will be helpful some of the time.For some birds, a comparison is made to a similar species.Some additional short notes are offered on behavior and habitat.

Use this guide like you should all its similar congeners - only as a practice tool in conjunction with a complete field guide.

I've listed several related books below...
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia by Strange
2) The Birds of Borneo, 4th ed. by Smythies
3) A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali by MacKinnon
4) A Guide to the Birds of Wallacea by Coates/Bishop
5) Birds: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Strange
6) A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore by Jeyarajasingam/Pearson
7) A Photographic Guide to Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Davison/Fook

Interesting sampling of about half of Borneo's 580 species
Not a comprehensive guide by any means, this book nevertheless offers valuable info on most of the species an average birder is likely to encounter.There is one major plus behind photos rather than traditional illustrations: you get to see habitat.Right off, just by the picture, you know where to find a leafbird: in the bright green leaves high up in the canopy; you know the frogmouths will be down low camoflaged with the brown leaves; you get the idea that Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrikes like palms... despite the fact no specific mention is made in the alongside text of preferred trees. ... Read more

Product Description
For two centuries, travellers were amazed at the massive buildings found along the rivers that flow from the mountainous interior of Borneo. They concentrated hundreds of people under one roof, in the middle of empty rainforests. There was no practical necessity for this arrangement, and it remains a mystery. Peter Metcalf provides an answer by showing the historical context, using both oral histories and colonial records. The key factor was a pre-modern trading system that funneled rare and exotic jungle products to China via the ancient coastal city of Brunei. Meanwhile the elite manufactured goods traded upriver shaped the political and religious institutions of longhouse society. However, the apparent permanence of longhouses was an illusion. In historical terms, longhouse communities were both mobile and labile, and the patterns of ethnicity they created more closely resemble the contemporary world than any stereotype of "tribal" societies. ... Read more