Biographies
An Island to Oneself | Tom Neale 1966 | Collins, London | Autobiography of hermit's stay on Suwarrow (Detailed, a little dull). |
Doctor to the Islands | Tom and Lydia Davis 1954. | Bost., Little, Brown | Autobiography (Thorough, interesting) |
Isles of the Frigate Bird | Ronald Syme 1975 | Michael Joseph Ltd, London. | Autobiography (Expatriate Brit, interesting) |
Island Boy | Tom Davis 1992. | Institute of Pacific Studies | Autobiography (Authentic, interesting) |
Miss Ulysses from Pukapuka | Johnny Frisbie 1948. | | Autobiography |
Sir Albert Henry | Kathleen Hancock 1979 | Methuen Publications NZ, Auckland. | Biography (Politics, history) |
South Seas Paradise | Julian Hillas (aka Julian Dashwood) 1965 | Robert Hale Ltd, London. | Autobiography (Quirky, opinionated, amusing) |
The Frisbies of the South Seas | Johnny Frisbie 1961. | Robert Hale Ltd, London. | Autobiography (Robert Frisbie's daughter's memoirs) |
The Lagoon is Lonely Now | Ronald Syme 1978. | Millwood Press Ltd, Wellington. | Autobiography (Expatriate Brit's lament) |
Wild Life Among the Pacific Islanders | E.H. Lamont 1867. | 1994 Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Rarotonga and the Tongareva Community and Development Trust, Penrhyn. | Autobiography (Detailed, interesting) |
Non-fiction
Agriculture in the Cook Islands - New Directions | Saifullah Syed and Ngatokorua Mataio 1993. | Institute of Pacific Studies and the Cook Islands Centre, University of the South Pacific. | Reference. |
Ancestral Voices from Mangaia | Michael P.J. Reilly 2009. | The Polynesian Society (Inc), Auckland. | History of ancient gods and chiefs. |
Ancient Polynesian Society | Irving Goldman 1970. | University of Chicago Press, Chicago | Reference |
An Archaeological Survey of Pukapuka Atoll | Masashi Chikamori and Shunji Yoshida 1985. | Dept of Archaeology and Ethnology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. | Reference. (Scholarly) |
Cook Islands Cook Book | Taiora Matenga-Smith | Institute of Pacific Studies, USP & Ministries of Agriculture and Health 1990. | Recipes for traditional Cook Islands dishes |
Cook Islands Culture | Ron and Marjorie Crocombe (editors) | Institute of Pacific Studies and the Cook Islands Centre, University of the South Pacific. | Large list of heavyweight contributors. A must read for serious students of Cook Islands history and culture. |
Cook Islands Drums | Jon Jonassen | Ministry of Cultural Development, Rarotonga 1991 | |
Cook Islands Legends | Jon Jonassen | Institute of Pacific Studies and University of the South Pacific 1981 | |
Discoverers of the Cook Islands & The Names They Gave | Alphons M.J. Klosterman 1976. | Cook Islands Library and Museum, Rarotonga. | Reference (Detailed, scholarly) |
From Darkness to Light in Polynesia | Rev. William Gill 1894. | The Religious Tract Society, London. | Reference (Missionary position) |
Geology of Rarotonga and Atiu | Patrick Marshall 1930. | B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu | Reference |
Guide to Cook Islands Birds | D.T. Holyoak 1980. | Cook Islands Library and Museum 1980. | Reference |
Historical Sketches of Savage Life in Polynesia | Rev. William Gill 1880. | Government Printer, Wellington. | Clan songs - reference |
History of Rarotonga | Taira Rere 1982. | | |
Islands of Danger | E. Beaglehole 1944. | Progressive Publishing Society, Wellington. | Reference |
Making History - Pukapukan and Anthropological Constructions of Knowledge |
Robert Borofsky 1987. | Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. | Reference |
Manakonako - Reflections | Kauraka Kauraka 1991. | Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Auckland and University of the South Pacific. | |
Mangaia and the Mission | Sir Peter Buck 1934, ed. by R. Dixon and T. Parima 1993. | Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva. | Reference |
Material Culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki), The | Sir Peter Buck 1927. | The Board of Maori Ethnological Research | Reference |
Nation and Destination: Creating Cook Islands Identity | Jeffrey Sissons 1999. | Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva. | Reference |
Prehistory of the Southern Cook Islands | Michael M. Trotter 1974. | Canterbury Museum Trust Board, Christchurch. | Archaeological reference work |
New Politics in the South Pacific - Essays | 1994. Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific. | Essay on Cook Is | |
People of the Cook Islands -- Past and Present | Ed. by Kazumichi Katayama and Akira Tagaya 1988. | Osaka City University Medical School and Cook Islands Library and Museum Society, Rarotonga. | |
Sisters in the Sun - The Story of Suwarrow and Palmerston Atolls | A.S. Helm and W.H. Percival 1973. | Robert Hale and Co, London. | |
Suwarrow Gold & Other Stories of the Great South Sea | James Cowan 1936. | Jonathan Cape, London. | (Treasure, history) |
The Cook Islands | Ewan Smith (text by Graeme Lay) 1998. | Island Image, Rarotonga. | Coffee table book,photographs, essays (Recommended) |
The Citrus Colony | Michael Bellam 1981 | New Zealand Coalition for Trade and Development, Wellington. | |
The Cook Islands 1820-1950 | Richard Gilson 1980. | 1991 Victoria University Press and Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific. | Reference (Detailed, thorough) |
The Pacific Islands | Douglas L. Oliver 1951. | University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu. | Reference (Interesting, non PC) |
The World of the Polynesians | Antony Alpers 1970. | 1987 Oxford University Press, Auckland. | Reference (Detailed, scholarly, interesting) |
The Art of Tivaevae: Traditional Cook Islands Quilting | Lynnsay Rongokea. | Godwit, New Zealand. | Virtual reprint of earlier 1992 book. Reference (Detailed, thorough) |
Today is Forever | Julian Hillas (aka Julian Dashwood) 1964. | Doubleday, New York. | |
Visions of the Pacific | Ed. David Arnell & Lisette Wolk 1993. | Cook Islands Ministry of Cultural Development, Rarotonga. | Reference (Pictorial tour) |
Weavers of Song | Mervyn McLean 1999. | Auckland University Press, Auckland. | Reference. Polynesian music and dance. (Detailed, scholarly) |
White Savages in the South Seas | Mel Kernahan 1995. | Verso, London and New York | Travelogue, Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Mauke. Dated. |
Years of the Pooh-Bah | Dick Scott 1991. | Cook Islands Trading Corporation and Hodder and Stoughton, Auckland. | History (A class act, thorough) |