The Edge of Paradise: America in Micronesia (Kolowalu Books (Paperback)) - Softcover

P.F. Kluge (editor)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 082481567X ISBN 13: 9780824815677

Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press, 1993

Synopsis

"A responsible, poetic, perceptive look at an American problem that will not go away." - James Michener

In 1967 the Peace Corps sent P.F. Kluge to paradise--or so the American possessions in Micronesia seemed. His assignment was as noble as it was adventurous: to help the people of those half-forgotten Pacific islands move from old to new, so that paradise would have prosperity and freedom as well as physical beauty. He immersed himself in the lives of the diverse peoples of the islands. He composed speeches for their leaders. He wrote a stirring manifesto that became the Preamble to the Constitution of Micronesia. He began a friendship with a man who would one day be president of Palau. And then, a generation later, P.F. Kluge went back....

The result is a book the New Yorker called "remarkably effective," the Economist deemed "terrific"; a book Smithsonian Magazine found to be "written from the heart." The Edge of Paradise shows the impact and ironies of America's presence in an undeveloped part of the world, how perhaps there's no way "a big place can touch a little one without harming it."

About this title

About the Author

P.F. Kluge is Writer in Residence at Kenyon College. Two films, Dog Day Afternoon and Eddie and the Cruisers, are based on his work.

From the Back Cover

In 1967 the Peace Corps sent P. F. Kluge to paradise - or so the American possessions in Micronesia seemed. His assignment was as noble as it was adventurous: to help the people of those half-forgotten Pacific islands move from old to new, so that paradise would have prosperity and freedom as well as physical beauty. He immersed himself in the lives of the diverse peoples of the islands. He composed speeches for their leaders. He wrote a stirring manifesto that became the Preamble to the Constitution of Micronesia. He began a friendship with a man who would one day be president of Palau. And then, a generation later, P. F. Kluge went back. . . . The result is a book the New Yorker called "remarkably effective", the Economist deemed "terrific"; a book Smithsonian Magazine found to be "written from the heart". The Edge of Paradise shows the impact and ironies of America's presence in an undeveloped part of the world, how perhaps there's no way "a big place can touch a little one without harming it".

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 082481567X
• ISBN 13: 9780824815677
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256