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| Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea | 
 enlarge | Author: Kira Salak
Publisher: National Geographic
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $9.72
You Save: $5.23 (35%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $9.22
Avg. Customer Rating:  (16 reviews)
Sales Rank: 131922
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0792274172
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4
EAN: 9780792274179
ASIN: 0792274172
Publication Date: November 1, 2004
Release Date: November 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Following the route taken by British explorer Ivan Champion in 1927, and amid breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, Salak traveled across this remote Pacific island-often called the last frontier of adventure travel-by dugout canoe and on foot. Along the way, she stayed in a village where cannibals m was still practiced behind the backs of the missionaries, met the leader of the OPM-the separatist guerrilla movement opposing the Indonesian occupation of Western New Guinea-and undertook an epic trek through the jungle. The New York Times said "Kira Salak is tough, a real-life Lara Croft." And Edward Marriott, proclaimed Four Corners to be "A travel book that transcends the genreo?=It is, like all the best travel narratives, a resonant interior journey, and offers wisdom for our times."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 A great story about the first Western woman to cross Papua New Guniea November 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I found this to be an excellent book in which the author, Kira Salak, retraces the journey across Papua New Guinea that explorer Ivan Champion took in 1927.
This book provides amazing descriptions of Papua New Guinea. It takes you to all parts of PNG, from the cities to the inner jungles, and introduces you to the PNG native tribes and their spiritual and religious beliefs. Salak also meets with the rebel leader of a guerrilla movement fighting in Western New Guinea through a series of adventures that are reminiscent of a scene in a James Bond movie. Throughout the book, Salak discovers ways out of nearly impossible situations.
What makes the book so readable and interesting is the vivid and powerful narrative that describes the journey from Salak's own perspective. This allows us to easily join Salak in this incredible trek across PNG as we read her story.
The book begins with the events in the author's life that led to her taking this journey. Without this introduction, I think I would have spent the entire book wondering what would lead a person to take such a journey. I consider this introduction an essential part of the book, giving a unique insight into what leads someone to take a dangerous journey into the unknown.
In this book you will find a rare glimpse into the hidden world of PNG as Salak works out her demons through this difficult journey. This makes for a book that cannot be put down. "Four Corners" is an inspiring real life journey into the unknown, and a story of survival and personal triumph. I highly recommend this book.
Wish there were more Salak books out there January 19, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have read both of Kira Salak's books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I am hoping she will write another one soon. Four Corners was great and I was able to compare much of my trip to hers (although mine was not quite as adventurous). I don't feel she spoke too much on the dangers of PNG, as one reviewer wrote. The dangers are very real and different than other countries. I also enjoyed the excerpt on her travels through Mozambique included in this book. She has a gift for writing. Hurry up Ms. Salak and write another book soon!
Best book I read all year December 16, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book was fabulous. It kept me riveted from page one. What Ms. Salak accomplished in New Guinea (with her intelligence, guts, wit, courage and luck) is truly amazing. Hands down the best book I read all year. A true travel adventure.
Fine travel journal May 30, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
The book is full of personel feelings. I read travel journals and that is what I am looking for. If I want a guide I buy a guide. I admire writers who leave the reader with an understanding of who they are as well as where they are. Ms. Salek does a fine job doing just that.
Heart Pounding!! February 18, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
WOW! This book blew me away, and like the title of my review states, there were several times throughout where my heart was literally pounding. Any writer who can transport a reader like that knows how to write. This book is definitely among my "Top 5" favorite travel narratives.
Some reviewers suggest that there was too much inner reflection on the part of the author regarding why she was in PNG and what she was trying to reveal about herself. While this was definitely a thread running through this book, I do not believe that it takes away from the overall "picture" in any way. Any traveler who embarks on a similar trip and who doesn't reflect on why they're doing it has simply been on vacation. Those that do choose to reflect have been on a journey.
If you are a seasoned traveler to PNG, like one reviewer annoyingly overstates, why would you want to read a travel narrative by someone else about the same place? Being there is always better and I make it a point to not read books about places that I have already visited extensively. What would be the point? So, if you've spent a good deal of time in PNG you probably will not get much from this book. If not, then I highly recommend it! * Side-note: Just because you've been to a place does not neccessarily make you qualified to review a book that takes place there.
While I agree that some of the situations that Ms. Salak gets herself into do seem very dangerous she herself is honest about the immensity of these situations and does not try to down-play them in any way. Lucky for readers because this makes the book that much better. The suggestion by one reviewer that Ms. Salak in not respectful of PNG and the people that she meets there is unfounded and I do not recall anything in the book indicating that this was the case. This book is not a "PNG how-to" and the suggestion that the author's journey is irresponsible (and even unbelievable) is ridiculous, she is simply telling her story and it is fabulous! If you are looking for something to help you travel in PNG then pick up the Lonely Planet guide. If you're looking for a great adventure story that takes place in PNG then this is the book for you.
I have resisted reading Ms. Salak's second book, "The Cruelest Journey" for some time now because I will then have nothing of hers left to read and that's a depressing thought! I eagerly await more work from this author!!
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