Stretching from Fiji in the east to New Guinea in the west, Melanesia is astonishingly diverse. Its islands are home to some 1,200 language groups, many of them still isolated from the outside world. This complex region tends to make the news only in times of crisis: military coups in Fiji, Kanak unrest in New Caledonia, rioting in the Solomon Islands. Melanesia offers readers a deeper insight into the people and places behind these headlines, combining travelogue, history and astute political analysis.

By land and sea, Hamish McDonald travels from one end of Melanesia to the other, uncovering the histories, values, aspirations and tensions that have shaped the region. He examines the impact of outsiders on local communities: the Indians recruited to work in Fiji; the white 'blackbirders' who kidnapped Melanesians to labor in Australian cane fields; the Americans during the Second World War; the Indonesians in New Guinea. And he considers the big changes unfolding today, as shifting demographics and the growing influence of China produce a new balance of power across the region.

Vividly written, Melanesia is essential reading for anyone looking to understand this fascinating part of the world and its growing international significance.