Indispensable

Australian Library Journal, The, August, 2002 by John Levett

Sarina Singh and others Aboriginal Australia and the Torres Strait Islands: guide to Indigenous Australia Melbourne Lonely Planet Publications 2001 $A30.00 ISBN 1 86450 114 6

THOSE WHO CLAIM THAT THE BOOK AS AN INFORMATION MEDIUM IS DEAD OBVIOUSLY haven't looked at Lonely Planet lately. Lodged in the backpacks of thousands of Australian travellers and itinerants of many other nations, their travel guides have for more than twenty-five years opened pathways of understanding to those interested in getting below the surface of world cultures and connecting with the hinterland which lies behind the facades of the globalised hotel. Each is a small marvel of concentration and miniaturisation hallmarked with the impossible-to-fabricate authenticity of authors who have...