Ratu Kamisese Mara

I don't know how anyone not familiar with the Pacific would view this book but I'm passing it to an American friend to find out. Ratu Mara was a sort of mythical man to a kid growing up in New Zealand in the 60's. I joined the NZ navy in 67 and he still was seen as a big dude in the region. I later met Steve Rabuka at the NZ air force Staff College and wasn't much impressed as he had not long before returned from a stint in Lebanon as part of the peacekeeping force; a tour of duty that left many scars on many Fijians. Any way, noting the foregoing, almost every word in this book ruffled memories and kept me interested enough to dip into it frequently. As a memoir I suspect it was fairly even handed. I liked the book and I liked the man. Handsome devil too.… (meer)