Rarely do science and literature come together in the same book.  When they do -- as in Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species," for example -- they become classics, quoted and studied by scholars and the general public alike.

Margaret Mead accomplished this remarkable feat not once but several times, beginning with "Coming of Age in Samoa."   It details her historic journey to American Samoa, taken where she was just twenty-three, where she did her first fieldwork.  Here, for the first time, she presented to the public the idea that the individual experience of developmental stages could be shaped by cultural demands and expectations.  Adolescence, she wrote, might be more or less stormy, and sexual development more or less problematic in different cultures.  The "civilized" world, she taught us had much to learn from the "primitive."  Now this groundbreaking, beautifully written work as been reissued for the centennial of her birth, featuring introductions by Mary Pipher and by Mead's daughter, Mary Catherine Bateson.

Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation

Thirteen-year-old Alofa Filiga struggles to come to terms with womanhood, her search for identity, and the restrictions of life in her Samoan village.

Where We Once Belonged

Although it has been long overdue, yet how opportune it is for these stories of our women to be written as we draw nigh to the close of the twentieth century. We need to tell our stories. The recollections shared by the contributors to this collection remind us of the richness of values and faith of our women. But much more, these written records also add to our history and heritage to be passed from generation to generation. Each of these stories unfolds like the blending and distinctiveness of the motif and decorative patterns of a siapo. In times of adversity, they literally shrugged their shoulders and kept going, adapting to every life event.

Tamaitai Samoa: Their Stories

The Girl in the Moon Circle

Ask the god to open the house of your chest
wide enough that your enemy may enter
 
ask aitu: lie down with me
my heart is open as a window
 
ask aitu: walk with me
my heart is younger than the sun
 
—House
 
Tusiata Avia is an essential voice in New Zealand and Pasifika literature. In her fearless new collection, she weaves together the voices of the living and dead, the past and the present in poems that are confessional and confrontational, gentle and funny. Speaking from Samoa, Christchurch, Gaza and New York, she combines stories from myth and the everyday, never shying away from pain or wonder.

Fale Aitu | Spirit House

This vivacious collection of poetry charts the author's experience with the sometimes painful intersection of New Zealand and Samoan cultures in her life. Alive with the energy and rhythm of performance poetry and oral traditions, these poems reshape common understanding of New Zealand culture.


Wild Dogs Under My Skirt

Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook

Sia Figiel's powerful, poetic skills weave together the voices of three generations of women from two Samoan families. Their dream worlds and realities intermingle, just as the histories of each generation run through the next. At the center of the novel is the Samoan woman's tattoo, the "malu", believed to be brought from Fiji by Siamese twins. The ghosts of the twins watch over the women whose lives are stained by an unfinished tattoo. The shame and grief of not completing the tattoo ceremony go hand in hand with the shame and grief of illicit love and broken promises.

They Who Do Not Grieve

What happens when an old man wakes up one morning and finds that everything around him now fills with revulsion? What happens when Faleasa Osovae, the highest ranking alii in the village of Maalaelua, feigns madness and throws away his responsibilities as a chief?
Albert Wendt is a Samoan, this novel plays in Samoa and gives a good feel for the Samoan way of life and gives also an idea how New Zealand affected it.

Pouliuli

Journey through the many stories and worlds of the immortal Vela, the Samoan song maker, poet, and storyteller--Vela, who was so red and ugly at birth they called him the Cooked; Vela the lonely admirer of pigs and the connoisseur of feet; Vela the lover of song maker Mulialofa. Follow Vela down through centuries as he encounters the single-minded society of the Tagata-Nei and the Smellocracy of Olfact and recounts the stories of Lady Nafanua, the fearless warrior queen, before whom travelling chroniclers still bow down today. A Pacific epic, this novel stretches hundreds of years before the arrival of Papalagi to the present day and fuses the great indigenous oral traditions of storytelling and Western poetry.

The Adventures of Vela

Paul Cox describes his research and adventures in Samoa, work that led to him being hailed by TIME magazine as a hero of medicine and awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize. Working closely with the native healers, Cox studied traditional rainforest remedies and is credited with finding natural drugs that can be used in treating AIDS, discovering a rare species of flying fox, launching an international campaign to save a 30,000-acre rainforest and helping to rebuild a village destroyed by a hurricane. Cox's respect for the traditional villagers and his excitement and perseverance make Nafunua a story of scientific and personal discovery.

Nafanua: Saving the Samoan Rain Forest

When Leila moves to her new home, all she wants is a family, a place to belong. Instead she discovers the local ancient myths of the telesa spirit women are more than just scary stories. The more she finds out about her heritage, the more sinister her new home turns out to be. Embraced by a Covenant Sisterhood of earth's elemental guardians - what will Leila choose? Her fiery birthright as a telesa? Or will she choose the boy who offers her his heart? Daniel - stamped with the distinctive tattoo markings of a noble Pacific warrior and willing to risk everything for the chance to be with her. Can their love stand against the Covenant Keeper? 

A thriller-romance with a difference. If you enjoyed Twilight, then you will be enthralled by Telesa as it blends the richness of Pacific mythology into a contemporary young adult love story that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Telesa, #1)

An epic spanning three generations, Leaves of the Banyan Tree tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa, exploring on a grand scale such universal themes as greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge. Winner of the 1980 New Zealand Wattie Book of the Year Award, it is considered a classic work of Pacific literature.

Die Blätter des Banyanbaums

Samoan-born Albert Wendt was working as a teacher in Samoa when he wrote the autobiographical Sons for the Return Home, first published in 1973. It is the story of a cross-racial romance between a Samoan student at Auckland University, the son of migrant parents, and the daughter of a wealthy palagi family. It was an instant bestseller and was later made into a successful movie.

Sons for the Return Home

Eight stories and a novella from a contemporary Samoan viewpoint provide a provocative study of a traditional island community coming to terms with a changing world.

Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree: And Other Stories

In Samoa, Robert Louis Stevenson is languishing with the disease that will soon kill him, when a chance meeting with a mysterious Scottish missionary turns his mind back to his conservative Edinburgh roots. As further meetings with the missionary become increasingly strange, a series of crimes sours the atmosphere.

Stevenson Under the Palm Trees

Alofa heißt Liebe. Alofa heißt auch das widerborstige Mädchen, das sich nichts gefallen läßt, um ihr zerbrechliches »Ich« zu schützen. Umstellt von überlieferten Tabus und Verboten, unbeeindruckt von der Verlogenheit der Erwachsenen, wächst sie auf in ihrer Mädchenclique mit Kung-Fu-Filmen, Wella-Apfelshampoo und Cornflakes.

Ihr Name ist aber zugleich ein schweres Erbe: Die Familie, die Dorfgemeinschaft setzt Hoffnung in sie, sie kann die Tradition retten. Doch dann wird sie eines Abends mit dem Sohn des Pfarres erwischt.

Die Wortkünstlerin Sia Figiel läßt sich von der mündlichen Erzähltradition Samoas inspirieren. Ihre Sprache ist respektlos wie ihre Heldin, funkelnd wie das quirlige Stadtleben, tiefgründig wie die alten Erzählungen von Geistern und Göttern, von fliegenden Hunden und magischen Vögeln.

Alofa

Samoan chief, Luao Nuulua, is seeing the impact of America’s cultural revolution in his small village of Mu. His rivals want to open up Mu to development. Nuulua resists them, fearful of outside influence. When his son murders an American, his rivals find a way to destroy him. Nuulua’s world quickly unravels when his best friend and daughter-in-law side with his enemy. Behind the scene, Mu’s priest rallies the village for a showdown. Forced into a conflict, Nuulua must choose between following the warrior ways of his ancestors’ akua or his Christian faith. The path he takes has costly consequences.

Akua: A Novel of Samoa

"Maybe you're not meant to manipulate fire the way I do. Maybe sparks are all you're ever going to make."He snarled, "Or maybe you just need to be a better teacher and give me more." Before I could reply, he grabbed my hand, twisted and pulled me into a restraining lock. Body pressed against my back, he held me in a chokehold. I struggled. Kicked. Fought. Pain knifed me as I tried to free myself. He spoke and his breath was hot in my ear. "Now, fire goddess let's see if I can make more than sparks." Rising panic choked me, with it came rage. And with rage, came fire. Keahi felt it. He laughed as I strained against him. As together we both burst into flame...With Nafanua and the Covenant Sisterhood out of the way, Leila and Daniel are finally able to love without fear of retribution. Or are they? As a malicious telesa plots her revenge, a mysterious stranger arrives on the island. Fuelled by hate and running from a fiery past, he looks to Leila for answers and she must fight to contain the fury of fanua-afi while trying to protect all those she loves. It seems that this is a battle she must wage alone, for Daniel's ocean birthright cannot be denied and he refuses to walk beside her. Are Leila and Daniel destined to be forever divided by the elements? When it comes to Water and Fire, daughter of earth and son of the ocean - who will endure? When water burns?This is the second book in the Telesa Trilogy and follows on from book one, 'Telesa: The Covenant Keeper.' Also available from Amazon.

When Water Burns (Telesa, #2)

The Making Of Modern Samoa: Traditional Authority And Colonial Administration In The History Of Western Samoa

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)

This 2nd Revised Edition paperback is published on better quality paper with a shiny semi-gloss ink throughout including the 62 illustrations which enable for a clearer and somewhat glossy effect for the photographs and design work. Actually, now the illustrations just 'pop' off the page! This 2nd Revised Edition has won a Bronze Award in History from the Nonfiction Author's Association and the first revised edition is 'on call' at the Library of Congress in the Jefferson and Adams Reading Rooms in Washington, D.C. Plus, a positive review has been given by Kirkus Reviews which states: "A simple, uniquely intimate gateway resource into the early history of American Samoa as well as the influences of colonialism."This Title showcases 55 rare historical black and white professional photographs/illustrations circa 1910 of Samoan culture, people, places and buildings plus 7 other illustrations also included pertaining to the subject matter. The illustrations/photographs include buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Register. The collection of photographs were passed down to the author by three generations of her grandmothers and an aunt saved in a lightly leather bound family photo album with short descriptions underneath. A freelance graphic designer made double negatives and enhanced each photograph in order to make digital illustrations of them. The original 'Ata Mai Samoa' 4 x 6 album rests at the Records of the Government of American Samoa/National Archives. The majority of the photos were taken in American Samoa, a territory of the United States by unknown professional photographer(s) circa 1910. The photographs also depict the forming of the new Naval Guardsman on Island known as the Fitafita made up of Chiefs (Matai) which can refer to an Ali'i or Tulafale. Taupou's and Siva Dancers are also presented within the backdrop in some instances of Pago Pago Harbor where the U.S. Naval Station, Tutuila, once resided.

PICTURES OF CHANGE IN PARADISE in American Samoa (circa 1910)

Samoan Heroes presents inspirational stories of achievers who have Samoan ancestry. It includes:legends like Sinālemalama and Tigilau; historical figures such as Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III and Salamāsina; contemporary heroes like Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Judge Ida Mālosi, Troy Polamalu, Savage and Associate Professor Donna Addis
Readers will be inspired as they discover the challenges these figures faced and overcame, to become some of the world’s best in their chosen fields.

Samoan Heroes

Sina And The Magical Eel: Legends from Polynesia (The Legends of Sina of Samoa)

Lagaga: A Short History Of Western Samoa

This text contains four chapters from "Slow Boats Home", an account of the author's visit to Samoa. The author meets a Samoan family and stays at their home in a seaside village.

Something of Samoa

Tatau is a beautifully designed and richly illustrated retelling of the unique and powerful history of Samoan tattooing, from 3,000 years ago to modern practices.

The Samoan Islands are virtually unique in that tattooing has been continuously practiced with indigenous techniques: the full male tattoo, the pe'a has evolved in subtle ways in its design since the nineteenth century, but remains as elaborate, meaningful, and powerful as it ever was.

This cultural history is the first publication to examine Samoan tatau from its earliest beginnings. Through a chronology rich with people, encounters, and events it describes how Samoan tattooing has been shaped by local and external forces of change over many centuries. It argues that Samoan tatau has a long history of relevance both within and beyond Samoa, and a more complicated history than is currently presented in the literature.

It is richly illustrated with historical images of nineteenth and twentieth century Samoan tattooing, contemporary tattooing, diagrams of tattoo designs and motifs, and with supplementary photographs such as posters, ephemera, film stills and artefacts.

Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing


book'a-neer' (bŏŏk'kå-nēr'), n. a literary pirate; an individual capable of doing all that must be done in the universe of books that publishers, authors, and readers must not have a part in

London, 1890—Pen Davenport is the most infamous bookaneer in Europe. A master of disguise, he makes his living stalking harbors, coffeehouses, and print shops for the latest manuscript to steal. But this golden age of publishing is on the verge of collapse. For a hundred years, loose copyright laws and a hungry reading public created a unique opportunity: books could easily be published without an author’s permission. Authors gained fame but suffered financially—Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, to name a few—but publishers reaped enormous profits while readers bought books inexpensively. Yet on the eve of the twentieth century, a new international treaty is signed to grind this literary underground to a sharp halt. The bookaneers are on the verge of extinction.

From the author of "The Dante Club", Matthew Pearl, "The Last Bookaneer "is the astonishing story of these literary thieves’ epic final heist. On the island of Samoa, a dying Robert Louis Stevenson labors over a new novel. The thought of one last book from the great author fires the imaginations of the bookaneers, and soon Davenport sets out for the South Pacific island. As always, Davenport is reluctantly accompanied by his assistant Fergins, who is whisked across the world for one final caper. Fergins soon discovers the supreme thrill of aiding Davenport in his quest to steal Stevenson’s manuscript and make a fortune before the new treaty ends the bookaneers’ trade forever. But Davenport is hardly the only bookaneer with a mind to pirate Stevenson’s last novel. His longtime adversary, the monstrous Belial, appears on the island, and soon Davenport, Fergins, and Belial find themselves embroiled in a conflict larger, perhaps, than literature itself.

In T"he Last Bookanee"r, Pearl crafts a finely wrought tale about a showdown between brilliant men in the last great act of their professions. It is nothing short of a page-turning journey to the heart of a lost era.

The Last Bookaneer

One Hundred Days In Samoa: Another Day In Paradise?

Scarlet Redemption: Book Three in the Scarlet Series

For travelers who desire complete immersion in the culture of their destination, not just any guidebook will do. The only guidebooks to win Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers for six years in a row, Moon Handbooks offer unparalleled coverage of a region's arts, history, land, people, politics, and social issues, as well as directions to the best food, lodgings, and adventures in each destination waiting to be explored.

Samoa

Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation

Margaret Mead

Where We Once Belonged

Sia Figiel

Tamaitai Samoa: Their Stories

Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop

The Girl in the Moon Circle

Sia Figiel

Fale Aitu | Spirit House

Tusiata Avia

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt

Tusiata Avia

Gagana Samoa: A Samoan Language Coursebook

Galumalemana A. Hunkin

They Who Do Not Grieve

Sia Figiel

Pouliuli

Albert Wendt

The Adventures of Vela

Albert Wendt

Nafanua: Saving the Samoan Rain Forest

Paul Alan Cox

Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Telesa, #1)

Lani Wendt Young

Die Blätter des Banyanbaums

Albert Wendt

Sons for the Return Home

Albert Wendt

Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree: And Other Stories

Albert Wendt

Stevenson Under the Palm Trees

Alberto Manguel

Alofa

Sia Figiel

Akua: A Novel of Samoa

Daniel Pouesi

When Water Burns (Telesa, #2)

Lani Wendt Young

The Making Of Modern Samoa: Traditional Authority And Colonial Administration In The History Of Western Samoa

Malama Meleisea

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)

Augustin Krämer

PICTURES OF CHANGE IN PARADISE in American Samoa (circa 1910)

John Enright

Samoan Heroes

David Riley

Sina And The Magical Eel: Legends from Polynesia (The Legends of Sina of Samoa)

Rev Falefatu Enari

Lagaga: A Short History Of Western Samoa

Malama Meleisea

Something of Samoa

Gavin Young

Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing

Sebastien Galliot

The Last Bookaneer

Matthew Pearl

One Hundred Days In Samoa: Another Day In Paradise?

Andy Southall

Scarlet Redemption: Book Three in the Scarlet Series

Lani Young

Moon Handbooks Tonga-Samoa

David Stanley