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of photographs taken over the years by ColinBurrows himself. As well as in many instancesproviding visual evidence of changes that havetaken place in the landscape in the time thathas elapsed between sketches and photographs,these not only reveal that the author has agood eye for composition, but also a deepattachment to the mountains. There are threenotable state-of-the-art maps in this section –Plates 69, 70 and 71 – owing much to the indi-vidual workers cited, but it may reasonablyassumed were compiled by the author himself.

Not all of Haast’s observations were of thegeology. Some of the quotations and illustra-tions show the reaction of an intelligent andenthusiastic observer to a totally new environ-ment, and the modern traveller must admirethe determination with which he undertookwhat were often arduous and lengthy journeys.At the same time, some contemporary com-ments, such as those by the young CharlesMoney, who accompanied him on a journey tothe West Coast, suggest that Haast had nomean opinion of himself and what was duehim. Not for him the heavy pack. All his gearwas carried by the M

a

ori who made up thesmall party. Although Haast was of a sub-stantial build, Charles Douglas noted thatHaast was usually carried by one or other ofhis companions across the various rivers they en-countered. Douglas ensured that he would notbe required to perform this service more thanonce! Touches such as these help ensure thathuman interest is not lacking in the story ofthe development of ideas, and together withthe pages devoted to overviews of the socialand political life of Canterbury, provide thegeneral reader with a broad understandingof what life was like in a young colony deter-mined to establish itself as civilized as its homecountry.

Inevitably, there are some minor criticisms,which will not be a problem for all readers.Discreet numerals guide the reader to thesources used in each chapter, grouped underchapter headings following the four appendices,the glossary and the list of abbreviations. Whilethis vouches for the meticulous research thatunderlies the book, tracking down the fullreference is not easy – for example, thereviewer spent some time looking for

Moar1980

, chapter 9, reference 80, and finally gave

up, uncertain whether the full reference is tobe found elsewhere in the chapter section or insome other earlier chapters. A full bibliographywould have been helpful. Nevertheless, this isa noteworthy contribution to understandingthe history and natural history of Canterbury,by an author who has compressed a lifetime ofresearch into a readable and attractive volume.

Jane M. Soons

Department of GeographyUniversity of Canterbury

622

Book Review

Book ReviewsBook ReviewsBook Reviews

Physical Geography: A Human Perspective

Richard Huggett, Sarah Lindley, Helen Gavinand Kate Richardson. Arnold, London, 2004.515 pp. ISBN 0-340-80962-0.

This text is not just another first-year textbookon physical geography. The authors’ statedintention is to ‘provide a first-year under-graduate textbook structured around … [a] …“new physical geography”’ (p. xi). The authorsdefine their subject in chapter one, introducingterms such as ‘mental sphere’, ‘human sphere’and ‘natural ecosphere’. Underpinning this text-book is a view of physical geography as the ‘studyof the form and function of the human sphere …which is the zone of interaction between theecosphere and mental sphere’ (p. 4). To avoidconfusion, ‘ecosphere’ is here defined as ecology,hydrology, pedology, climatology and geomor-phology; the mental sphere as social, cultural,ethical, economic and technological factors. Isuspect some of the new terms could prove off-putting to the average undergraduate physicalgeographer, but such definitions are necessaryand helpful when redefining a subject. Thusthe text positions itself as a bridge between thepolarizing subjects of physical and humangeography.

The text is divided into five parts, withfifteen chapters. At the start of each chapter ahelpful overview is provided, together withsuccinct learning outcomes, which are veryinformative for the reader. With such clearfoundations, it is impossible to get lost. Con-cepts and terms are defined as they appear inthe text using clearly laid out text boxes in theouter margins of each page. Each chapter then

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concludes with a summary, a series of ques-tions which reinforce the intended learningoutcomes and pointers for further readingavailable in readily accessible texts, and usefulwebsites. Chapters also utilize ‘Basics’, ‘Focus’and ‘Concepts’ boxes to amplify foundationalor exemplar material. These are set apart fromthe main text via shaded boxes and providea useful aid to learning. Appendices on unitsof measurement and dating environmentalmaterials are also very useful tools.

Part one introduces the ‘new’ physical geo-graphy, with chapters on human impacts andenvironmental change, the natural ecosphere,the human sphere and the mental sphere.Necessarily, these introductions are brief, butmore specialized physical geography or humangeography textbooks are recommended at theend of the chapters. Part two introduces sometools and techniques used in the study of (neo-)physical geography. This is both innovativeand welcome in a first-year undergraduatetextbook. Chapters cover the purpose of meas-uring and monitoring the natural ecosphere,mapping and analysis of spatial data, andmodelling of environmental systems.

Part three addresses humans in the phys-ical environment and develops the subjectsintroduced under the ecosphere in chaptertwo. However, whilst chapters eight to tencover atmosphere, hydrology and soils from aconceptual/process perspective and move tohuman impacts and application, the chapter onlandforms is almost entirely human-impactfocused. My own specialization, (fluvial geo-morphology), is dealt with in a little over twopages of text. Readers will have to study keyfluvial topics such as river planform (e.g.meandering, braided) in other texts. Thischapter is thus a little disappointing, because tounderstand human impacts, processes operat-ing in the landscape must first be grasped.

Part four examines humans in the biologicalenvironment and comprises two chapters onspecies and communities, focusing attentionon biodiversity in the former and chemical andclimatic impacts in the latter. This reviewerwas a little surprised at such a strong biologicalfocus in a geography text. Part five addresseshumans in the ecological environment, dealingwith exemplars of human impacts on local,regional and global ecosystems and exploring

the issue of human impacts and trends for thefuture in more detail. However, this reviewerremains to be convinced of the assertion that‘people are the ultimate driving force of cur-rent environmental change’ (p. 432).

This text certainly provides a human per-spective to the study of physical geography. Itsstrengths recommend that it appears on read-ing lists for first-year undergraduate physicalgeography papers, but its omission of key geo-morphic processes means that it will have tobe accompanied by more ‘traditional’ physicalgeography texts. In a text which includes in theGlossary an entry for the Brundtland Report,but omits braided river, perhaps the pendulumis in danger of swinging too far in ‘humanizing’physical geography?

Ian Fuller

Geography ProgrammeSchool of People, Environment and Planning

Massey University

622

Book Review

Book ReviewsBook ReviewsBook Reviews

Floating Islands – A Global Bibliography: with an edition and translation of G.C. Munz’s

Exercitatio academica de insulis natantibus

(1711)

Chet Van Duzer. Cantor Press, Los Altos Hills,California, 2004. 404 pp. ISBN 0-9755424-0-0.

This book is very much an item for the refer-ence collection of any university library. Themajority of the text (286 pages) is given overto an exhaustive annotated bibliography on thesubject of floating islands. This bibliographycontains more than 1 800 citations that repres-ent what can only be the most thorough globalsurvey of literature (spanning 20 languages) onthis topic. To assist the reader make use of thebibliography, Chet Van Duzer has constructedthematic indexes which arrange citations under31 headings, including formation of floatingislands, vegetation of floating islands, ice islands,pumice islands, floating islands used for humanhabitation and for species migration, andartificial floating islands. In addition, theauthor provides a geographical index to thebibliography, arranged by continent. A quickperusal of this list reveals the European andNorth American literature to be the richest